Relevance
label: know it all

producers: nickles, ohmega watts, pale soul, david kelly

guests: braille, ohmega watts, smoke, sleep, othello.
year of release: 2002
website: lockeone.com
 
Locke is a man of the North West. And as we are strong believers in the area providing a blueprint for the people's character living in it, this record's hero is already thrown into a profile, that we then sometimes forcibly fit around him. The same could also be done with the music, but with the lines being blurred effortfully, and the boom bap living next door to the avant garde to the thugism and the riders, in the same street of the same city, the area code is no option when it comes to describe the style of a record. Now Locke works with Nickels. We have been bigging up Nickels often enough on these pages, so this name should not be new to you. The same goes for a Braille, Ohmega Watts and Othello, who also graced these pages before. That now is describing something: it first describes inspired beats, and second inspired lyrics that often center around the spreading the good word of the one above. Locke seems to mingle with, while not fully commit to this 'scene', hence he must enjoy their support and they his. Nevertheless Locke somewhat stands by himself, even lacking a crew that's prominently mentioned.

tracklisting
1. Clear Signal
2. Like It Or Not
3. Only A Moment Away feat. Braille
4. Aversion (Press Pause)
5. Round The Clock
6. Objects Of The Senses feat. Ohmega Watts and Smoke
7. Irrelevinterlude
8. Forgotten Laughter
9. Status Quo
10. Every Time feat. Sleep and Othello
11. Ancient Truths
12. It's Like That
But enough of this rambling, we got Nickels beats to talk about. And they are always good for a praise or two. So for example what he does on "Like It Or Not". The beat not only features an ill horn section throughout the hook, the very long loop makes it sound less monotone, and the drum programming is while part, still somewhat outside of the pattern of the song. The sole something that drags this track back, and unfortunately this goes for the whole album, is Locke's uninterested sounding delivery. While he talks colloquially (what is a good thing), his voice is lacking a lot of the needed strength and presence. And even on this braggadocios song he sounds not enough demanding, as well as he's hardly connecting with the beat. That exposes him as someone that's not yet fully in tune with his art, which hence needs to be fine tuned, what does come with experience.
But this already sounds concluding, despite us still having more to say. Like we need to mention "Aversion (Press Pause)", also produced by Nickels, and this time of our preferred Nickels style, the 'nightish, big spaces filling, leaving you alone while watched' style, with it being lived mainly through the chorus though. Locke philosophically and a little naively ponders the options when he could 'press pause' in his life, how he thus could correct wrongs and prevent problems on a personal and global scale.
There's more Nickels to feast on, like the "Irrelevinterlude", that's just a quick idea rolling forward, to then be quickly exchanged with the next song. That is not "Ancient Truth", but another song, with "Ancient Truth" coming on later, and also being produced by Nickels, who this time around tries something new. And this kid has actually mastered several styles, so this industrial science fiction style is also done to our liking.
One of the best beats however was not done by our man, but by Pale Soul and the song's called "Only A Moment Away". This is something incredibly jazzy and musical, and Braille rides it skillfully while Locke completes the words of hope and humble determination. David Kelly then also offers something we would enjoy listening to in a lounge with an export beer in our hands on "Round The Clock", where the live guitar and bass by Kenny Carter only further the jazz feel. The lyrics go a story telling frame, while much of the picture is filled with reflective lines, as opposed to rhymes that further the plot. Pale Soul returns on "Forgotten Laughter" to do something less up spirited but melancholic, that doesn't need a chorus, mainly because Lockes prayer (?) is demanding all the time available. "Status Quo" will turn heads because of the very up front piano, that's played by Jeremy Hughes. The piano is very much the main character in this song, taking away most of the attention from the critical Locke verses. And while we say piano, we guess keyboard, or synthetic recording, as it just doesn't sound quite right, while it's immaculately and impressively played though.
Ohmega Watts (of Acts:29) produces and is featured on "Objects Of The Senses" and only the quality of the rest makes this stand out as a song that falls short of being as good as the others musically. Lyrically Smoke also throws in his hat, while Sleep and Othello are the featured guests on "Every Time", another Nickels piece. Then finally there's "It's Like That", where the team of David Kelly behind the boards and Kenny Carter behind the bass and guitar again give us something very dope. And so the conclusion must be that the record is blissful with the vast number of very dope beats, and only the delivery of the otherwise good lyrics are leaving a twilighting shadow. Nevertheless Locke is not only a man from the North West, but also a man of promise, with enough time to grow.
review: tadah
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