(HAMMERABI)

I’ve been sitting on this one, waiting for the right time to review it because I wanted to give it the proper credit when it was time. Every so often in the art of hip-hop you get ‘classics’ and sometimes they can be certified that from the very first listen, sometimes it takes years to be crowned as such. 

In my opinion this is without a doubt the former and an album that I would personally crown the magnum opus of a man who has so many countless classics under his belt that it almost feels blasphemous to call any one album ‘the best’ of the rest but this one just has that ‘IT’ factor that trumps the rest! Let’s talk about it!

I’m here to talk about the June 2021 release by Splash Rap founder and Aura Rap powerhouse Al Divino, a man who has been one of the key pillars in the foundation and re invention of the modern-day underground! 

In this album he’s working alone, side producer Mr. Rose and features from

-FLY ANAKIN

-STARKER

-ESTEE NACK

-SULLY NOMAD

-JAE NES

And right from the opening song we have a clear indication of where this album is going sonically. In short, it’s Aura-filled acid jazz with a boom bap influence. This is unlike any other score I’ve heard, period!

Each and every instrumental sounds like a godsend. Within the last two months I think I’ve heard this album over ten times over and it got better with every replay!

Those jazz instrumentals are some of the most infectious and beautifully arranged pieces of music in the rap game period. Of course, each song has different elements and styles! Some tracks like (DONI) have a more experimental/manipulated approach with dark, eerier notes with a muddier sound!

But then you have tracks like (SPLASHONEM) which has one of the most unique takes on jazz I’ve ever heard! As it sounds like a contemporary blend of jazz, synth pop, noise, and ambient fusion! With this really bizarrely placed high-pitched note that just buzzes in and out whenever it wants!

The song (SERVINJUSTICE) has one of the most hypnotic and mesmerising cuts on the album that kind of reminds me of the song (CREDITUNIONONCOMPUTERGLITCH) off the Triple Black Diamond 2 album as it has that same droning, repetitive beat that loops permanently over this really strange yet captivating vocal snippet! 

Plus ‘STARKER’ who made me appreciate his work from his collab album with Estee on ‘CHANGO MACHO: The Book Of Dreams’ his verse on this track is definitely worth it!

If I had to name my favourite beat on the whole album, it would have to be ‘STRETCHAZONEMAKEACLONE’ featuring Estee. I love the Spanish, cultural vibe to the beat with those sporadic splashes of jazz that make this beat simultaneously fun and exciting! 

Every beat on this album is the definition of perfection in its own way. Mr Rose who has a legacy of dope beats and production I feel really outdid himself across this album! 

Of course we have Al Divino. A man who is no stranger to Mr Rose and his production. Frequently collaborated over the last 10 years and across this one, as good as Al is and always has been this feels like his most memorable and locked-in work across the mic!

He’s never sounded more prolific, more focused! More in tune and enthusiastic than I hear him on here! He still maintains his legendary aggression and unpredictable splash style on the beats but they just sound elevated and more precise across this record specifically!

I love how fluent he sounds across the 15 tracks! This is a masterclass on how two men who share extraordinary chemistry can operate on an album! The beat maker making the perfect instrumentals for the artist and the MC flowing smoother and stronger than they ever have before because of that synchronous rhythm!

Of course, no Al Divino album would be complete without his usual adlibs and flexing across the beats! It’s what emphasises his chaotic nature across the tracks! You’ll never be able to predict the next breath coming out of his mouth and he is the king of that style!

The features across this album are his brothers to understate the matter. The day he makes a wack album with the likes of these guys is the day Hip Hop dies for good. But that day will never come, perfect energy, passion and verses across the board!

I can’t state this heavily enough. This is an album EVERY Hip Hop fan should have in their catalog. If I’m not mistaken it was $30 something but i guarantee you it was worth every dollar! 

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