Smif-n-Wessun – “Infinity” review

Brooklyn, New York duo Smif-n-Wessun consisting of Tek & Steele of the Boot Camp Clik returning with Jamla Records’ in-house production team The Soul Council for their 8th studio LP. Their 1995 debut Dah Shinin’ is widely regarded as an East Coast classic & the Pete Rock produced Monumental, I enjoy almost as much. The All maintain the high quality consistency of Monumental by teaming with The Soul Council for the first time, looking to do it again 6 years later on Infinity.

The title track produced by Khrysis begins The All sequel by promising that they’ll be here for eternity whereas “Moses Promise” takes the soulful boom bap route instrumentally needing the whole team to be straight in order to catch wins. “Namaste” romantically tells their partners they ain’t in a rush tonight with the help of Ka$h behind the boards leading into “Medina” featuring Pharoahe Monch bringing it hardcore over a vocal sample from Sndtrak.

“Black Eminence” featuring the late Prodigy exuberantly turns it up after being asked to tone it down some while “Chuuch” works in a gospel flip talking about keeping it rolling whether it be better or worse. “Beautiful Trip” keeps the sampling chops going flexing that the reach they have has been global for 3 decades, but then “Enjoy Ya Life” brings these pianos in the fold courtesy of 9th Wonder talking about making the best of the short time we have here on Earth.

As for “Shine”, we have Tek & Steele heading for a groovier approach explaining that they value those they battle for while “Just Stay!” featuring Conway the Machine hops over this crooning vocal sample to talk about running through whole entire squads. “On My Soul” featuring Buckshot finds the trio tackling the theme of loyalty & camaraderie while “Heard About Me” featuring the late Sean Price soulfully asks if you heard everything said regarding them lately.

“Elephant in the Room” hits the final moments of Infinity with the 2nd & final single talking about never being traitors because they find those type of people to be worse than bitches & the Nottz-laced closer “Bad Guy” rounds it all out by making everyone listening choose between whether they want to hear the ugly truth or a pretty lie being told to them when most would rather pick the pretty lies since honesty hurts sometimes.

Several years after The Soul Council first got with Smif-n-Wessun, the Jamla in-house production team ensures that Infinity didn’t sound dated it all by giving the duo the classic sound they’re known for & making it feel new in the process. They reflect of their life experiences after all these decades refusing to curve to conformity & staying true to their roots with a great list of guests in addition to the stellar production.

Score: 4.5/5

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Khrysis – “The Hour of Khrysis” review

Khrysis is a 39 year old producer & occasional MC from Durham, North Carolina coming up 1/2 of the duo The Away Team alongside Sean Boog. He’s also a key member of Jamla Records’ in-house production team The Soul Council, lacing a chockfull of albums for the label up to this point. But with 4 solo albums under his belt already, Khrysis is celebrating 4/20 by dropping a 5th one.

The opener “Never Change” is actually Khrysis himself spitting about always staying true over some bongos & a guitar, but then the next song “Granted” by Mumu Fresh is literally her expressing hope that she doesn’t get taken for granted over a funky instrumental with some popping drums. The song “Delta9” by Geechi Suede is of course about getting stoned & the instrumental has a trippier edge to it, but then “Mr. Big Mouth II” by De La Soul goes into a boom bap direction as the trio deliver a sequel to “Big Mouth” off their 2009 mixtape Are You In?.

The Away Team reunite like they haven’t stopped working together on the keyboard-laced “The Return” & then “Why?” by Jason Martin is about being clueless towards the haters he has on top of a soul sample & some militant drums. The song “Asylum” by Evidence is more synth-induced as he spits about being an original gentleman, but then “Colombian Necktie” returns to the boom bap sound as Niko Is delivers one of the more underwhelming performances on the album.

“The Code” by Chi-Ali is a jazzier cut that’s about him being happy to be released from prison after murdering his ex-girlfriend’s brother while “The Devil Wears Designer” by Reuben Vincent is about a deceitful woman over a horn-inflicted beat. “Negro Spiritual” finds Khrysis joining Busta Rhymes & Pharoahe Monch has a crooning vocal sample in the back as the trio spit that Black Power shit, but then “The Disrespect” by Rapsody & Sa-Roc goes into that College Dropout sound as the 2 go in about being disrespected.

The penultimate track “Keep on Walkin’” by Del the Funky Homosapien is a piano-boom bap banger about how nobody owes you shit & then the album finishes off with “Be Alright”, which is Khrysis himself hopping on top of a soul-tinged Eric G. instrumental to spit about working too hard for earn loyalty.

In comparison to his previous solo efforts, I think this is Khrysis’ best one yet. There are only a couple guests I could’ve done without, but almost every one of them delivery fiery performances as the dude presents a well-tuned showcasing of what he’s capable of doing behind the boards with a dash of his MC skills every here & there.

Score: 4/5

Smif-n-Wessun – “The All” review

Smif-n-Wessun are a legendary Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo consisting of Tek & Steele from the Boot Camp Clik. Their 1995 debut Dah Shinin’ is widely regarded as an East Coast classic & now just 8 years after the Pete Rock produced Monumental marked an official return to form for the Cocoa Brovaz, they’re making their return with their 7th full-length album with Jamla Records in-house production team The Soul Council producing it in it’s entirety.

After the “Education of Smif-n-Wessun” intro, the first song “Testify” sees the duo looking back at their career over a boom bap beat with a faint vocal sample popping in & out from 9th Wonder & Khrysis. The track “Dreamland” with Raekwon sees the 3 reminiscing on their childhoods over a settle instrumental while the song “Ocean Drive” with Rapsody is a Bonnie & Clyde-esque tune over a keyboard-inflicted boom bap beat. The track “Let It Go” talks about murdering their competition over a boom bap beat with a dinky keyboard-lead.

The track “Letter 4 U” is a dedication to their families over some punchy drums while the song “Let Me Tell” with Rick Ross sees the 3 getting confrontational over an eerie beat. The title track gets boastful about their skills over an ominous beat while the song “We Good” with GQ pretty much speaks for itself over a moody beat. The track “StahfAllah” talks about being cut from a different cloth over a boom bap beat with a quiet-horn lead while the song “Illusions” tells the story of a dumb dude in the streets over a boom bap beat with some eerie background vocals. The album then ends with “1 Time” talking about their legacy over a jazzy-boom bap beat. Overall, this was a damn near perfect comeback for the duo. It’s focused, the lyrics are insightful & the production from The Soul Council suits them fantastically.

Score: 4.5/5