Man, I’m loving the fact that I only spot these two together. I feel like the modern era doesn’t have as much respect for duos as the old school did. Acts like
– Mobb Deep
– Gang Starr
– Raekwon and Ghostface Killah
– Redman & Method Man
I feel like there was a lot more respect for and reverence for a pair-up. I feel these days it’s just a matter of ‘okay, worked with you, next’ rather than solid working and sticking together! But for these two brothers, it’s an actual brotherhood! The type that remains as strong even years later and hopefully decades later! Let’s talk about it!
This is the brand-new December drop by MC ZELL and Producer Dev Rogers, who appear with a fresh 11 tracks, 24 minutes of heat that is bound to get you fired up!
On this occasion, I feel the expectation of sounds is self-explanatory from the title. This is a volume full of BOOM BAP excellence, showcasing all the variations, original takes, and devastatingly effective techniques used to make every track feel new and refreshing while still maintaining that cold-blooded boom-bap feel!
For example, you’ve got those classic scattered glossy piano keys mixed in with those heavy drums, thick bass lines, and plucked strings, as is commonplace throughout the project, but on top of that, you have specific sonic quirks and features that stand out!
For example, on the track ‘#62 EASTSIDE STORY’, we have an almost ambient insertion to that classic sound with those sci-fi synth chords that have a messy and glitching effect as well as this one random spazz chord that came out of nowhere and never actually returned! A very interesting addition to the song!
Or if we take a look at ‘#58 BOYZ N THE HOOD’, you have these haunting piano keys and eerie string progressions and thick bass! A track that feels like a literal haunted house experience infused with hip-hop!
That’s the point I’m trying to convey here! Each track in its structure is boom-bap influenced, but it’s what Dev does with the remaining aspects, how he changes it up, what varieties and influences he chooses to play with to make a difference subgenre of the boom-bap, and in that effort, he absolutely kills it!
11 different examples of a classic genre!
Although the sounds might be experimented with, one aspect surely isn’t, and that’s ZELL, or as I once said, the real Inosuke (if you know, you know), a man who has set the tone with his aggressive approach and intensity woven into every aspect of his performance that it’s quite literally impossible to ignore!
Across these 24 minutes, we see him in his element, in his wheelhouse, so to speak. With these boom-bap structures, he is the predator and king of the sonic jungle, and he’s out for blood! I’m talking:
– Trademark Ruthless Charisma
– In your face, raw flow
– Unapologetic wordplay and lyricism
– Unstoppable conviction and passion
– Heavy-handed, almost shouting vocal performances
All this has kept and maintained Zell as a crucial artist in the underground, and on this record, he’s even more so! He’s a man who’s constantly evolving in his levels of confidence and relentless behaviour on the beat! A man whose lyricism feels more like an intense preaching than it does usual rap lyrics and a man who has no problem rocking a full-length with no features!
Always the man of the hour, never taking a backseat to no one. He comes at you like a verbal tornado, often warning us about the troubles of life and the cost of consequences! A grave reminder that when shit gets real, IT GETS REAL, and we get to sit back as helpless bystanders and listen to this reality come to life!
Once again, another phenomenal, adrenaline-pumping record by one of my favourite duos at it right now! Don’t sleep on the kids, go listen now below!
https://open.spotify.com/album/2DNrCbcKM4kGTpGaJhEH8R?si=iMAHO4RMSmSGKZfs4FYqGw
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 