When you talk about factions in the Hip Hop right now you’d be hard pressed to find any as consistent and fast paced then the infamous ‘Pen Lordz’ across their respective members they’ve dropped more albums collectively this year then possibly anyone else. Let’s talk about!
This is technically a record featuring producer Arsinel and rapper Fam Ross. But it may as well be an album by Pen Lord Audio Messiah as he’s featuring on almost every track. The only lord missing is Gold Matter but despite that his presence is felt in spirit and essence!
Right off the bat. From the intro track featuring Born King this one already feels larger than life. It feels serene, it feels sonically different than the rest of their projects so far. The production quality is theatrical and cinematic in execution. The use of classical instrumentation is absolutely breathtaking and it sets the scene for a most compelling and memorable listening experience.
I feel like on this project they are informing us that they are already at the finish line and they’ve set up chairs and tables of food and just letting the victory soak in. It’s not as grimy as the other albums, not as much ‘urgency’ in their sound as in previous and this is exactly the reason why. They are already out of the race and now any new project they release either as a collective or otherwise is just side missions at this point.
Now, onto the rapping as discussed above this time around it’s a more relaxed, smooth and easy verses then on projects previous. Between Fam Ross and the others you can hear their relief, confidence and embracing of the finish line and then proudness of the work they put into the game so far that they are just spitting what comes natural to them.
I love their mellow rhyme schemes, their deep and powerful wordplay and their mastery of penmanship. That goes for all the features on this project such as
-Born King
-Andrew Jackson
-Ramon Yancey
-King Adroit
All who help push this relaxed and peaceful narrative and it comes together to create one of the best atmospheric experiences on an album I’ve heard all year!
So, for all those who haven’t already heard a Pen lord album, then shame on you but this is a good place to start! If you’ve been keeping up to date then this could be their best release yet!
https://open.spotify.com/album/5ASuBUwdoTTLCrT2pK1fxX?si=GNRaVcEzQymqfnkuszkTKg
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 