The San Antonio Texas group gets right to the point even in their S.E.L.F title breaking down as Self Expression is Living Free. I’ll tell you one thing, if these 4 lived in my neighborhood in Vancouver; they’d be a hands down hit because of what they preach. Yes, this is not only a good way to ventilate a bit of frustration with the way our world has slung shot it’s way into a desperate situation with pollution, war, consumerism, genocide, disease, and lack of sustainability but it is a chance to open eyes with words. These days it’s spoken of too much in all of the same places, hip hop needs to be a new venue to speak of things other than what we hear of hip hop being in the media- because it sure gets a bad reputation for being either too violent or too glitzy. This to me is real hip hop, and this is how it should be.
The rhyme-scheme is brilliant, the beats are flawless and feature booming bass drums, cultural overtones and always emote in a very reluctant way. So much knowledge is put behind these sophisticated lyrics already chanting: Acceptance of the proper usage of the words, blindly committed to an opinion that was never yours, but in convenience the true traditional fear- you would hear… making the truth seem quite unclear. These lines alone make me picture a politician behind a podium reading off a speech sheet that they didn’t even write.
I really can’t wait until I get more time with this album because I want to take in all of these words and let them digest. The messages and the beats go hand in hand. The delivery is very tactful, concerning and meaningful. I am adding this album to my musical library to enjoy on my own, and I will share it with others. This has been one of the best albums I have heard yet this year through Left Hip Magazine and it has been an honor to review it.
