North By Northwest
label: banarnar

producers: oddisee, sm.arson, joe braxton, mike, raistlin.
guests: psalm one, essohess (the complex), h. mubaric, oddisee, a. hollis.
year of release: 2003
It's almost like they want to hide something. We got two Banarnar releases lying around in our offices, on one cover SoulStice is all blurred, while on the other the picture of Psalm One is so dark, it's almost as if she's playing hide and seek and wearing camouflage. The latter record shall be the subject of an upcoming review, this write up here is taking care of SoulStice's "North To Northwest". With the album title already pointing you in the geographical direction of this one's origin. Better not that. The music itself is globally accessible, just like the regional sounds have been enormously blurred lately. That also because everyone is using the same producers on every record now. Well, not everyone though, as the short list of producers on here, will be most likely unknown to you, due to them not being on everyone's records. Heck, maybe even no ones record previously to this one here.

tracklisting
1. The Melody
2. Headline
3. sleepWalk
4. Anywhere feat. Psalm One
5. S.O.U.L.
6. Hold Your Breath
7. Watchu Want
8. Something To Prove feat. Essohess (The Complex)
9. Don't Come Through
10. Movement
11. Anywhere Remix feat. Psalm One
12. It's All Love
13. All I Got
14. Sacred Ground
15. World Stops
16. Free Fall
17. Ebony See
With the producer that stands out the most going by the name of sm.arson. That's because he produces the two best songs on here. They are "sleepWalk" and "Ebony See". And yes, they are both reflective and kinda soft. But the way sm puts the Quincy Jones sample of "sleepWalk" with a string section, making a very content sample very sad, plus the other orchestra on the "Ebony See" track, make these songs to just reach further. Also because Soul really touches upon deep topics on here, with the first being 'right or wrong, live life, write a song about it.' This is poetry with the contact to reality still intact, and without the flashy fancy words. The second has Soul speak very hopeful and humble, with the topic being rather the same as on the first song. Here he also looks out at everything and at the world, that's just kinda beautiful and right. And that's why both songs are of the most powerful that we have heard in a while.
sm.arson is further responsible for several more beats. These other ones however are not as big, as he often opts for keyboard instrumentation. And that maybe taking into consideration the mostly braggadocios verses. There's for example "S.O.U.L.", with the beat in the back being aight, and with lyrics that aim for the battle. Together with Psalm One, Soul attacks the "Anywhere Remix", with the sm beat bettering with the time. What can hardly be said about "World Stops", where another synthetic sounds is repeated to oblivion. And it has a lot of annoyance potential, with only the chorus offering some relief. Better, while rather special, is the hard rock-ish "Free Fall", where sm explores his musical abilities, while Soul puts some real advice forward with "I'd rather be struggling and fall than be against the wall".
The other producers also offer more bounce orientated beat. Like on the opening "The Melody" by oddiSee, where a boogie woogie piano pushes Soul forward to get his agenda across. The same formula is repeated on "Headline" and "Watchu Want". The braggadocios topic, and the hard guitar on the latter allows Soul to open "you rap like it's going out of style, I don't bring it like that / I rap like it's been out of style and I'm bringing it back", making this another dope track. oddiSee is also doing "Sacred Ground", that's a head nodding diddy, with the rhetoric going beyond the bragging: it pays some respect amongst a lot of straight flowing. Very bleepy is "Anywhere" by producer Joe Braxton. Here SoulStice teams up with femcee Psalm One again to enjoy the trade of flowing. Joe also does the almost jiggy "Hold Your Breath", with Mike then doing something too jiggy and too synthetic on the weak "Don't Come Through".
Moving away from the braggadocios again is "Something To Prove", where Soul flows with Essohess over another oddiSee beat, while they reflect on the pressures, that they at times imposed on themselves. "Movement" is not only blessed with a good Raistlin beat, but Soul is making this more with reflecting verses, speaking to a soulsister, saying "our souls ride the same rhythm / to maintain when times change, you change with 'em". And it's just interesting that every time when Soul chooses to speak more than boasting words, the beats just change to soulful chapters. With "It's All Love" being another example. And another one is "All I Got", a very dope and musical piece, with a real guitar and an oddiSee beat that just suits the talking to a female content perfectly.
What then all in all gives this a somewhat mixed whole impression, because at times we are just in awe with the music Soul was given. Further we are pleased with the true messages he puts out, and we are also digging the working battle rhetoric. But at the same time this also contains some beats that have fast forward mistake written all over 'em. With us then giving Soul some slack for some of his beat choices, but a lot of big ups for everything else.
review: tadah
» back to top | last changed : 17.03.03
© 2000 - 2012.08 by urban smarts | contact