4. MF Grimm "The Original Remix"

11. MF Grimm "The Original Remix" instrumental

If you had the chance to check the first Architects of Intellect record, the Rebel Alliance tape, you'll know that Brick Records has come a long way and solidly set its foot on today's hip hop ground. It has acquired a position of a well recognized label, that maybe just lacks another hit, another one like 7L & Esoteric's "Be Alert", to finally blow itself into the forefront, where it belongs. So part of the review could be trying to find out, if there is another hit like that on here. Not saying that Brick is actually trying to reclaim past acclaims. Actually nah: the variety of their catalogue proves different. And this record, as we will see, is too strange in it's own and several rights, also meaning it's not easy to approach, to be having masses check for this.

Like on "Doomsday Remix", where you wonder what's stranger, having MF Doom team up with Porn Theatre Ushers' Mister Jason, or the effort that actually came out of this collaboration. Jason tones down the edgyness, while Doom uses the beat to focus around a lot of shit talking, him pouncing back and forth, almost like mocking you with the hat he just stole off your head. This does not blow in the same pioneering horn that "No Snakes Alive" does though. This is not only a collaboration with King Ghidra, Jet Jaguar & Rodan, but also highly strange, but just as dope: the beat speeds up, stops, does everything but to rewind. Very odd but getting lots of props. The last Doom cut goes by the name of "Impostas", again self produced, this is very eerie and accordingly hard to access. The same can be said about the lyrics, as Doom is swelling within his unlinearity, the total resulting in a mesh of accepted obscurity.

The next 4 tracks belong to MF Grimm, now tragically in jail. He starts with "The Original Remix" and a Fakts One produced beat. This gives other emcees a hard time to answer such harsh words. Cas then hooks up a confusing beat for "Break Em Off", with more confusing lyrics, spoken by the Grimm. This is all cool, but it's also courageous as such oddity is only cherished by some, but not understood and thus not supported by many more. But as this is breaking expectancies and pushing forward into areas, not definitely necessarily being explored in the future, the difference is what makes us listen harder to "Dedicated" and give it the benefit of the doubt. Or the benefit of believing, that this as small as a seed, will once grow into an oxygen, hence life, producing tree. And so "The Original" is a peek into the past, and future at the same time, it giving us another chance to digest the words, as do the instrumentals of each of the mentioned songs, allows us to step back, not to be overrun by what there comes our way.

And so everything is strange, good for those that enjoy, works of experiments, that came out not as expected. Whether this was the case here or not.