Tag: Still

Micall Parknsun – “Still” review

This is the 7th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Micall Parknsun. Making his debut under Low Life Records in 2005 describing life as The Working Class Dad, his debut mixtape The Interview would be his last offering for the label & signed to YNR Productions to release the sophomore effort 1st 2nd Time Around as well as Me, Myself & Akai. I Should’ve Done This Time Ago was ok, but his Boot Recordsdebut Practicing Tag Team Moves at the beginning of 2017 was better. Coming off the superior Back in Business EP however, we’re getting a statement regarding him Still being here.

The self-produced “Same Difference” opens up with a drumless intro clocking at 2 & a half minutes talking about him continuing to try to make change whereas “Kept Going” has a jazzier vibe instrumentally expressing his refusal of hanging it up. The title track stylistically takes the boom bap route responding to people wanting to know if he’s lost a step leading into “Same Ol’” featuring Kyza Sayso & Skriblah bringing the trio together to talk about not changing.

“Sorry 4 the Wait” incorporates some buzzing synthesizers apologizing for how long it took him to make Still just before “From King to a Gawd” featuring Joker Starr comes through with my personal favorite guest appearance, stripping the drums again to talk about their own separate elevations over some horns. “Do Dat” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of simply doing his own thing while “The Harvest” featuring Naughtz hops over a funky loop dropping boastful lyricism.

As for “In & Out (Make It Count)”, we have Micall talking about the fact that people are either determined to chase success or they’re not while “Ever Since” opulently discusses his discography evidently testifying to his legacy in the UK hip hop scene. “Back” has a gullier approach stylistically talking about his return & the drumless closer “Own It” sends off the album defining dopeness, including a spoken word outro performed by his son Josiah.

Spending the last 3 years producing for local artists including Axel Holy & Juga-Naut to name a couple, Still has noticeably lesser guest appearances Micall Parknsun’s previous full-length The Magnum Opus produced by Giallo Point although it’s exciting to hear him producing a great majority of it. Some might even find themselves disappointed with the predominantly drumless sound, but it doesn’t bother me since his passionate performances additionally make it worth your time.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Clear Soul Forces – “Still” review

7335229.jpeg

The Clear Soul Forces are a hip hop quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of E-Fav, Ilajide, L.A.Z. & Noveliss. They blew up at the beginning of 2012 with the viral sensation of their “Get No Better” music video but now 7 years later, they’re delivering their 5th full-length album.

Things kick off with “Blaow”, where the 4 spit battle bars over a semi-jazzy boom bap beat. The song “Hit Me Now” is a perfect display of their skills over a vibrant boom bap beat while the track “Diamond Rhymin'” is a chilled out crowd mover comparing themselves to former 3-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE tag team champion & WCW World Television Champion Diamond Dallas Page refusing to join the nWo. The “Sword Play” remix is a pretty great revision of the song that the group did on Noveliss’ Kenjutsu Under the Moonlight EP from a couple years back while the song “Kick It” kinda reminds of the classic Tribe Called Quest track with the same name, but updated for a modern audience.

The track “Dinner Time” is filled with lyrical acrobatics over a J Dilla-esque instrumental while the song “They Shootin'” is a flawless display of the quartet’s chemistry referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Rick Rude accompanied by a mellow beat with some thumping drums. The track “Say (What)” is a well put together freestyle with a funky beat & after the “Still Enterlude”, the penultimate song “Pump Pump” is an infectious club banger. The album then finishes with “Don’t Stop”, which is a 7 & a half minute odyssey about their success including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer as well as former WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion The Godfather a.k.a. Papa Shango.

This is easily the group’s best album yet, in my opinion. The chemistry between each member is tighter than ever, their lyricism has gotten a lot more sharper with time & the production has that Detroit soul to it making the palates sounds gorgeous. If they continue to outdo themselves with each album like this, then I have a feeling that they’ll grow closer to reaching the potential as one of the greatest groups to come out of Detroit.

Score: 4/5