Man, yet another artist I have the privilege of discovering! That’s no joke, probably my 100th new artist of the year, and my list will only grow! This man intrigued me with this project, and after a recommendation from a man I heavily fuck with and respect in the industry, I knew it was going to be something special, and it was!
This is the brand-new EP by MC & Producer Al Unique, who decided to drop this 26-minute extraordinary performance that has so many highlights and amazing qualities about it that I was drawn to it immediately!
So right off the bat, the production had me spinning. It felt like a throwback to the golden 90s in terms of that beauty balance of cinematically grand sounds and a minimalistic approach of using a small handful of elements to create magic!
Thinking of the 90s East Coast scene. Your Wu-Tang’s or Mobb Deep’s in the fact of using the ‘less is more’ practice to create gold! Although not exactly the same stylistically, I felt that same application work here!
This man is taking things such as long, elongated chords, chopped vocal samples, thudding drums, and striking bass (just to name a few) to formulate an EP that gives you the best of both worlds (fun and eccentric) and (raw and rough around the edges). This thing has something for everyone, and I love it!
After only one listen, you can tell just how creative and masterful he is behind his production, the care he takes, and the crafting of his beats to create a memorable EP to sink your teeth into!
Now onto the MC side (also done by him). Again, I feel he takes inspiration from the more classic/old-school venues with his concentration on proper and precise flow, his intricate and well-worded lyrics, and techniques!
The kind of bars where he enunciates every word perfectly and has excellent breathing control to go with!
Whenever I heard his verses, I couldn’t help but feel hints of nostalgia for a time back when rappers used to stick to a more ‘traditional’ style with a mix of different charisma and textures, but left the art of rapping intact, and that was like a breath of fresh air in the ever-evolving climate of experimental phases and contrasts.
Not to say I hate all the variants; some I absolutely adore, but when you hear someone as technically gifted in the basics and the fundamentals of rap the way he is, I can’t help
but respect his style and approach to the art!
Overall, I found this a fascinating EP! It was groovy, original, raw, and yet paid homage to the ones who came before in sounds and verses! Definitely worth a check out!
https://on.soundcloud.com/qYyrOKSqZPTJusayKH
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 