(BYAKUGAN)

First of all, what a dope concept to rap about! For those who don’t watch anime, it’s regarding a power from the anime ‘Naruto’, the ‘BYAKUGAN’, and I never would have picked Estee as an anime fan, but it just makes this record that much better!

We have another dope collaboration between legendary underground MC Estee Nack and his regular producer in crime, ‘Mr Rose’. Together, they have shifted the phase of underground hip hop and what it should sound like! Along with Al, these three men have done more for the culture than anyone could possibly know, and now Estee and Rose are back to dominate the game for what feels like the 100th time! 

The features include: 

-Starker

-El Seven

-Ice Lord

And just like a lot of his other albums, this one has that smooth, jazzy, and light tone that other producers Estee worked with, and that’s what makes his signature style so memorable.

He makes surreal and beautiful-sounding instrumentals that give off a colourful and engaging experience (similar to what you might hear on a Tribe Called Quest) album in how vibrant and electrifying the production was and how it went through your whole body and made you feel a certain way!

Mr Rose has this effect with everything he drops! His work is often methodical in pacing yet expressive and explosive in the final product. The strings, chords, and notes feel richer, they feel heavier, and more saturated in love and passion to the point you can feel the emotions that went into making these beats. Although Estee is more commonly known for his extreme musical ventures and sounds, you best believe he can just as well pop on a record of this influence!

Speaking of the man in question, I’m genuinely curious if we will ever hear a wack verse from him because the world hasn’t heard one yet, and it didn’t start here! 

What we have here is Estee using his creative genius and his natural charisma to glide over these beats and provide social, ghetto, and personal commentary in his own unique free-form rap style that makes each verse from him more memorable than 10x other MC’s combined. I loved how towards the end of the album he does sample an episode of ‘Naruto’, which I loved, plus the use of voice samples about ‘Elijah Muhammad’ definitely hit hard and gave this record a level of substance it may have lacked before!

Only three features to work with, these four men help elevate the project to a higher level with ruthless execution, tough bars, and excellent flows! Estee always knows how to pick the best features for his records, and this record is no different!

Another unsurprisingly dope release by Estee and Mr. Rose. They were the ones who changed the landscape, and they are the ones continuing the quality of the culture! 

https://esteenack.bandcamp.com/album/byakugan