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Living Legends

I remember this being one of the first underground albums that I listened to that took me away from the world and placed me temporarily into a much better reality.  One thing I love about hip hop and music in general is that it is a perfect escapism tool.  For better or worse sometimes we just need to get away from life and pretend that a more pleasant parallel universe exists.  This album much like others from the Living Legends crew serves as a lesson in westcoast hip hop 101.  Eligh and The Grouch represent qualities that I think almost any hip hop fan can respect whether you are someone who values insightful and thoughtful lyrics or if you have a beats, beats, beats mentality.  They prove that you don’t have to be dumb to have a song that bumps and you don’t have to be a nerd to be smart.  Sometimes nice guys do in fact finish first.

Production: Eligh, The Grouch

Features:  Abstract Rude, Aesop Rock, Luckyiam, Pep Love, Sunspot Jonz, Toons

Label: Legendary Music

The Grouch & Eligh – ‘Mind Over Matter ft. Luckyiam’

The Grouch & Eligh – ‘Moments Like This ft. Sunspot Jonz’

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’

Wow this album has grown on me so damn much.  There is just so much lyrical substance on this album its ridiculous.  The Grouch & Eligh are such good souls and really are for a big improvement of humanity in general.  I love how they are not afraid to call people out for the bullshit they are contributing to the world and they certainly aren’t afraid of taking a different path in life.  But the best thing about it is that you don’t get the sense that they are preaching at you, you just feel like you are sitting there listening to one of your homies kick some real deep shit.  This is an album that may just make you a better person by listening to it and on top of that it can provide some strong support for getting through some hard times.

Production:  Amp Live, DJ Fresh, Eligh, Flying Lotus, Rick Rock

Features:  Blu, DJ Fresh, Gift of Gab, Mark Bell, Mike Marshall, Mistah Fab, Mystic, Paris Hayes, Pigeon John, Sage Francis, Slug

Label:  Legendary Music

Website:  http://www.myspace.com/thegrouchandeligh

The Grouch & Eligh – ‘ Worried About the World ft. Mike Marshall & Sage Francis)

The Grouch & Eligh – ‘ Old Souls ft. Blu’

This group has such an ill vibe and they play off of each others skills really well.  This is a perfect example of the sum of the whole being greater than its parts.  These emcees come together to make some westcoast hip hop goodness.  Visionaries consists of LMNO, KeyKool, 2Mex, Zen, Dannu and DJ Rhettmatic.  The reason why I like Visionaries so much is because they definitely lean towards the positive side and they are kind of the perfect representation of what diversity is all about.  They are a total mixing pot of ethnicities, rap styles and characters and they  realize this and feel empowered because of it.  This album has beats from some real dope producers as well as a great feature from Living Legends.

Production:  DJ Babu, DJ Rhettmatic, Evidence, J. Rocc, Kankick, KeyKool, Life Rexall, Oh No

Features:  Living Legends, Melo D

Label:  Up Above Records

Full Preview:  Pangaea

Website:  http://www.myspace.com/visionaries

Visionaries – ‘Pangaea’

Man Scarub is deep as hell.  Sometimes that gets lost on LL releases but when it is just Scarub front and center you really get a sense of his poetic and artistic nature.  And much like The Grouch, Eligh and actually most of the Living Legends he has a very positive outlook on life.  For me Scarub might be the most soulful member of the collective.

Full Preview: Heavenbound

Scarub – ‘L.I.F.E./For What It’s Worth’

 

This album is on that next level, spiritually conscious type shit.  The Grouch is one of those emcees/producers that if you like him you love him and if you don’t like him you will never understand his appeal.  His flow is slower and his beliefs are more positive than most and for those who thrive on negativity, well you are not gonna be feeling him.  For those of us who are sick of living a life of suffering and pessimism, well then you found your rap counterpart.

Full Preview: Crusader for Justice

The Grouch – ‘More Than Meets The Eye’

The Grouch – ‘Paint A Perfect Picture’

Little fuckin gem of an album right here.  This is how the beats go….BOOOOOOOM boom boom boom boom BOOOOOOOM, you betta bump that shit hahaa.  And on a scale of 1-10 the creativity of this album is a 20.  Not just an album but an entire experience for the listener.  Its true this release isn’t for everyone but if you like MJ’s style then you will eat this shit up with a spoon.

Preview: Black Sands Ov Eternia

Mystik Journeymen – ‘Liquid Cement’

Mystik Journeymen – ‘Grapes Ov Wrath’

I think its a shame this album wasn’t more recognized for the high quality it is.  Lucky threw down some amazingly honest lyrics on this album and exposed a side that most artists would be to afraid to ever show.  He didn’t hide anything whether it be the bad, the good, the sad, the happy…its all there much like it is in every single one of us.  Plus he has some dope lil beats, some great collabs & every song has its own personality.  I say its a winner.  A little tip for all my guys out there, play the song ‘Another Day’ for your girl and the results will be favorable ;-) .

Preview: Most Likely to Succeed

Luckyiam – ‘Memory Loss’

Luckyiam – ‘The Best I Can’

 

Eligh is a true poet, his lyrics are freaking amazing.  Definitely one of those people working to give hip hop a good, intelligent name.  Plus he has a real dope take on spirituality that is definitely comforting to listen to.  And that’s all just on the emcee level, where he really shines is production.  He is definitely a double threat.  Can’t even pick a favorite track from here because they are all entirely too dope.

Full Preview (2 tracks missing): Poltergeist

Eligh – ‘Ancient Grandfather’

Eligh – ‘A Poet Sits..’

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