Tag: Eligh

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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The Grouch & Eligh – “What Would Love Do?” review

The Grouch & Eligh are a duo from California who both came up in the mid-90’s as members of the seminal West Coast underground outfit Living Legends & unified as a pair in 2000 off their full-length debut G&E Music. This was followed up with No More Greener Grasses in ‘03 & then Say G&E! in ‘09, but started focusing on other projects after the release of 333 in 2014. However about 7 & a half years later, they’ve seen fit to reunite in the form of their 4th album.

After the titular intro, “Love Feels” is a beautiful piano-laced opener asking if the listener is vibing with them leading into “Dreams” euphorically going back & forth about some of the dreams that they’ve had themselves. “Handball” weaves in a mesmerizing vocal sample putting both of their charisma on display whereas the Mistah F.A.B.-assisted “Ghost” has a bit of a snappy instrumental comparing themselves to the supernatural.

“Because” basically describes being married to the game accompanied by a hollow beat just before “The Call” serves as an empowering tribute to all the Kings & Queens in the world. “Piano God” does it’s job mystically painting an image of the titular behind, but then “Good as You” comes off a sweet letter to their significant others.

Meanwhile on “Don’t Say”, we have G&E going into tropical turf telling listeners that only love can bring you to a new day leading into Eli-Mac tagging along to express their desires to be “Like Water” & the downtuned guitar tone kinda reminds me of “Laffy Taffy” for whatever reason.

“Train Song” comes through with a somber traveling man anthem, but then “Never Kill” whips up a minimal beat speaking out against murder. After the titular interlude, the title track smoothly ponders if love was an actual person & then “Girl Be Loved” rounds out the album with a touching letter to the duo themselves.

For as long as it took, I think What Would Love Do is a welcoming comeback for the duo. Their chemistry is still one of a kind after being in the game for over 2 decades & the production (mostly handled by Eligh) sets a different vibe for each cut.

Score: 3.5/5