Album Review: Elzhi - Elmatic

If anyone was ever suited to recreating Illmatic, It was Elzhi (and no, not because 'El' is similar to 'ill'...smh). His rhyme scheme heavy bars and 'street' orientated content, together with his flawless flow are a great match to what Nas was doing in the mid 90's. What ELzhi has managed to do though is pay tribute to the classic LP while putting his won touch to it. Will Sessions did a, quite frankly, brilliant job in recreating the production while adding a Detroit feel to it and some of the intro's/outro's are stunning, particuarly the intro to Represent (man does that get me pumped!) and the outro to 'One Love'. Elzhi himself is pretty much flawless and puts on one of his best performances to date with his take on 'Memory Lane' being one of my favourite tracks of his to date.

So I visited places where spots got shot on a daily basis
Where kids pull triggers with babyfaces
Wait, I must be on the wrong side of the lane trail
Where they rob memory banks and end up in the brain cell
Where all my misery and pain dwell
I'm said to leave out my state of mind before the train bail

Much like the original record there is zero filler and the whole release has a ton of replay value. I'd say the only real mishap is the lone guest verse, Royce's on 'Life's A Bitch'. No one expected him to compete with AZ's classic bars but he could have at least put in one of his better verses knowing the comparisons that were going to be drawn.

Highlights: Detroit State of Mind, Memory Lane, Represent
Lowlights: None

Rating: 9.0/10

More Elzhi: Check out his Black Milk produced debut, 'The Preface'.

The Friday Posse Cut: Binary Star ft. Various Artists - K.G.B

This track right here is from what is possibly the most underrated Hip-Hop album ever, Binary Star's Masters of the Universe. K.G.B is the last on the album and it's a dark, grimey, vocal 'chant' led beat with over 6 minutes of non-stop rapping; no choruses, no scratches, just bars. Funnily enough, the two members of Binary Star (One Be Lo and Senim Silla) are pretty disappointing in comparison to their previous efforts on the album and it's the more unknown featured artists that really steal the show.

Malaki  > Lacks  > Elzhi  > J.U.I.C.E  > Senim Silla  > Texture  > One Be Lo  > O-Type Star

'A wack MC is something I could never be
that's like tryna grow dreadlocks while on chemotherapy'

Rating: 7.5/10

Lyrics

Further Listening: Check out the groups album, Masters of the Universe, a brilliant record.


Previously: The Friday Posse Cut: Army of the Pharaohs - Battle Cry | The Friday Posse Cut: Kanye West - So Appalled ft. Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cyhi Da Prince, The RZA & Swizz Beatz
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Elzhi ft. Royce Da 5'9 - Motown 25 (Prod. Black Milk)

' n****s call me arrogant
That's because I'm confident, I found it when I found a pen '

It'd be hard not to be a bit confident, arrogant or downright cocky after releasing a track like this. Back in 08' when this first dropped with Elzhi's Europass CD I played the hell out of it. Then i forgot about it for a few months until the song re-appeared AGAIN on Elzhi's debut, The Preface. And then I played the hell out of it all over again. Elzhi's combines some great schemes with one of the best flows in the game while Royce comes in and shows why, at times, he's capable of possibly having THE best flow in the game. This is when Royce was probably at his peak (prior to his falling off post-Bar Exam 2) and he was capable of outshining anyone and everyone. Not to be outdone, Black Milk, one of the best producers in Hip-Hop and a personal favourite of mine, whips up one of his trademark vocal sample led beats that's just as much a  highlight as either of the verses.

9.5/10

Lyrics

If you're keen for more Elzhi check out his debut album The Preface