First and foremost Eligh is a poet. Instead of using a blank sheet of paper to display his art he chooses bass filled beats as the backdrop of his masterpieces. Like a fine wine this album seems to get better with age. With each successive listen I find myself more and more satisfied and intrigued. It’s enjoyable watching Eligh’s style, personality and wisdom evolve over time. I think one thing that has improved on this album is the clarity of Eligh’s flow. It is no secret that Eligh can rap fast but sometimes rappers like this can alienate their audience by rapping too fast and leaving their listeners a little lost. This album has found the happy medium of those ever impressive quick rap skills with the balance of clarity. Rapping quickly is a skill that is left for only a select few but the amount of fast-rapping emcees that actually articulate well enough to make their lyrics accessible is far fewer still. Aside from flow, Eligh gives us behind the scenes access to his struggles with drug use, low self-esteem and confusion over his place in this world. Yet even through tough subject matter the underlying tone of this album is very positive and hopeful indeed. You can’t help but feel complete compassion for Eligh after listening to this album and a sense of wanting to be part of his movement for a better world.
Production: Eligh
Features: Aesop Rock, Basik, Brother Ali, Inspired Flight, K-Flay, Lisa Ahlstrom, Luckyiam, Marty James, Paris Hayes, Paul Datah, Pigeon John, Rifleman, Scarub, The Grouch, Zumbi
Label: Legendary Music
Eligh - ‘Love Ov My Life ft. Luckyiam’
Eligh – ‘Find Yourself’
