This album has been a work in the making. Being made aware of it a few weeks ago now, trying to find the best time and place to review it, and this is one of those days, it’s time to talk about one of the most underrated gems of September! Let’s talk about it!
This is the brand-new album by MC ILLAH (May he R.I.P) and it guts me to know I didn’t check this out earlier, produced by Dan Akill, and together they drop a ten-track project with no features, just 28 minutes of pure rhyming at its finest!
Let’s talk about the production first! Dan has been one of those names that landed under the radar due to the sheer volume of content coming out this year, but one that has surprised me and a lot of others with his crisp and dominant production style that is ‘Underground’ to a tee!
Let’s look at beats like ‘Crab Mentality’, where we hear Dan execute this spacey and hypnotic instrumental featuring high-pitched keys, sharp what sounds like fast-paced violin in snippets alongside some echoing and heavy thudded drum patterns!
This is the kind of beat that makes you think about life and let your mind wonder! A beautiful combination of raw and gritty underground hip hop mixed with classical and surreal moments!
Speaking of surreal, we have the beat ‘Pink Pantha’, which features a more subtle and eerie notion with these haunting strings that loop in the background with some vocal humming right alongside it and some cinematic strings that appear for a few seconds and overdose the senses!
I love this beat because it sounds ‘larger than life’ and atmospheric, and those types of styles are my favourites!
All this to say that Dan has once again dived into his classic bag of tricks and pulled out another Stella performance that has both ‘finesse’ and ‘street credit’ associated with it, the perfect balance!
Speaking of perfect balance, we have ILLAH. This man has invented his own lane entirely! As he said on the track ‘Not Even Close’, ‘These guys aren’t on my level, not even close’, and he ain’t lying!
What makes him so unique is that it seems (based on this record) that he can activate any style, rhythm, and form on the mic that’s needed depending on the production, can morph, and become the type of MC he’s needed to be!
For example, on the track ‘GoodGrief’, we hear him deliver a more traditional, 90’s-inspired bar/verse ratio with no breaks in his style, crisp pen game, and strong aura with fluent flow!
Then, on the track ‘Pink Pantha’, he has a more methodical and surreal type of rhythm as he’s trying to match that haunting beat! He sounds more deliberate and dangerous!
Then, even on the track ‘Not Even Close’, it sounds like he’s in his flexing mode. A choppier verse delivery system to suit that funky, plucked string instrumental and provide a more ‘egocentric’ performance where he’s putting the game on lock!
In showcasing his ability to transform and drive in all lanes, he’s proving his worth as a skilled rapper in all areas, and that’s a phenomenal advantage! I also love how he decided to have no features this time around to further prove his dominance in this game!
Overall, this is an album that I hope doesn’t get lost in the cycle of unlimited releases and gets the respect it deserves!
Shoutout to TONY TRANG on the cuts and SAUCEY PASTA for the cover!
https://open.spotify.com/album/34dGutQKGrFlImWbCKCX8C?si=KOGH9SmYTWq7Qcb7OyRmzw
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