It’s always a pleasure to discover new artists, especially when that new artist is on some conceptual shit! On this occasion, it’s both, and we get to cover an album that is sure to make you think! Let’s talk about it!
This is the 2024 album by MC ManyIDeaZ, and it comes with production from the likes of
-Ivcien
-gl00mberg
-MVW
-ManyIDeaZ
-TaeZander
-nabi00
-Rocco Roy
-Tokyo!
-young flavour
-vert2k
-sirwave
-bwwboy, literally a different producer for each track, which is definitely unique to find! This comes equipped with features from
-40 $tacks
-MVW
It’s been a solid minute since I last listened to an album here; literally, each name is foreign to me! I’ve been doing this review shit for a long time, and so I consider this a refreshing positive that I can still discover all these new names this deep into my journey!
So, a bit of context. This album is conceptually inspired by the film -City Of Women, a 1980s Italian film, which explains the lyricism on this album towards the views of women, the sexualisation aspect, and the overall, on the surface, materialistic nature of the themes!
On the surface, I’d say the projection feels like an atmosphere variant of trap/Alt RnB. I want you to picture a sound display of -The Weeknd meets Migos and what that would sound like together! Considering there are literally 13 different producers on this project, there can be the concern that this will sound messy or awkward, as the saying goes -too many chefs in the kitchen, but considering the sound they are going for, it turns out well!
Each song provides its own ambient experience combined with the trademark trap influences. From the thudding drums, elegant string progressions, and majestic keys. Those are bases for the beats, but they all have different added attributes to make it distinct from various vocal harmony loops to damn near flute samples that help make each track feel different from the one that came before or after!
I think for an album with the specific lyrical topics, this has these sub-genre fusions where the only way to go is because it naturally blends all the different elements together in a nice harmonic rhythm that makes the 27 minutes of this record blow by effortlessly! Shoutout to each producer on here for coming together to create a cohesive score that sets up the lyricism well!
Speaking of, we have the MC himself – ManyIDeaZ, a man born in Puerto Rico and raised in Massachusetts. He is here to bring his brand of interesting, charismatic, and colourful personality and performances to life across this project, and considering he’s inspired by a 1980s film of all things, I think he nailed the spirit of it!
So across these 13 tracks, we have Many take the audience through a whirlpool of indulgences of sex, hustling, drugs, and human compulsions. This makes for the most compelling pen game because this album, the more you dig deep into, sounds less like a brag and more like a man who is literally addicted to all these vices and is slowly spiralling.
In fact, I think on the track -l.i.m.t, he literally says -I’m addicted to these thots, I’m overdosing again.
He’s taking the most commonly used tropes and themes in the modern hip-hop landscape and putting a darker emphasis on them.
Sure, on the surface, the lyricism with its infectious hooks, its various use of ad-libs, and groovy sounds might make you believe it’s just like any other album. But the key lies in the concept of the film. Just as the main character in that film is going through the dramas of sexual obsession and that lifestyle in general, so is Many trying to use the Trap/Alternative RnB aspect to showcase a more sinister narrative of where this scene can really lead if you were to glamorise it your whole life.
And I’ll be real with you readers, due to unfortunate circumstances as a young child I do have a sex addicted mind which is a burden to deal with on the daily. In hip hop it’s put on a pedestal, it’s revered it’s what every man wants to achieve but trust me it’s not sustainable or healthy and I love that he’s bringing that to the light!
Of course flow is fluent, charisma and eccentricity at an all time high and he pulls off the job as the narrator of this twisted tale to a tee!
Just trust me, go listen to this album below and really listen and you’ll hear what this album is about truly. Go watch the film if you want as well! Let’s just say Many is a smart man for portraying the album the way he did and shoutout to the few features and various producers for bringing it to life!
https://open.spotify.com/album/12di8n2SxSO3Ijd9OhilPN?si=hJ3604hQT1Gd0p1EC2jZFA
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