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Verbs (previously
Knowdaverbs) has undergone some changes. Previously rocking
dreds, and a longer name he has definitely switched up a few
things, but more on that later. Verbs originally got his break
by hopping on a track with label-mates Grits, and soon after
was scooped up by Gotee Records. He now resides in Tennessee
and has released two previous albums ("DaSyllabus" and "Action
Figure"), and each time growing artistically and setting
milemarkers for his career. Will he keep it up on this third
release "Unlocked"?
"Live To The Music" opens up on a very hot beat reminiscent of
something the Neptunes might be capable of creating, upbeat
and futuristic with a middle-eastern appeal. He has definitely
exchanged his choppier lyrical rap for a smoother flowing
style, the style is a nice switch, but it appears to come at
the cost of his wittier flow we previously enjoyed. The hook
comes across forced and unimaginative as a more generic party
chorus.
"She's Ms. Sin" brings the chorus out first, and it's very
nicely led by Out of Eden (also on Gotee). The rhythm is
lacking but is made up for in content of the song overall. The
message is pretty simple and is about being smarter about the
decisions we make to step into sin by its allure. Lyrically,
mid-tempo flow is not overly creative but does bring a mild
poetic taste, but the hook is music to your ears.
"Trippin'" comes a little closer to something bumpable and has
a very bouncy beat to allow a little dancing and head-bobbing.
The hook rolls very nicely and almost demands you learn it so
that you can chant along with Verbs and GUEST, whom, while
valiantly attempting to grab the mic with authority ultimately
does not accomplish anything noteworthy. However, Verbs does a
great job on his verse style-wise, lyrically and delivering
something to make you go "hmmmmm", such as "fatherless dealin
with rage, they fight to escape the shame / fingerpointing at
knife's to blame and the bitterness begins to flame / not
seeing beyond thehood, life is automatically lacking / demons
of death on desolate blocks, and they feigning for destiny
jackings".
"Love Triangle" slows the tempo up a tad bit with a smooth
guitar (spanish guitar perhaps?) and heavy kick drum giving
the meditative aura. The hook is provided by GUEST2 and is
about average in the presentation and wording. Verbs manages a
great vocal inflection coupled with provocative lyrics
sparking deeper thought through poetic verses.
"Pre-Paid" has a very contrived chorus, Grits co-stars on the
first two verses in this uptempo party jam. The first verse is
cannon fodder but is made up for in verse two by his gritty
partner. Verbs hops on the third verse mildly overall but
drops a nice line in "the game of life will handle you in a
manly way / leave you actin Immature like you're B2K". "What
You Rock Now" bangs out the chanty chorus first, all eyes are
on Verbs this time, the beat fades gently to the background to
bring sole focus on our hero who spews the chorus "What you
rock now, and how you rock now, echoes in eternity / if it's
not you who then? / and if it's not now then when, does the
greatness begin?..." and in a verse spits "now some hate this
/ he stamps a name on the faceless / and planted his genetic
code, its DNA laced with greatness / feeling like a winner
from a sweep stakes / as we sweep breaks just to give the
listener a sweet taste". A very destiny-by-God oriented song
brings home relevance to those who are quick to listen, not a
flashy beat or super hot chorus, but lyrically capable of deep
thought and nice wordplay.
"Feelin' The Interlude" captures Verbs stepping outside of his
normal rapping voice and he switches to a reggae rap-sing
style, and it does not sound bad at all, although it may come
a little awkward at first but it does work nicely to be quite
honest. This will be a nice song to get the crowd dancing,
albeit for only two minutes since it is a rather short song.
"My Neighborhood" finds a rather laid back tone with a nice
jazzy vocal sample to make your ears attentive. Lyrics are the
core focus, but instead of the wordplay you'll find yourself
intently hearing stories of young people coming out of bad
situations to rise above the trials. Brilliant stories (which
I would assume are true) coupled with a solid beat and great
hook a la Grits.
"Run With It" is a very electronic vibe, with a grinding
bassline and plenty of electric hits. Verbally, Verbs comes
with 3 sets of 16 bars properly connecting each word with
plenty of skill. The chorus is blah, it's there but won't be
in your mind once you turn the station making this a good
track to pad the record but nothing to be remembered past the
first play. "Can You Hear Me?" is another padding for the
album, the first two verse are provided by GUEST and GUEST
respectively, and both go by unnoticed and the saving grace is
a few lines by Verbs in the third, "trained for the combat,
built rock diesel / injected with a power that can quicken
dead people / some stay sleep, but that's not us / we're
infamous and popular in the populous". The hook leaves a lot
to be desired and the beat is nothing to gain attention.
"The Before and After" is all about 9/11, the day before and
the day after. A reflective rhythm geared to spawn thoughts
invoked from the verses and chorus. A challenging song with
words like "Many got no sleep last night was restless / some
tossed and turned inside their minds with questions / like,
"where was God when terror struck our town?" / He's out where
you left him before the buildings came down". "Triumphant
Outro" lets you know up front that the chorus is weak, Verbs
kicks in with a voice that sounds like it's coming over an old
radio. The music is not too shabby and comes across rather
militant, but the track is ultimately just filler.
Overall, the album has set some landmarks for Verbs (again,
formerly Knowdaverbs) in that his production is much more
consistent than previously and his style has once again
evolved as every emcee should. Lyrically, he has not
progressed, not an altogether bad thing since he has never
been a poor lyricist however at certain times in the CD his
lyrics do regress to favor the style which compliments the
music side rather than the mental portion. It would seem to
the observer that there was concern over reaching new
audiences while maintaining the past fans, and while he will
undoubtedly gain the attention of the upcoming generation and
grasp his vision of reaching the youth there may be a trade-in
of unsatisfied Verbs fans. What should you expect when you
listen to this CD? Some nifty beats throughout, good hooks
popping up here and there and definitely some nice rapping
styles accompanied by fantastic messages for encouraging
everyone to make good decisions with their life and destiny. I
gladly give 3.5 Planets.
Track Listing:
1. Live To The Music
2. She's Ms. Sin
3. Trippin'
4. Love Triangle
5. Pre-Paid
6. What You Rock Now
7. Feelin' The Interlude
8. My Neighborhood
9. Run With It
10. Can You Hear Me?
11. The Before and After
12. Triumphant Outro
Skrabble Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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