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When global continents
shifted, they created special conditions in one rather
in the middle of everything state, that provided enough
sun, nutrients, wind and gravity, for a special breed
of music to be born, grown and remembered. And its lyrical
monumental peak has been conquered for the second time,
as Illogic is giving us his follow up release to "Unforeseen
Shadows". And when you liked those beats, and thought
that those lyrics were incredible, then buckle up. Because
with "Got Lyrics?" you are in for a ride, that will
have the EP feel like a carrousel. What then again isn't
meant to take anything away from Illogic's debut, but
is merely meant to speak about the enormous proportions
of dopeness that has been put on these few minutes of
playtime. Yes, few they are, as the record only stacks
up 48 minutes. But that makes sure that you will be
thirsting for more, once having witnessed this. And
more there shall be, as the word is, that "Celestial
Clockwork" will be dropping later this year.
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But in the meantime
there's this album to check out. And once the "Introduction"
is counting down its seconds, you know that we get a
fine tuned version of previous Weightless recordings.
Meaning that both Illogic and Blueprint have stepped
up their skills in their according art, leaving the
competition in dust, like the floor under a bed, while
they hover above every hindrance like it's the easiest
thing the mind has ever put itself to. Hence the smooth
opening is only the first stab that will quickly be
infected with the rather friendly "Got
Lyrics?". Well, at least the beat is,
as it's full of Soul flavor, a sampled chorus, and a
bobbing bass and drum. That is having the lyrics sounds
as if they are meant in good humor, before you realize,
that this is just the tactic to defeat you while you
are still laughing along and giving props.
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Then again you want
to be in the audience anyways and not step up to Illogic,
cause "now every line is a spear / every fan's hard
to target / every circle's not a sphere / every soldier's
not a sergeant / if every fountain is clear / then every
sniper is a marksman / you can't win, so stop trying
/ you're not ill, so stop lying", so he says on "Stop
Lyin'", while Blueprint puts some sound to
it, that sounds like a pipe organ. And again this doesn't
sound too angry, but that's eventually changed on "The
Name Game", with a darker beat and here
Illogic is spitting verses using the names of a bundle
of artists. Without a break things continue with "Pure
Form" where straight battle rhymes are exchanged
with complex patterns and outer world content and rhyme
styles. Also outer worldly appear the bagpipes at the
end of the cut, what has to be one rare case when that
instrument makes it onto a hip hop track.
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"Countdown"
is just an unnecessary such, that opens up for "Figment
Of My Concentration". And here the disses
are getting face first at times, still being combined
with lines like "I'm resting in the arms of a dream
/ tearing questions by the seines / spit so hot, see
the steam rising / from vocal vapors escaping my assault
figures / I bust buckles a Hubble telescope telling
the scope / shuffling the deck and wreck". The beat
is based on horns and separated into sections by some
appealing female singing: "have mercy". Blueprint digs
out a wah wah guitar for "Too
Many Times", that lyrically is going the
way of looking back in a special kind of ways, as it's
reflecting on the real time adventures as well as the
imposed on oneself demands. With "Day
By Day" we can finally give a little bit
of slack to Blueprint, as this is good enough, but not
living up to the rest of the album: the acoustic guitar
is not as nifty as the drum programming on this cut
and the troubadour singing is just that. But we are
'looking for straws in the pile of needles', to use
words that Illogic says at one point on this album,
especially as he drops gems like "growing old is mandatory
/ growing up is optional" on "Day
By Day". Hence the slack stick has to
be quickly put away, once "Screenplay"
comes on, and for that matter, very much when "Break
Bread" is closing the album. Because
on both cuts (well a little more on the first) the beats
are again fully happening. While on the latter Blueprint
is stepping to the mic as well, adding verses in his
rather whining voice, speaking: "you want food for thought
/ how you like apples? / I got one with a worm in I
can toss at you / and I can tell by the way you bite
styles / that your natural instinct's to catch it in
your mouth".
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Now, we shouldn't miss
to mention the poems that Illogic is reciting at the
end of "Break Bread",
however a mere reviewing of those could never be living
up to the heartfelt, deep and eloquent writing. But
we shall not miss to give a special nod to the "The
Faces We Weave" and "Just Life" pieces.
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What leaves us with
finding a conclusion to end this review, while everything
has actually already been said. Well, we are tempted
to say that this album is equally monumental as the
shifting of the globe platters that created the environment
allowing such art to be done. But that'd be a little
exaggerated. Well, a little.
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| review:
tadah |
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