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Luckyiam

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’

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’

 

I guess I will just make this a Living Legends day and throw a whole bunch of shit out there from the collective & solo work.  Well the title of the album is a pretty good indicator of things to come.  This album is thee best for summer chillin.  The vibe is one that can’t be produced by most and it will definitely keep you captivated from beginning to end.

Full Preview: Classic

Living Legends – ‘Blast Your Radio’

Living Legends – ‘Never Fallin’

Sunspot did a nice job with the production on this album.  I like it too because this was towards the beginning of the crew getting together so it’s cool to see how they sounded when they started out vs. how they sound now.

Full Preview: Angelz Wit Dirty Faces

Living Legends – ‘Take A Chance (ft. Lord Takim)’

You would not know by looking at this dude just how deep his thoughts go.  Grieves continues to surprise me over and over again with his dope ass metaphors and his inquisitive mind.  His lyrics are awesome pure and simple.  This album is produced by Budo who creates some dark, lingering, ethereal beats for this release.  If you like artists like Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, I Self Devine etc then you will definitely be feelin this.

Features: Luckyiam

Grieves – ‘Catapults’

 

Mystik Journeymen are the best of all hip hop worlds…insightful lyrics and beats that BUMP!  Their tracks are layer after layer of complexity that keep you interested to see what’s gonna happen next.  Overall they are about making that good shit that is respected cross-culturally & worldwide & they are callin out all those ppl who are fuckin’ up that plight.  This album is kinda cool because they have little interludes with rappers speaking all different languages.  It’s important to be well cultured yo!  So if you are into that raw underground sound then you have to check this one out.

Mystik Journeymen – ‘Right Now (ft. The Grouch)’

This is the next shit right here!  Sometimes when members of two mega groups come together (Living Legends & Sandpeople) your expectations end up being too high and disappointment ensues after the initial listen.  That is not the case here….at all.  In all honesty this album completely surpassed my expectations and left me so happily surprised!  Sapient comes so ill and imaginative on the beats.  And both Sapient & Lucky kill their verses through and through.  This album has everything from humor (S.I.D.S.)  to spirituality (Fly in My Own Right) to aspects of life that aren’t always easy to look at but are necessary for growth and evolution as people (How You Use It).  The song ‘Fly in My Own Right’ is an instant classic but there honestly isn’t a track on this album that I can’t get down with.  Do not sleep, this is an awesome debut from a group who has a bright future ahead of them.

The Prime – ‘Fly in My Own Right’

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