Tag: Confucius MC

Confucius MC – “Stop Signs” review

London, England, United Kingdom wordsmith Confucius MC teaming up with Dublin, Ireland producer Pitch 92 for his 3rd studio LP. Known for being 1/2 of the Old Paradice and CoN & KwAkE, he introduced himself in 2014 off his full-length debut The Highest Form followed by The Artform a few years later & the sophomore effort Somewhere another few years after that. Familiarizing myself with him through his features throughout several High Focus Records projects over the years, it only makes sense to have one of the label’s in-house producers coming in the picture for Stop Signs.

After the “Leisure Time” intro, “Maintenance” begins with a funky beat advising to slow down whereas “Paper Champs” takes the boom bap route instrumentally seeking truth in an ocean of lies. “Missing Persons” brings the funk back with a slicker twist to it talking about someone disappearing every 2 minutes leading into “Raised by Wolves” featuring Renelle 893 links up so both of them can discuss their own upbringings.

“Loneliness in the City” has a somberness to the beat describing this epidemic around his parts & after an intermission, “Cognitive Behavior” featuring King Kashmere finds the 2 talking about being tired of the games. “Days Hours Minutes” featuring the latter’s Kingdom of Fear partner-in-rhyme Jehst speaks of time forever flying past us while “Burden” soulfully talks about not letting anything take a load on you.

Nearing the conclusion of Stop Signs, the song “Blue Skies” hops over a lo-fi boom bap l instrumental that sounds like it could’ve appeared during a bumper on the Discovery Global owned Cartoon Network late-night block [adult swim] asking for his spirits for them to tell him to read the signs & “Respite” concludes the EP with a 77 second outro structured similarly to “Leisure Time” the moment anyone giving this a spin would hear right when they press play.

The Highest Form still has it’s moments a decade later, but I truly think Stop Signs might’ve surpassed it although I’m not sure why Confucius MC didn’t have High Focus Records distribute it because it very much sounds like something that would’ve come out of the renown Hove, East Sussex imprint. Pitch 92’s jazzy production is a huge step above Somewhere carrying the torch of Jaylib’s spirit further & Confucius’ poetic lyricism is at it’s most conscious, joined by a couple of artists on the current High Focus roster & none other than the YNR Productions founder himself.

Score: 4/5

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Confucius MC – “Somewhere” review

This is the sophomore effort from London, England, United Kingdom’s own Confucius MC. Making his full-length debut with The Highest Order produced by Keor Meteor in the spring of 2014 under the historic London underground hip hop label YNR Productions, he would go on to follow it up with his 2017 debut extended play The Artform & later form the MC/producer duo Old Paradice alongside Morriarchi. I was however intrigued upon the pairing that made The Highest Order would be reuniting for Somewhere.

After the “Welcome to Somewhere” intro, “Land of the Free” opens up with a boom bap beat talking about how sometimes things are hard to see in the titular location just before “Robots on Mars” preceding the compositional “Shadows of Yesterday” embraces a soulfully jazzier vibe instrumentally observing the crowd following the same wagon the clown borrows because they won’t listen to the return of artistry until the claps come rollin’ in. 

“Light Years” talks about the easiness of dodging the truth rather than looking back at it prior to “World Stage” featuring Jehst references WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T for a jab at those dumbin’ down their respective styles. “Gazpacho Soup” after the “Sea of Life” interlude kicks off the 2nd half of Somewhere talking about goin’ round until he burns out & vanishes while “Lanterns” featuring Jehst, Sonnyjim & Verbz finds the quartet teaming up to discuss the blue marble being under critical condition.

We have Confucius over some horns confessing he feels like he’s in the middle of somewhere between “War & Peace” until King Kashmere & Lee Scott appear for “Cicada 3301” so everyone can bring it hardcore. The soulful “Solstice” talks about developing a reputation for his high blessed poetry but once “Eyes Don’t Shine” mellowly tells the story of a man selling himself out for respect, “Song for Everyone (Somewhere)” co-produced by Jehst concludes with an appealable outro.

Experiencing a sequence of life-altering events when recording Somewhere, the Confucius MC’s chemistry with Keor Meteor retains the same energy of The Highest Order whilst aiming to give the world a deeper understanding of the mental state Confucius was in when these songs were being conceived. Keor Meteor’s jazzy production Telemachus’ mixing enhances hasn’t lost a step 7 whole years later, breaking down a mindset that allows us to see beyond the reality of our situations & where our inner selves can find solace.

Score: 3.5/5