Here we have the 4th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops would continue Onoe’s evolution & Surf or Die has become the most celebrated work of his yet, looking to fight an Invisible War succeeding it.
After the “Awakening” intro, the first song “Jungle” featuring L-Zee Roselli begins with the 2 over this dark 808-heavy beat & Caponoe having the more lively verse of them both in my opinion whereas “Starlight Lady” takes the boom bap route instrumentally to talk about the kind of woman who left his heart blazing on fire. “Wild in the Streets” goes for a Memphis vibe in general running laps around listeners with his flow just before “Ur Killing Me” shifts gears in the form of a primarily compositional piece.
“Ghost Castle” maintains a naturally killer chopper delivery & embracing a fittingly spookier atmosphere to the beat just before “Lamp of Lust” talks about being lustful kind of Genie hitting us with some of that good old fashioned funk in the midst of it. “Escape from Darkness” comes through with another instrumental bridge sonically reminiscent to 70s blaxploitation movies while the rage-inducing “Ghosts in Ma Alleyway” talks about not fucking with jokes because he has spirits inside in his head.
After the “Walking Thru the Forest” skit, “Breaking Out the Mist (Into the Light)” featuring Miles Dare pushes the 2nd half forward pairing the 2 over a flute-tinged boom bap beat confessing it’s like the world has both of them stressing lately while “Exorcist” also featuring Miles Dare after the self-produced “Battle of Self (I Love You Gurl)” intermission sticks together for a shift towards a Memphis-influenced direction homaging one of the greatest horror movies ever made.
“The Nothing” somberly asks where the time has gone demanding an answer for one of life’s biggest mysteries while “A Talking Cat” preceding the “Lost in Limbo” spoken word bit talks about painting his Mona Lisa with Surf or Die & constantly staying elevated artistically. “I’m Golden” radiates some rap rock undertones start to finish flexing his greatness, marking the last official song since both “The Message” & “Crying Cat” end in the form of a couple cohesively tied instrumental passages.
Ultimately I wouldn’t say that Invisible War has that same definitively complete feeling Surf or Die had, but I’m still happy this album exists because it’s another appreciable entry in the experimentally abstract Onoe Caponoe’s discography. The production is a menacing fusion of jazz rap, cloud rap, trap, hypnagogic pop & Memphis rap respectively opening a portal to an alternative universe where it feels like he’s taking lesser risks than he did on Surf or Die & in no way am I saying that’s a bad thing. It can be necessary.
Score: 3.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 