(Shattered Glass)

When we talk about great duos in this game, you’d be hard-pressed to find one as good as these two. Whether you’re talking about their last compilation record ‘Baggage Claims’ or their standout record ‘BUSHMAN BODEGA’, they have been on legendary time, dropping your favourite rapper’s favourite albums and doing so effortlessly. Now they are back with another thunderous record that is sure to knock everyone out of that number one spot! Let’s talk about it!

This is the brand-new album by MC and Umbrella Solider Daniel Son and producer FutureWave, and together they return for another powerhouse drop featuring the likes of 

-Asun Eastwood

-Sayzee And with just these two verbal assassins, they come stronger than I’ve heard them yet! This album is the definition of ‘NOT TO SLEEP ON’.

If we start with the production value, FutureWave is back on his trademark status. He’s been on a notorious run in the past five years, making modern-day classics out of everyone he’s ever worked with and possibly no more prolific than Daniel! And across this tape, we hear him master his production and atmosphere on some next-level shit we haven’t heard since his run with Pro Dillinger!

It blows my mind the level of cinematic complexity he can achieve in just 22 minutes. You could give most others hours to try to match this level of mastery and technique and still fail. Across this tape, we hear elements from 

-Classical

-Boom Bap

-Jazz

-Ambient

-Soul And he’s able to arrange all these elements to create individual songs that are equal parts original and fluent in the face of the whole score in question.

Each track feels surreal and absolutely beautiful in execution. The kind of shit that makes you move your head, mean-mug the world, and become razor-sharp focused on the beats at hand! That’s the effect FutureWave’s beats have on you!

If I had to name my two favourite beats on this album (as hard as that is to pick), it would have to be between

-Lil Earl, I love that Jazz X Boom Bap fusion that Futurewave executes so fucking phenomenally! From those infectious jazz chords in two different sections, one looping throughout the track and the other acting as a chorus-type chord progression!

That’s accompanied by some heavy bass strings, methodically paced drum beats, and an overall atmosphere of mystery that makes this track all the more intriguing! I also love the film/tv show snippets scattered throughout!

And the next track is -Ocean Smock. For me, this track has a slight delicate depth to it with those beautifully orchestrated piano keys, more plucked bass strings, and more minimalistic drum patterns that make this track stand out from the rest! (Not to mention Sayzee’s fantastic opening verse to kick the song off.)

All in all, FutureWave has ONCE AGAIN proven why he’s one of the premier producers in the current landscape and has been for a while now!

Of course, we can’t discuss this album without talking about Daniel Son! A premier competitor in his own right, releasing some of the most compelling albums in the last five years alone. 

Across this record, we hear him at his absolute best. I don’t think I’ve heard him so fluent and crisp before! (And that’s saying a lot.) With every track and every verse, I felt myself automatically mean-mugging the rooms I was coming in and out of, reacting to his puns, his creative writing, and world play, and the seamless way he seems to manoeuvre himself over those beats was something to behold.

Of course you also have his street poetry which is some of the best and most vivid you’ll ever hear in the industry today. He can describe situations and tell stories that will straight give you goosebumps and transport you mentally and emotionally to the places described. This combined with his savage nature behind the mic and his no nonsense, rough and rugged demeanour and you have a recipe for one of the strongest rappers we’ve seen in the game in quite some time and he only further strengthened that reputation across this album!

If you are new to this duo then please trust me when I say you have NO IDEA what you’re missing out on when it comes to these two. If you already are familiar with these two then you should know by now NOT to question them and to get right to it! One of the greatest duo’s of this generation without a doubt!

And shoutout to Asun and Sayzee for their dominant features across this album! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4BXhXkJpsp2elwtMyU5XTn?si=jbRf0Vi2Q46UhbpkJI2CNw