This is one of those artists who doesn’t make music but rather paints pictures using his grim and dark reality to portray a narrative so compelling that no other album could even try to compare. Let’s talk about it!
This is the latest studio album by MC Kendall Spencer. This man has released some of the most gut-wrenching and heartbreaking albums I’ve ever heard in my life, and now he’s back to put the audience through the ringer again with this one-of-a-kind brand of deeply emotional and personal lyricism!
We have on the production a familiar collaboration with August Fanon, who goes back to his two ‘Trauma Center’ albums, and together they release 14 of the most heartfelt and inspiring tracks you’ll hear all year!
It’s been a minute since I last covered August, but those who have been following my reviews will know how highly I rank him. He’s one of the most uniquely talented producers in the whole world today due to his masterful techniques and unrivalled variety he can provide! He could make 10 albums for 10 different artists and come out with 10 different sounds!
And for this album to complement the lyrical nature of the songs, I feel August has retuned to a more grand, minimalistic, and ambiance-filled production with beautiful instrumentation and somber delivery that makes this project (similar to many of Kendall’s) a tough listen to sit through!
You can hear those powerful horns, the usage of those plucked guitar strings, those luscious keys, and banging drum patterns. These are some of the intricate sounds included in this album as August uses inspirations from the likes of:
-Traditional Hip Hop
-Jazz
-Classical
-Soul
– Funk, and more!
As always, it’s the way that August arranges the instruments and the influences that help create the masterpieces he’s so well known for, and this one is no exception.
Every song is vibrant and striking! You can feel every sound coursing through your body, and when it relates to a record as heavy as this one, it amplifies his abilities 10x, showcasing even more cinematic and theatrical soundscapes that feel like a movie in audio form being displayed right in front of us!
Since it had been a while, I completely forgot just how gifted August was, but now there was no denying it! This man is one of the best to ever do it, period!
Now, onto Kendall. A man who is easily one of the strongest storytellers in our industry, and that’s because he’s not telling make-believe events; he’s speaking facts about his real life, and that’s what is so powerful about this record.
He’s always been the time to speak his mind into the music and never sugarcoat. On this album, he speaks about being audited and losing 30k, how he lost two jobs, and on top of that, the infamous accident!
This man has lived the life for 5x people, and he’s not afraid to tell you about it. I love how on this project, he’s revealing his more selfish and prideful side!
I loved to hear lines about how if it ain’t his wife or family, then he would happily let them get fucked over for their sake, and I love that. You can hear he’s tunnel-visioning his family’s success and livelihood, and that’s how it should be!
It sounds like he’s turning over a new leaf on this project; he’s showing his aggressive, angry, and focused side. The other two albums were Kendall fighting through his immediate physical, mental, and emotional damage, but I feel on this album, we are more or less hearing his post-damage thoughts and mindset, and to be witness to this man fight through what he has and still be this dope and mentally tough is rare indeed!
Overall, easily one of the best albums to come out this year! From a production and lyrical perspective! I love everything about this!
https://kendallspencermusic.bandcamp.com/album/l-o-s-s-e-s
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