Review: Sleepwalk

I wrote all sorts of gibberish yesterday about this record and today I take a breath and start again. Scribes. The name implies what we (Him and I) do. Hell, it is what many people do. We write. Everybody writes. Some just hit people with emails, hell, some write books through text messages. Scribes writes for himself and for anyone who has ever claimed to be a fan of this Hip Hop music.

 


I wasn?t sure what to expect from this record when I pulled it out of my box of CDs that I am slowly working my way through. But I was caught up in it from the start. The intro gives you a feel good vibe with some nice scratches and cuts up some good dialogue all the while DMello provides a dope feel good groove that flows perfectly into the next cut ?Capital World.? This is the anthem of the record and for good cause. Scribes is a young (18 years old) emcee and he is definitely trying to make some changes with his music. I can?t fault him for that ? I know when I was 18 and trying to rap I was on the same tip. He does it much better than me and delivers a powerful message about capitalism, money, and living life free of the bullshit.

While Scribes lives up to his name dropping writtens that show depth, sincerity & a true love for this art form he is provided some beautiful backdrops to deliver his message. The aforementioned DMello holds down three other cuts and Sound Dialect & Nick Rapp handle the rest. While it?s generally accepted today that you will work with multiple producers Scribes takes us back to a time that emcees work with a core group of beat makers and create an experience for the ears. While I don?t know what the working relationship is with the three producers something tells me that if they don?t collaborate on this record they definitely kick it outside of music cause every beat flows seamlessly into the next. It?s got a definite throwback vibe that I almost want to dub Native Tongues style but it?s more so just influenced by the NYC D.I.T.C. (Diggin In The Crates for y’all that don?t know!) sound and the jazz inflections that Tip and ’em introduced to us over a decade ago.

This throwback feel leads me to my biggest compliment to Scribes ? he knows his history. Having grown up in a small rural town I spent many a night learning about this culture and the artists that have helped shape it and I respect those artists for what they did and look up to them as the founders of something that I love and live everyday of my life. Scribes isn?t like so many new emcees that seem to think because they either weren?t born yet or were only a baby that they don?t need to be up on what paved the way for them. Scribes pays tribute to the greats (Marly Marl) and shouts out the unknown and overlooked (Ill Bill) all the while never losing focus on what is his debut album.

Enhanced by Zemanta