Album Review: Open Mike Eagle ‘4NML HSPTL’
Open Mike Eagle’s second official studio album, 2011’s Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, featured the standout single “Nightmares” and helped propel Mike to a new level of fame and success on the indie hip hop circuit. Instead of resting on his laurels after releasing two excellent albums in two years, Mike has continued to work at a frenetic pace. Unlike some artists who try to strike when the iron is hot and end up diluting their rep through half-assed, pandering projects and collaborations, Open Mike continued to improve and release the best music of his life (including 2 killer EP’s) in the months preceding the release of his new album 4NML HSPTL (pronounced Animal Hospital), a full length collaboration with UK producer Awkward. While I’ve always had a great respect for Open Mike Eagle’s unique brand of rap music, I was secretly hoping his recent hot streak was an indicator of something special in the works. 4NML HSPTL is that something special.
Right from the first track “Starz” it becomes obvious that Mike has turned into one of the best pure rappers in the game. Previously known for his vocal experimentation, witty one-liners and concepts, Open Mike Eagle sounds like he really wants to be taken seriously on this album. It still contains all the idiosyncrasies of his earlier work, but there seems to be a level of focus and depth that he hasn’t really attained before. Casually dropping gems like “this is rap for the monks on the 8 paths/ those still getting crunk need a late pass”. His perfected, authoritative flow begs you to hang on every line and take a journey into your own mind.
The concept of the second song “HSPTL” seems to be a central theme to the album. The song’s reflective tone demonstrates how various events in our life shape our decisions and perspectives. Open Mike uses the word hospital in a literal and in a metaphorical sense- “I thought I was responsible, then they brought me to the hospital”. In this chaotically random world, a life changing event is always right around the corner. The hospital represents a place that is an epicenter for those types of events- births, deaths, surgeries, illnesses etc. Everyone has their own “HSPTL”, or eye opening event, and Open Mike Eagle seems intrigued by how these extreme situations and events shape our lives. Mike reflects on how life’s turning points have forced him to reevaluate his relationships with alcohol, his friends and fellow artists, and the world around him. While Mike doesn’t look at his past through rose colored glasses, he accepts the man he has become and is content with his life.
The other half of the album’s title is represented by the song “4NML”. Going even further down the rabbit hole, “4NML” finds Open Mike sounding like A Book of Human Language era Aceyalone as he taps into his animal instincts and considers how much our perception and methods of communication limit our expansive thoughts. The song’s tongue twisting verses are only topped only by its layered, mind-bending chorus- “the truth is your thought and not what you said/ cause language is prison for what’s in your head/ the thought is a mountain of matter/ the word is a shred of what’s in your head, I said/ the truth isn’t guilty or innocence pled/ language is prison for what’s in your head/ the thoughts and the feelings are living, the symbols are dead/ the symbols are simple”. On the 2nd part of the chorus he breaks down human nature even further- “when you’re all alone you are an animal/ the words I’m saying now mean nothing more than meow to an animal”. By making songs like “4NML”, Open Mike Eagle is stepping into that rare territory as an artist where he’s transcending his peers and truly making timeless music. This type of artistic achievement doesn’t happen overnight and is hard to quantify in the modern flavor-of-the-minute climate, but it feels like music that was made for anyone and everyone at the same time.
Making the universal seem personal is one of Open Mike Eagle’s greatest strengths as a rapper and the song “Universe Man” is a great example of that. Throughout the song Open Mike gives advice on how to live a life of simple joy. Mike describes his verses as “advice from a lunatic” who wants you to “cherish the little things”. As always, Mike finds a way to slip his sardonic wit into his lines which give his verses an uncommon depth- “hold head high like the guy on the New Yorker/ though, that guy reminds me of slavery/ I’ll let that inspire me to bravery”. Frequent collaborator Serengeti closes the song with a spectacular verse that works as an ode to optimism and obscurity- “Any place could be great if you have a little grace/ Paris could be boring too, even Vegas in space dog”.
Serengeti may be the standout guest appearance, but everyone Open Mike tabs to appear adds something unique and fits into his concepts perfectly. Megabusive and Finiki McGee both kill it on “Black Clouds” while Has-Lo combines with Open Mike on “Your Back Pack Past”, a comical concept track that sees the MC’s describing how easy it is for boom-bap dinosaurs to ignore their roots and jump on the hot new trend, whether it’s switching to harder drugs or to skinny jeans. Mike’s Hellfyre Club homie Nocando lends two visual verses to the insanely addictive “Free-Writing Exercise” before Mike blacks out at the end of the song- “If I was Johnny Gill I’d be mad at The Weeknd/ I guess shit’s different when you market it to white folks/ I had a hold on my hate for the R&B/ but goddamit the string to my kite broke/ eh…I guess I fucked off my Drake collab/ I’ll just take a bath and watch some more Breaking Bad”. One of the best guest verses comes from Danny Brown on “Cobra Commander”, a bonus song that’s only found on the digital version of 4NML HSPTL. The duo blames all of the world’s problems on GI Joe’s chief nemesis, Cobra Commander. Danny Brown’s verse hilariously details his lack of enthusiasm for his short stint in prison, which is a great contrast to Mike’s profile of Cobra Commander and his various despicable acts.
Throughout Open Mike Eagle’s career, his boundless creativity has made it seem that he could take any number of paths. His music can be many things at the same time. This could be a curse as well as a gift, but he finds a way to bring it all together on 4NML HSPTL. His producer Awkward definitely deserves a lot of credit for the cohesive, focused sound of the album, as the concepts and song aesthetics are all over the place as usual. This is the first album Open Mike has made using one producer, and although Mike and Awkward have collaborated to great effect in the past, having one primary musical collaborator that he’s familiar with has freed up Mike to make music without having to think too much. As different as songs like the playful “One Day” and “Dancebill” are from the meditative “4NML” and “Self Medication Chant”, every song is made with a confidence and zeal that is engaging and even overpowering at times. The understated beat on “The Financial Crisis That Wouldn’t Go Away” put’s Mike’s brilliant deconstruction of the financial crisis in clear view, while still maintaining a musical feel and helping to build a swirling atmosphere. Awkward has a modern production style that allows him to custom build and produce tracks for Mike rather than just giving him a ‘beat’. Awkward’s contributions to “Universe Man”, “4NML”, and “Free-Writing Exercises” particularly stand out, showing off a percussive style that incorporates subtle, three-dimensional sampling and compliments Mike’s nuanced rhyme schemes.
Open Mike Eagle continues to surprise me with his development with each and every release. 4NML HSPTL is one of the best albums I’ve heard in several years and is undoubtedly his finest moment as an artist to this point. While he may have a hard time topping its greatness in the future, there’s no reason to think he’ll have any kind of a drop off. The great ones make it seem effortless and that’s exactly what’s happened with Mike on all of his recent material. Whether Mike would admit it or not, he knows he’s making some special music at the moment and he seems to be enjoying every minute of it. Buy the album on iTunes or via Circle Into Square.
Connect with Open Mike Eagle via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Album Review: Smoke Dza ‘Rugby Thompson’
When I listen to music, I prefer to listen to albums. A good, varied playlist is great, especially when you hang out with people with far ranging musical palates, but there’s nothing like an artist, or a group of artists, having a vision for an album and seeing it through. While hip hop as a whole has gravitated more towards singles in recent years, the hip hop album is back in 2012. LP’s like Ka’s Grief Pedigree, billy woods’ History Will Absolve Me, and Nacho Picasso’s Exalted are powerful and cohesive artistic statements that have forced me to make time to listen to them over and over again. Smoke Dza’s Rugby Thompson is another one of those albums. I’ve been aware of Smoke Dza for a minute, and while his laid back flow and minimalist style hasn’t really wowed me in the past, the self-dubbed “Kushed God” has come into his own on Rugby Thompson. Assisted greatly by NYC producer of the moment Harry Fraud, who produced the album front to back, Rugby Thompson is the album Dza was born to make.
The album title is a play on words involving Smoke Dza’s love for Polo “Rugby” shirts and Steve Buscemi’s win-at-all-costs Boardwalk Empire character Nucky Thompson. On most of his previous projects Dza has been content to stay in the ‘weed rapper’ lane, and while there are still plenty of reefer references throughout the album, Dza comes with a different perspective on Rugby Thompson. He focuses on survival and success through the lens of his drug hustling past and music hustling present, complete with a more rugged style to match Harry Fraud’s raw production. Dza starts out the album with possibly the two finest solo songs he’s ever made in “Rugby Thompson” and “New Jack”. The slow, smoky groove on the title track allows Dza to display his great stream-of-consciousness wordplay “He only pick up when the money’s calling him”, while “New Jack” is a stylistic statement of arrival over the type of hard hitting beat that’s quickly making Harry Fraud a household name. Dza rhymes- “Bitch I’m way iller than your boyfriend/ plus I make more money, you think he cool cuz he ball overseas?/ Shit I ball overseas too, I’m in the game, he won’t never see the league true”. These types of lines show the confidence that touring the world with some of hip hop’s brightest young stars has given to Smoke Dza, allowing him to truly embrace rap as a career.
I first heard Smoke Dza through his work with New Orleans rapper Curren$y and his “Jet Life” crew, of which Dza is practically an honorary member. Curren$y, the current crown prince of weed rap, recently released his major label debut The Stoned Immaculate and lends a stellar verse to the players’ anthem “Baleedat”, making it one of the album’s standout cuts. While Smoke Dza owes a lot of his success to his affiliation with Curren$y, Curren$y’s recent output suggests he could learn a thing or two from Dza about quality control. The Stoned Immaculate falls victim to a lot of the common pitfalls of hip hop albums that Rugby Thompson avoids. Loaded with random guests and inconsistent production, Curren$y’s still solid album shows why making a good major label album can be a tricky proposition. Its singles based format will undoubtedly bring Curren$y a lot of new fans, but as a stand-alone album, it doesn’t work nearly as well as his previous ventures, and Dza and Harry Fraud’s tightly crafted effort makes the disparity even more clear.
Smoke Dza’s greatest strengths as an artist are his ear for beats, his ability to seek out high quality collaborators, and his ability to adapt his style to create seamless collaborations. On Rugby Thompson everyone comes with their A-game, making it the rare hip hop album where every guest is a welcome addition. Dza enlists west coast rhymers Domo Genesis and Schoolboy Q on the braggadocious “Ashtray”, where Q’s choppy flow in particular demonstrates why he’s one of the most sought after young talents in the game. Smoke Dza’s verse makes clear that while he doesn’t sell drugs anymore, it’s a legitimate part of his past and not something he plays up like so many run-of-the-mill trap rappers. Hustling may have been a necessity for Dza at one point in time, but he sounds comfortable trading that life for his new hustle, music.
Not only does Smoke Dza work with MC’s from all over the country, he also works with MC’s from all different age brackets. New York’s younger generation shows up through A.$.A.P. Twelvyy and Action Bronson’s appearances on “Game 7” and “Turnbuckle” respectively. Twelvyy contributes a slurred chorus and a standout coming-of-age verse to “Game 7” while Bronson and Dza trade visual tag-team verses on “Turnbuckle’s” shimmering reggae influenced soundscape. NY’s older generation is represented through appearances by Boot Camp Click legend Sean Price and fellow Polo aficionado Thirstin Howl III.
It seems as if Smoke Dza made all the right decisions in making Rugby Thompson, but tapping Harry Fraud to produce the entire album was undoubtedly his best one. Fraud has built a buzz through his work with Bad Boy’s French Montana and is now working with everyone from Action Bronson to Rick Ross. A Brooklyn native, Harry Fraud grew up with musician parents who helped foster his passion for making music. His unique use of various drums and drum patterns is probably his greatest strength as a producer, but his eclectic sample choices and subtle layering allow him to tailor his tracks to the artists that he works with. His constantly evolving style incorporates chopped and screwed choruses on “Ashtray” and “Rivermonts”, layered and shifting samples on “Kenny Powers”, and even a jazzy golden beat on “Playground Legend”. Rugby Thompson is one of those albums where the sum result is greater than the individual parts. Smoke Dza may never be considered an all-world MC, but with the help of Harry Fraud and several friends he has created an album that is quite simply one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. Grab your copy of the album.
Connect with Smoke Dza via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Rapper to Watch: Boldy James
Listening to Boldy James rap is a visual experience. If his music is given the proper attention it can transport the listener not just into James’ surroundings, but straight into his mentality and thought process as well. His rhyme schemes and vocal inflections are rather straightforward, making it hard for a casual listener to pick up the subtle wordplay and detailed storytelling that he is so adept at. Boldy’s hood-kingpin persona is neither a new nor original perspective in rap music, but since the Clipse’s coke-rap opus Hell Hath No Fury was released in 2006, I haven’t heard a rapper who combines still-in-the-trap street authenticity with a love of words any better than Boldy James. His rhymes are seemingly very personal and totally detached at the same time. He’s telling his own story and reveals several details about his rough upbringing throughout his work, but it feels like he writes for people with shared experiences who treat hustling as a daily operation rather than a short term means to an end.
It seems that Boldy glorifies hustling not just because he can or to sell records, but because it’s something he’s always done and something he’s been very good at. While it might seem that he’s been desensitized to the negative aspects of hustling by the drive for success, the craftsmanship and wise-beyond-his-years insight found in his writing shows a man who revels in daily successes while keeping the big picture in focus and still being able to learn from his mistakes. His reported exploits are usually believable because of the details, whether he’s using intricate mathematical wordplay and street lingo, or revealing specific pitfalls and glories that only personal experience could bring to light.
Boldy has released two full length mixtapes in less than a year’s time, last year’s proper introduction Trappers Alley: Pro’s & Con’s and the excellent Consignment: Favor for a Favor, released in February. While he doesn’t have quite the buzz yet that those two projects and his affiliation with popular rap duo the Cool Kids should warrant, he’s been working a lot more lately, appearing a couple times on the latest posthumous J Dilla release Rebirth of Detroit, as well as a feature on The Alchemist’s upcoming producer album Russian Roulette. Expect to see Boldy James’ name more and more over the next year as he continues to expand his profile. His first official solo album will be released on Decon Records and will be fully produced by the The Alchemist. Before grabbing his free mixtapes and getting fully up to speed, check out his numerous videos on Youtube and his new single “For The Birds” produced by the Cool Kids’ Chuck Inglish.
Connect with Boldy James via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Thought on Tracks 