4. Uh! (Interlude)

Albums like this are rare. Well, Mykill Miers, Bumpy Knuckles kinda do it too, but when was the last time you heard a straight boom bap hip hop album? A linear album. An album that just is straight up, forward hip hop. Without gimmicks, without blah blah and whatever. Just straight. That's what "Eugenics" is. And self made man Toronto, Canada native Anonymous Twist did the beats, he spit the rhymes, he did the scratching. This is some truly doing for delf type album. It's dope. It's straight up hip hop.

Starting up with a not listed intro, that's followed by "On The Fritz", that introduces Anon's formula: Scratches, battle rhymes and a lot of boom for the bap. The original version can't live up to the dopeness of the remix, coming up later on the album, so lets progress to "The Real Ill". Now this is some rowdy shit. Scratching up KRS-One, slicing horns, few sound effects, a rather limited drum, but everything choppy, this will tempt you to put "911 on speed dial". Next up is "Fresh Communication". By now you will realize that this is some mid 90s flavor. Lyrically Anon is still bragging and boasting, and the mix of the track is so crystal clear that you can follow every single word with ease. And their straight forwardness complements the musical backdrop pleasingly.

After the short "Uh!", the horn heavy hook of "Rap Insomniac" steals itself through the speaker. Two dope voice samples: "before I fall asleep", and Nas' famous "I never sleep" quote, give the track a nice little break in the middle. Then there's the slow tempo "Handle This", that again grabs our attention with opening scratches. The previously mentioned "On The Fritz" remix sets the energy level a notch higher, and sounds like a long missed track from Del's "No Need For Alarm" album. On the rhyme tip, Anon spits "silence is golden, but my voice is platinum". So you get punchlines, a Method Man voice sample, a very dope beat. Damn. One of the highlights of the album. And so what we need now is a break. And Anon gives himself one, with the chilling "Dyspnea" interlude.

Cause the album picks up where it left with "Mufukawhut". The piano and guitar goes back and forth (check that, it's kinda nice) and Anon declares, that he's "the self contained bomb unit". Again a short interlude, and then "Bombing" just does bomb your ears with more funk for your trunk. This time, it's not all about bragging, but more on the space tip, rhyming "future fossils for aliens to research / how the fifth dimension could evolve from the green earth". Add to this a nice little screaming scratch and a lot of boom. Yo, and Anon keeps on bringing it with "Runnin' Up On Ya". This could be a Dilated Peoples track, and Anon even sounds a little like them rhyming. Next up is "Emceesquared", another interlude, before Anon goes into the lyrical supreme "Splinters". Talking about the state of hip hop, he is one of the few that actually can claim to go 'against the grain'. Again a dope beat comes with the rhymes, as said, the formula is a constant throughout the album. So again on the remix of "Mufukawhut", a cut that switches things beatwise, with an awkward challenging of what we heard on the rest of the album, and Anon goes "I don't bite styles, but I bite nipples if she's freaky". And he ends this album with "The Rebuttal". The sparkling piano leads us to the door, and we know, we have experienced one hell of a show.

Well, what could be criticized is, that Anon borrows vibes from other artists, or better, seems to be strongly influenced and inspired by them. The lyrics also base upon bragging and battling, and the formula of boom beats, scratches and bragging is upheld throughout the album. But that gives it a consistency, a steady feel. And finally, this is some mid 90s type flavor. But rather than being nostalgic, it gives it a 2000 twist, that makes us pump this without necessarily being caught up in reminiscing the old days. We very much enjoy having the boom bap back, having them dope beats back, that had our Jeep rocking, our boom box cranking and our walkman bobbing. And so what remains to be said is, that this album is actually better than this review makes it seem. Do yourself a favor and don't just go to his mp3.com site and download all the tracks, but go to the sites mentioned at the end to purchase this dope album.