Evidence – “Unlearning 2” review

Venice, California emcee/producer & former graffiti artist Evidence releasing a sequel to Unlearning as his 5th LP. Coming up in the early 90’s as part of the trio Dilated Peoples alongside Rakaa & DJ Babu. He’s also established himself as a solo artist along the way dropping his debut album The Weatherman under ABB Records in 2007 & making himself at home with the renown Minneapolis powerhouse Rhymesayers Entertainment for 16 years by now. Weather or Not ended the weather themes of his earlier stuff & is picking up where his last album left off on Unlearning 2.

“Plans Change” sets the tone with a funky Sebb Bash instrumental talking about the difference between him & everyone else is that he isn’t losing steam whereas “Different Phases” produced by Beat Butcha reiterating that he hasn’t read the rules to the game. “Future Memories” featuring Larry June has a jazzier vibe to it thanks to The Alchemist so they can talk about making shit happen leading into “Outta Bound” talking about being judged for coloring outside the lines.

The drums get stripped completely on “Seeing Double” advising to trust someone when you love them because there’s no other way just before the lo-fi, self-produced “Nothing to See Here” talking about his position as a rapper who ain’t playing a part. “Define Success” work in a piano instrumental so Ev can break down what it means to be successful from his perspective while the soulful “Stay Alive” featuring Blu enlists Conductor Williams to talk about something keeping them full of life.

“Nothing’s Perfect” taps in with Graymatter behind the boards likening his life to the music of a playlist while the chipmunk soul-infused “Favorite Injury” featuring Domo Genesis finds the 2 talking about staying impatient until their last breath. C-Lance carries the sampling onto “Top Seeded” himself a minimalist with a massive profile while the crooning “Greatest Motivation” featuring Theravada talks about needing hate because love’s complacent.

The Step Brothers reunite for the jazzy/boom bap crossover “Rain Every Season” explaining that their patience thins whenever they’re waiting for inspiration while “Laughing Last” talks about beating up a brick to the point where it’s out of shape. “Dutch Angle” lastly chops up a weary vocal sample to end Unlearning 2 staying even ‘til he’s titled & stating the idea of him being past tense in his city won’t happen.

Focusing less on comfort & more on transformation, Unlearning 2 uses the opportunity of Evidence’s previous album’s open-ending to his advantage pushing back against the concept of legacy by making a deeper & more instinctive exploration of his style. The production’s more soulful than its predecessor was 4 years earlier, creating an experimentally rooted sound with more determination than ever to turn pain into purpose through sharply intentional creativity in.

Score: 4.5/5

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Blu – “Los Angeles” review

I believe this is the 12th proper full-length solo LP from Los Angeles veteran Blu. Becoming notorious in the underground in 2007 when he & Exile dropped their debut album Below the Heavens: In Hell Happy with Your New Imaginary Friend, he’s managed to put out a handful of collab projects & solo efforts of his own. The most notable being: Her Favorite Colo(u)r, the M.E.D.-assisted Bad Neighbor produced by Madlib, the Gods in the Spirit/Titans in the Flesh duology, the Oh No-produced A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night, the Damu the Fudgemunk-produced Ground & Water, The Color Blu(e), the Fatlip-assisted Live from the End of the World & the Real Bad Man-produced Bad News. Afrika & Out of the Blue produced by Nottz & Shafiq Husayn respectively were both disappointing due to the overabundance of guests, so I went into Los Angeles hoping it would be better. Especially since Evidence would be behind the boards for it.

“54th” strips the drums to properly begin shouting out everyone in the section whereas “The Land” works in a boom bap instrumental so he can describe what it’s like where he & Ev are both from. The title track keeps the kicks & snares in tact further explaining what goes down in the City of Angels leading into “3 Wheel Motion” featuring Kokane on the hook coastin’ over a syrupy beat & one I can find myself calming down to after smoking of the finest weed the state has.

“L.A. Tourists” featuring M.E.D. is this piano/boom bap crossover with a psychedelic switchup during the 2nd half talking about taking tourists on a ride through Los Angeles just before “L.A. Traffic” feat. Cashus King & Self Jupiter finds the trio acknowledging the crazy traffic that the city is known for over horns. “The Cold” hooks up woodwinds as Blu sums up where it blows rather than ever raining or snowing, but then grittily “Hell” talks about residents not letting you live.

The gospel sample throughout the boom bap-laced “Heaven” makes perfect sense recalling a letter he got from someone he knew who’s up in the pearly gates now explaining what it’s like while the crooning “Wish You Were Here” featuring Evidence himself passionately talks about standing tall for every hour you’re supposed to. “Lights at Night” featuring Domo Genesis & Navy Blue lavishly unites the trio to describe the city view during the evening while “Wild Wild West” soulfully speaks of his upbringings. “The LA” ends Los Angeles by mixing soul & jazz continuing the introspective lyricism.

In contrast to some of Blu’s latest stuff in the last few years, Los Angeles surpasses The Color Blu(e) as his strongest body of work in this current decade & even one of the best solo albums he’s ever done. Evidence’s production teeters between drumless, boom bap, jazz rap & chipmunk soul serving as the excellent backdrop for the man who Vince Staplesgave props to on the highlight track “Radio” off his latest album Dark Times to conceptually open up more around the part of the west coast they’re all from.

Score: 4.5/5

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Domo Genesis – “Intros, Outros & Interludes” review

Domo Genesis is a 31 year old MC & songwriter from Inglewood, California who got his start in mid-2009 as a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He’s gone on to give us a full-length debut accompanied by 4 mixtapes & 4 EPs within the last dozen years, my personal favorites of which being his debut mixtape Rolling Papers as well as his Alchemist-produced 3rd mixtape No Idols & his Evidence-produced debut EP Aren’t U Glad You’re U?. Last we heard from Domo was when he dropped the Just in Case duology with Mike & Keys last summer but now after signing to Bigger Picture Recordings not too long ago, he’s re-emerging in the form of a sophomore album with the label’s founder Ev returning behind the boards.

“Don’t Believe Half” is a drumless, jazzy opener with Domo talking about no realness being left & only him that’s exempt whereas “Skeletons” with Navy Blue finds the 2 over an upbeat instrumental talking about the skeletons in their closets piling up. “Trust the Process” takes a soulful route sampling Freda Payne with the subject matter pretty much speaking for itself, but then “Reverse Card” shoots for a more dejecting aesthetic to talk about turning tables is his favorite part.

Meanwhile on “Stay 1 More Day”, we have Doms over another soul sample hoping to stay optimistic just before Remy Banks tags along for the settle “Campfire” to flex their respective styles. “Running, Running” weaves a crooning vocal loop into the mix to talk about lanes switching as life goes on, but then “Victories & Losses” with Evidence is a piano/boom bap banger talking about all the highs & lows they’ve encountered.

The song “Going Rate” brings back the jazz admitting that he doesn’t cry tears & he’s on a God tier while the penultimate track “December Coming” with Boldy James sees the 2 over a mystic beat to provide introspection for the listeners out there. “Tallulah” on the other end closes out the album with Domo talking about doing it for the love even though the love ain’t there over a dismal instrumental.

It should go without saying that this is Domo’s best solo effort in a while & a much more consistent full-length than GENESiS & that album was just ok in my opinion. Evidence’s production is much more interesting, Domo gets a lot off his chest lyrically & I really enjoy the natural progression of their chemistry although I still love Aren’t U Glad You’re U? as much as I did 3 & a half years back.

Score: 4/5