Noreik Thascool - The Night Before
I recently met Noreik at Serious Cartoons record shop in San
Bernardino and puffed one with him and Phantom Thrett; he got me so high I
teared up during Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” as I gazed out of the store’s
glass window while Thrett played it on the turntable. This was not a bad
introduction to him and his work that I checked out immediately after, “The
Night Before”, a dreamy modern but over-all very positive, smart and forward
thinking hip-hop EP from the I.E. “If you take a look for a second you will see
we are all connected…” he poeticizes wisely on “Wavelength.” His bars are
solid, his voice pleasant and choice of production is more than apt. His
message of a connected hedonist people is one I can relate to. His topics are
often his passion for friends, family, women and connection. The alternating
between poetic refrains and radio-friendly R&B style hooks help create the spacy
yet warm feel the whole album has. Halfway through the record I noticed a
little bit more of the “I get hoes...” stuff I hear in too many records but
disclaimer as always, I am aging at what feels like a more rapid pace every day
so take my noticing of subtle hip-hop misogyny with a grain of salt: on the
spectrum of that kind of thing, Noreik is a saint. The Night Before’s words and music do blend together beautifully to
create a nocturnal feel with which to soundtrack a nice night cruising or
chillin’. Either way, super positive and chill but still barsy EP with hella
profesh and fresh production- peep it!
WiseFacts - The Bronze Child
Full disclosure as ever, WiseFacts has rocked with me and my
crew WCA with his crew Caterpillar Flight on multiple occasions and it’s always
a delight to hear what they are working on. I find them kindred in their
nerdcore and positivity. I was surprised to hear his album, The Bronze Child, tackle darker
topics, like a youth misguided by parents with poor judgement, youthful drug
addiction and mistakes. Even these darker songs play with a nerd culture
influenced frame of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde or Dr. Frankenstein to both express
hip-hop sickness and horror at how far man can fall. The beats are busy and
hard boom-bap that allow WiseFacts to earn his name- with impeccable delivery
and projection, he speaks of spirituality, of rejoicing in family, of rejoicing
in art and hip-hop skill exercise. There is much to unpack to the record and
his verses are layered while still being assertive and clear. WiseFacts flow
and voice are nice on the ear and he’s never saying something you’ve heard
before. His views on Babylon and the soul are not the same pabulum we are used
to hearing and he doesn’t sugarcoat it. The way he constantly checks his own
ego within the bars is a fascinating truth to behold; peep The Bronze Child and observe an artist expressing poetry and
hip-hop deftly and simultaneously, working on the path he walks always honestly
and nakedly for all to see.
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