manipulating domes of clones
After 7 long years, L*Roneous Da'Versafier is back with a new album! Calling himself LR the Outlaw, this hip hop shaman and visionary had been keeping a pretty low profile until last year's free Roller Coaster EP let us know the northern Cali emcee was up to something once again.
Lyrically LR is at his past standard of greatness. He's truly a unique artist; his flow is immediately unassuming. What I've come to realize and appreciate is how tight and smooth his flow is. There's never a lagging syllable or an off cadence or a needlessly cluttered flow. Smooth is the word here - but you know what they say about smooth waters running deep. His lyrics are free of the usual cheap shots and one-liners that typify battle emcee repertoire, and his flow is relatively naked, abandoning the stylistic acrobatics and rhyming in quadruple-time that has become one of Cali's trademarks in hip hop. To me, his greatest strength as a lyricist lie in his phenomenal ability of expression. He can take an idea and go deep with it, turning it inside out, showing you sides to it you've never seen, while using the most original and abstract metaphors you wish you'd thought up yourself. And he doesn't save this for the punchlines to his rhymes, in fact there are no punchlines; instead his poeticism is demonstrated verse after verse, in song after song. It's no wonder that he takes his time between records, as it's obvious he puts more effort that is possible for most mere mortals into his writing.
Musically he enlists a gang of talent, causing quite a varied tapestry. DJ Cue, RIck D, Essence, Miko, Russel Fong, Def-I, and several others lend their beats, while Equipto, Subverse, Haze, Gigio, Spank Pops and others attend as guest vocalists/emcees. Frankly I feel that the lyrical inclusions don't do anything to push the album forward, since they honestly aren't on the same page as LR here. The music is at best truly inspiring (Rick D's "My Name," DJ Cue's "The Notes", DJ Troubleman's ode to synesthesia "The Sound of Color"), and at worst just sort of ho-hum (Miko's "Outlaw"). Nothing worth skipping, though, as the album is so sonically expansive. Actually, for all the various hands in the batter, the record is incredibly cohesive, while providing just the right amount of variance to keep you guessing. LR stands back from the mic from time to time to let the producers stretch out a little, which I feel happens far too little in hip hop.
L'Roneous shows he still has it with this release - in fact he sounds like he's just starting. The lyrics are as inspired as ever, and the beats are fresh, jazzy, stoned, and varied in that classic L'Ron style (i.e. Imaginarium stylee). Truly a refreshing release to all those jaded cats out there, and a mind-expanding one for all the newschoolers.
Great thanks go to Stones for extending the hand across bloglines to let me post on up in here. - Jack Devo
Wonderful review as I knew it would be, great piece music as expected as well
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