Ocean Wisdom is a 24 year old MC from Camden, London, England, United Kingdom introducing himself off the 3-track debut extended play Splittin’ the Racket in the summer of 2015 under the Hove, East Sussex underground imprint High Focus Records. Following it up 6 months later with the revered hardcore hip hop & boom bap debut album Chaos ‘93 quickly becoming a top 5 in the label’s history, he has spent the last 27 months preparing for this sophomore effort simultaneously fulfilling all of his contractual obligations for High Focus in the process a month after Jinny became the inaugural RPW British Women’s Champion.
“Eye Contact” sets it off with a boom bap intro talking about advice putting pressure on his iris whereas “Don” takes the drum & bass route instrumentally flexing that he’ll kill an MC prior to finishing his meal. “Brick or Bat” goes for a darker vibe referencing former UFC Featherweight Champion & UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor prior to “Ting Dun” featuring Method Man homages “Airwaves” off RZA’s solo debut Bobby Digital in Stereo.
Illinformed jumps behind the boards for the piano-boom bap crossover “Life” talking about lonesomeness leading into the laidback “Tom & Jerry” produced by Leaf Dog make reference to the long running Warner Bros.-owned franchise of the same name whilst discussing the trials of the streets. “Righteous” featuring Rodney P & Roots Manuva chops up a soul sample to talk about the idea of righteousness itself while “Burning a Bridge” advises to get out of his way unless you want him to become militant.
“Revvin’” featuring Dizzee Rascal finds the 2 pairing up over a grime beat making a reference to Mike Russow & Todd Duffee’s fight at UFC 114 while “Deebo” likens himself to the villain of the classic hood film Friday. Starting the 2nd half, Telemachus pulls from industrial music a bit during “I Ain’t Eaten” boasting he’s more special than José Mourinho while “Swoosh” speaks of how everything’s effortless using a basketball metaphor.
P Money joins Ocean Wisdom on “Tiptronic” expressing their love for cars over a Pitch 92 instrumental while ”Flavours” talks about getting whatever he desires because of his status in the UK scene. “Less is More” featuring Jehst teams up for a dedication to keeping things simple rather than over-the-top while “Western Road” talks about the main shopping portion of Brighton where the side streets are mainly residential.
“Officer” gives it’s flowers to the iconic KRS-One single “Sound of da Police” while “Incidents” featuring Chester P talks about life with their friends growing up & the lyrics becoming increasingly darker. “Perspectives” challenges everyone to put themselves in his shoes for 24 hours & once “Menacing” salutes the late Muhammad Ali, the closer “Goostfraba FM” finishes off with a freestyle radiating that old school radio feeling.
Widely recognized for his debut single “Walkin’”spitting 4.45 words per second surpassing “Rap God” off Eminem’s 8th album The Marshall Mathers LP 2, the follow-up to Chaos ‘93 still delivers even with Wizville having slightly more flaws than Ocean Wisdom’s debut. A great deal of the grime & jazz rap production is exceptional as are the performances from Ocean & the guests, it’s simply a bit longer than I felt like it needed to be.
Score: 3.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 