MURS – “Love & Rockets 3.16: The Emancipation” review

MURS is a 47 year old MC & singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California notable for being a former member of the alternative hip hop outfit the Living Legends. He also has a dozen solo LPs under his belt excluding the 6 he has with 9th Wonder of The Soul Council, with my favorites being his Definitive Jux Records debut …The End of the Beginning & the Strange Music-backed A Strange Journey into the Unimaginable fully produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7. Now signed to Mello Music Group, the west coast veteran’s closing the book on his solo career with a trilogy chapter of the Love & Rockets series.

“Silverlake Rec League” begins the end by talking about friends, gym life, struggles & triumphs over an experimental trap instrumental whereas “Enjoy” fully displays the endearment he has towards his wife. “Chopper (ThisIsNotAnAntiPoliceSongThisIsAnAntiPoliceHelicopterSong)” featuring Reverie finds the 2 taking shots at the LAPD for fucking up their party while “This Ain’t That” thunderously talks about being despised forever selling his soul.

Moving on from there, “F.A.M.I.L.Y. (Forever Always Motherfucker I Love You)” works in a flute-tinged boom bap instrumental finding community within his fanbase leading into “Flowers 4 will.i.am” showing his appreciation towards the Black Eyed Peas frontman. “Ga$ Prices” talks about the cost of refilling gas in your car being higher than WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg just before “Beauty in the Streets” jazzily takes us through the belly of the beast.

“OCH” starts the final leg of Love & Rockets 3.16: The Emancipation by responding to those saying freedom ain’t free while “Lightsabers & Black Forces” featuring Chace Infinite shows their appreciation for the Star Wars franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Lucasfilm. The closer “Stylus Groove” caps everything off with a drumless beat looking back at these past 3+ decades.

Reflecting on a storied career marked by honesty as well as humor & razor-sharp lyricism, Love & Rockets 3.16: The Emancipation finds MURS in peak form spitting with the urgency of an artist laying his legacy in stone. Celebrating a legacy built on raw truth & relentless passion, the west coast veteran crafts a worthy sendoff to the illustrious mark he’s left on the music industry filled with introspection & storytelling.

Score: 4/5

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Living Legends – “The Return” review

The Living Legends are a west coast alternative hip hop outfit now consisting of Aesop, Bicasso, The Grouch & Eligh, Luckyiam, Scarub & Sunspot Jonz. Forming in ‘96 with Arata & most notably MURS, it wasn’t until the new millennium where they started dropping as a unit introducing themselves on Angelz Wit Dirty Faces & following it up with Almost Famous. They returned in ‘04 to discuss Creative Differences & their previous LP the following year Classic. But 15 years after their 2nd EP The Gathering, the Living Legends are making a comeback by unleashing their 5th full-length album.

After the “Jimi is a Star” intro, the first song “Letterman” featuring Reverie is a hardcore opener produced by Trox reminding y’all where the name comes from whereas “Front to Back” featuring Brother Ali & Opio takes a groovier approach instrumentally so everyone can get the party started properly. “Baggage” dives into boom bap turf thanks to Eligh talking about something weighing down your mind, but then “Monday Morning” gives off a mellow trap vibe looking to give thanks at the top of the week.

The title track featuring Del the Funky Homosapien returns to the boom bap courtesy of Statik Selektah getting in their hardcore bag just before “Tricky” hooks up this off-the-wall trap beat pointing out the fact they tried to warn us shit can be like that sometimes. “Distance” blends these hi-hats with a nocturnal loop talking about being on the road to nowhere leading into the soulful “Money 4 Nothin’” breaking down all the ways that people be chasing the paper this day in age.

“1 Kiss” shows off a bit of sensuality to the Living Legends with the help of former Zion I beatsmith Amp Live behind the boards while “Father’s Day” featuring Atmosphere weaves some pianos into the fold alongside kicks & snares from none other than Ant of course essentially likening hip hop to a father figure profoundly. “In God’s Hands” gives off a peppier flare to the beat expressing their gratitude while “If I Was a Car” featuring N8 the Gr8 is simply perfect for blasting in the midst of driving around Cali.

The song “We Gon’ Eat” featuring Pep Love grimily displays their hunger assuring that you’re never dead if you really got that love while the penultimate track “Gettin’ Up” featuring Jay Worthy & notably Trade Voorhees behind the boards pushes near the end of the group’s comeback effort by spaciously encouraging the listener to believe in themselves. “Break My Heart” ties up the album solemnly talking about how the waves crashed down.

Wasn’t sure if this day was ever going to come but after almost 2 decades, it finally did & The Return actually could be the best full-length that the west coast alt-rap crew have done in the 25+ years that they’ve been around as a unit. The production is a mix of old & new sounds, the guest performances are primarily consistent & the septuplet all sounds happy to be together again after so long.

Score: 4/5

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MURS – “A Strange Journey Into the Unimaginable” review

On the day of his 40th birthday, former Living Legends member MURS is celebrating by delivering his 11th full-length album & he has enlisted 7 to produce it in it’s entirety. The album starts off with “The Unimaginable”, where MURS vents about his recent divorce & the death of his newborn son over a gloomy acoustic guitar with some militant drums added halfway through. The next song “Melancholy” touches down on the titular feeling over a somber acoustic guitar & some live drumming while the track “‘Midtown” reflects on coming up from South Los Angeles over a twangy guitar. The song “Same Way” with Tech N9ne sees both MCs telling their loved ones they know that their families don’t like them over a laidback beat while the song “Powerful” takes a jab at the current state of hip hop over a woodwind-infused boom bap beat.

The song “G Lollipops” with Fashawn & Prof is a humble brag about their talents over an fun instrumental fit for the clubs & then the track “Superhero Pool Party” sees MURS telling a bedtime story to his son where he was at the fictitious titular party. It is filled with creative references to iconic superheroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman & The Incredible Hulk just to name a few. Also, Kanye West & Jean Grae are both mentioned as well. The song “Whiskey & Patron” with XV is a fun liquor tune with a druggy beat while the track “A Lean Story” recalls a time where he tried lean before a show in 2000 over a gloomy beat.

The song “Lo-Fi Nights” touches down on internal conflict & finding inner peace referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior over a beautiful instrumental while the track “So Far Close” is a heartfelt message to his ex-wife Kate over some somber yet jazzy instrumental. The song “Celebrate” is a smooth ode to all of the good memories in MURS’ life while the penultimate track “Vows” tells us how he met who I presume to be his new wife & where they are now over a beautiful piano instrumental. To be honest with all of you, this song almost made me cry the first time I heard it. The album finishes with “God Is the Greatest”, where MURS is getting in the faces of his critics over an eerie boom bap beat.

As a whole, I think this was a beautiful way to celebrate the man’s 40th birthday. MURS gets at his most personal lyrically & 7’s production suits him near perfectly. I’ve always wanted the 2 to work on a whole album together ever since MURS signed to Strange Music in 2014 & the end result is his best album with the label as well as being tied with …The End of the Beginning as the magnum opus in his solo discography

Score: 4.5/5

MURS – “Captain California” review

After dropping his last solo album (but his debut with Missouri based independent powerhouse Strange Music) Have a Nice Life as well as reuniting with 9th Wonder to drop Brighter Daze in 2015, former Living Legends member MURS would spend 2016 doing a couple features & he even won a Guinness World Record for the Longest Rap Marathon back in September. However, he’s now returning with his 10th solo album but his sophomore effort with Strange. The album kicks off with the track “Lemon Juice”, where MURS & Curtiss King are battling back & forth with each other over this chick & the production from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 on here is pretty smooth. The next track “Shakespeare on the Low” is a hood version of the timeless Shakespeare play Romeo & Juliet & honestly, it’s just ok. The track “G.B.K.W. (God Bless Kanye West)” isn’t really about Kanye himself, but rather about a man who’s under stress over an upbeat instrumental enhanced with these twinkling keys. The next track “Colossus” originally appeared on the bonus disc of Strange Music founder Tech N9ne’s latest album The Storm & it sounds just as great as it did when I first heard it on that album 3 months ago. The song “Another Round” talks about sex, but the way he describes it isn’t excessively raunchy at all & the pre-hook from Krizz Kaliko as well as 7’s production on here are all on point as well. The song “1,000 Suns” is a dedication to his wife Kate & you can just tell that he wrote/delivered it from the heart. Not only that, but 7’s electro-tinged production isn’t a bad touch either. The song “1 Uh Those Days” with Reverie discuss their individually shitty days & the production from former Company Flow member Mr. Len has these string passages as well as some hard ass boom bap drums too. The penultimate track “Ay Carumba” is about getting another woman pregnant & the way he describes the situation isn’t bad at all, I’m indifferent towards the production on here. Not only do I consider this to be an improvement over Have a Nice Life, but I also think that this is the best thing MURS has done with Strange Music thus far. While I feel like the production could’ve been better on some tracks, the storytelling throughout is fantastic.

Score: 3.5/5