Verb T – “To Love a Phantom” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verb T running it back with Vic Grimes for his 14th studio LP under High Focus Records. Most notable for being a member of The 4 Owls, he’s also been carving a path of his own for nearly 2 decades putting out over a dozen LPs & 8 EPs in that span of time. I didn’t care for Restoration as much as The Tower Where the Phantom Lives & the same can be said regarding both Homer Loan & it’s sequel, hoping To Love a Phantom would continue the momentum of it’s predecessor ahead of Jay Joshua becoming the new RPW British Heavyweight Champion along with the longest reigning RPW British Women’s Champion ending the current champion Mercedes Moné’s reign & Joe Lando being crowned the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion respectively this past week.

We get a somber boom bap instrumental all over the intro “Through the Wall” talking about moving more cautiously whereas “Introvert” describes a man who consistently lies with a straight because the facts are hysterical. “Illusion of Self” featuring BVA & Farma G brings the trio together so they can talk about the very thing they’ve seen many people fall victim to just before “Absorbing Imagery” captures pieces of his soul within the screen of this machine he’s lost in.

“Distraction” brings a bit of a funkier vibe to the beat making his opponents fall backwards after zapping their energy leading into “See the Truth” featuring Leaf Dog goes for a boom bap vibe once again hoping that everybody listening has all of their doubts erased & becomes proud of who they genuinely are. “Change” featuring Verbz stays in the basement instrumentally refusing to freeze when the pressure hits while “Motivation, Pt. 2” featuring Karizz finds the pair asking what their motives are.

Nearing the end of the 1st half, “Alien Concept” talks about having to shake things up to create a distance from a group of people whose conscious has been invaded by a foreign idea while the vibraphone-inflicted “No Expression” featuring Scorzayzee & Teach Em discusses their expressionlessly deadly statures. “Adrenaline” featuring Beano hops over some horns to talk about feelin’ like their hearts have been displaced while “Suspense & Tension” featuring Harry Shotta & Jah Digga describes a situation overcome with those 2 emotions.

“To Kill a Phantom” begins the 2nd act with a funkier beat talking about a ghost-hunting woman who stays stalkin’ on the ghost train while “Not There” speaks of his presence being felt even when he isn’t around at all. “Anti-Stress” talks about building himself up from ruins & not letting anyone tell him he can’t do it while “1,000 Features 2” fully colors the sketch of dreams he’s been drawing, only for his sorrow to be interrupted by the thought of his squad’s gratitude.

Vic hooks up some jazzy pianos during “Swerve a Lot” talking about being way too avoidant lately only for a switch-up to occur midway through while the laidback “By Myself” describes what it’s like whenever he’s alone. “Minimal” featuring Truemendous talks about both of them trying to take a more scarce approach to their lifestyles while “Don’t Waste Time Rushing” featuring Jayahadadream tackles the idea of making every minute count.

“Prior to Existence” smoothly advises the crowd of people whose souls have been crushed to say whatever they want as long as one learns to control their own noise after “Bring It All Together returns to the boom bap with some horns talking about combining fractured pieces, “Late to School” featuring Donkobz swaps out the horns in favor strings breaking down a gravitational pull they experienced that forced them to make a move.

The song “Rejuvenate” featuring Fliptrix starts To Love a Phantom’s final moments fusing jazz rap & boom bap talking about healing through the body, mind & soul while “Everything” featuring Isaiah Dreads explains that things around us were always meant to be connected. “Phantom Laugh” finishes up Verb’s best offering in a couple years trying to figure out if the echoing laughs of a ghost are actually a memory haunting him & the only thing he learned was to never conform.

Noticeably more ambitious than The Tower Where the Phantom Lives was a couple years earlier, Verb T bounces back from Restoration & both installments of the Homer Loan series’ averageness with a sequel to his greatest 2020s offering for an adventurous double full-length. Blurring the everyday with the supernatural conceptually, the cast of UK underground guests including the other 3 members of The 4 Owls all add their own distinctive flare to the wider narrative & Vic Grimes’ production marks a huge improvement over Verb’s recent extended plays.

Score: 4/5

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Verb T – “The Tower Where the Phantom Lives” review

Verb T is a 42 year old MC from London, England, United Kingdom known for being a part of The 4 Owls. However, he’s also been carving a path of his own since 2006 putting out a dozen LPs & 5 EPs throughout that span of time. But when I found out that Vic Grimes was being brought in to produce T’s lucky 13th full-length album under High Focus Records, it significantly raised my expectations to the point where The Tower Where the Phantom Lives could become my favorite solo effort of his.

“The Phantom Appeared” starts the LP fittingly by introducing us to the titular Phantom character over a dusty boom bap instrumental whereas “Tower With a View” ruggedly talks about the residential tower that this ghost resides in. “Inner Child” works in a dirty bass-line as well as kicks & snares detailing that you can’t believe in something that you pretend to be, but then “Very Superstitious” talks about this mythical feeling that T’s getting keeping it in boom bap turf.

On the other hand, “Fireworks & Flowers” hooks up these kicks & snares with vibraphones explaining the way he started & will end his career while “Forget Feelings” remains raw talking about walking with purpose. “I Guess?” is a piano/boom bap hybrid reminding everyone that you can’t make moves when you’re hands are tied while “The Invisible Fortress” describes the titular compound that happens to be unseen.

“New View” gives off a cloudy, boom bap edge to the beat visualizing a future that more secure continuing with a new story in his life while “4 Oh!” admitting that 4 decades of his life are on the horizon as he’s not ready over vibraphones, kicks & snares. “Your Heart Deserves” as a closer ties it all up by performing from a profound perspective.

As someone who’s been following this guy since my senior year of high school 8-9 years ago, The Tower Where the Phantom Lives certainly lived up to my expectations because I can firmly say that it’s the best that Verb T has sounded by himself. The conceptually has cohesively well-told & Vic Grimes couldn’t have been a better person to do the musical backings helping bring T’s story to life.

Score: 4/5

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The 4 Owls – “Nocturnal Instinct” review

The 4 Owls are a boom bap quartet from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of BVA, Fliptrix, Leaf Dog & Verb T. Making their full-length debut Nature’s Greatest Mystery under High Focus Records during my freshman year of high school, their sophomore effort Natural Order came out a few months prior to my graduation & have since considered “Think Twice” to be the greatest single of their career. 5 years later, the group’s returning for their 4th studio album a month since the COVID-19 pandemic began globally.

“Sound the Alarm” featuring Smellington Piff begins with all 4 of them over a boom bap instrumental from Leaf Dog promising to behead everyone questioning their leadership whereas “Coming Home” find the Owls talking about dumping every & all toxic styles into the wasteland. Kool G Rap joins forces over a vocal sample during “Pioneer” to see who has the most intricate pen of the 5 just before “Be Free” carries forward talking about the whole idea of freedom.

The 2nd single “Honor Codes” ponders if one’s capable of making the right choices & making changes to their lives while “Life Lines” continues to let Leaf Dog’s ear for sampling shine dropping off 4 rapid-fire verses in the midst of it all. DJ Premier returns behind the boards for the 3rd & final single “100%” assured their story will be told like Atilla the Hun while “Air Strike” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man references Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne.

“Dark Days” featuring Roc Marciano continues the 2nd half with an organ-heavy boom bap beat ripping it hardcore for almost 5 minutes without the need of a hook & after “Let Go” confesses the Owls’ awareness of having things they need to stop holding onto like giving a fuck about whatever others nearby think of you over an orchestral flip, “Deadly Movements” featuring Masta Killa tells the story a man with a heart of gold becoming increasingly weaker as he gets older going from a once sharp & full mind that’s now clouded & diseased.

To start Nocturnal Instinct’s encore, the song “Lessons” blends kicks & snares with a guitar sample talking about studying the essence while “I Got You” speaks of the Owls trying to free themselves mentally whilst searching for another world & feeling something within the air once they’ve gone through the open portal over this boom bap instrumental radiating a mafioso atmosphere to it. Regarding the outro, we’re presented a soulful sequel to “All My Life” off Nature’s Greatest Mystery revisiting the predecessor’s themes nearly a decade earlier.

Yearning to elevate themselves further, The 4 Owls recruit a handful of East Coast veterans to accompany them behind the mic besides Smellington on the intro to further exemplify their status as the greatest boom bap group that the UK hip hop scene has to offer only a few months deep into this new decade. The production is a lot similar to Natural Order’s in that it’s almost entirely handled by Leaf Dog with the exception of Preemo doing a track & every single member pushing themselves lyrically farther than they did over the course of their last couple LPs.

Score: 4.5/5

Verb T – “Good Evening” review

Dublin, Ireland beatsmith Pitch 92 from The Mouse Outfit fully producing London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verb T’s 8th solo LP. A member of The 4 Owls, he would also make his debut in mid-late 2000s off Bring It Back to Basics as well as Broken Window & Verbs with a Vengeance. These would be followed by Serious Games, which later resulted in T making his High Focus Recordsdebut with Morning Process & I Remain. Coming off The Man with the Foggy Eyes produced by Illinformed, I felt it would be exciting to hear Pitch 92 fully produce Good Evening.

“Arrived Late” begins with an organ & some kicks & snares talking about finding to the worst to define your world whereas “Getaway Car” swaps out the organ in favor of a vibraphone confessing things get eerier the more his squad travels. “Mechanical” continues the jazzy boom bap vibes talking about the understandability of living mechanically while “Possession” featuring King Kashmere speaks of this being the type of shit that sinks in slowly.

Ocean Wisdom joins T during “Lie Low” sampling “Parle Plus Blas” by Dalida sending a message to those living in fear leading into the atmospherically dusty “That Sound” talks about feeling some kind of magic in the air. “Mates Rates” featuring Black Josh, Moreone & Rye Shabby finds the quartet comparing their lyrics to gold just before the crooning “When Not To” featuring BVA & Fliptrix superiorly laughs off those snitching on themselves.

“Games” combines boom bap & funk talking about how hard it is to stay sane with everything going on in this world presently while “Sends Me Away” featuring Sparkz jazzily talks about looking for tomorrow only for it to eventually come. “Everything That You Love” turns the funkiness back up suggesting a whole tightly to everything you love me & dear to your heart while “Sugar” playfully talks about him trying to stay the same since everyone’s sweet until they begin to decay.

DRS appears on “They Say”, kicking off Good Evening’s final quarter funkily remembering the late Salford John while “Many Miles” stand happily looking back at all the things he’s done in his career. The title track featuring Confucius MC & Jehst brings the trio together advising to stay seeing what they’ve been seeing while “Break Limits” wraps it all up with a motivational outro encouraging the world not to slip & pick themselves back up.

Stretching back to the days of when Low Life Records was in it’s prime & now envisioning himself as a major part of the ever expanding High Focus Records movement, Verb T uses an outstandingly fresh batch of jazzy & funky boom bap production Pitch 92 has become known for since The Mouse Outfit was around engineered by Telemachus to pen some of the most personal songwriting of his entire career & my favorite guest appearances personally being the ones coming out of the High Focus alumni.

Score: 3.5/5