Lyric Luverz Deluxe
label: low tech

producers: dj eli, dj spier, jon rockskins

guests: oktober
year of release: 2001
 
A friend of mine just told me that he buys albums if there are three good songs on it, as nowadays you can't really expect more than that. Now just ponder this statement for a minute and ask how we got to this point. So we finally got so far that we really let a one hit wonder who's able to pull off two more lucky shots to rob the money out of our pockets? For real? Maybe you wonder what this has to do with this album, Sub-Conscious debut that's either called "Lyric Luverz Deluxe" or "The Deep Dish Thesis". The connection is that Sub-Conscious released the "Pushin' Orbitz" 12" a little while ago on Headbop, and it contained three songs, with each and every one of 'em being of the most incredible. That twelve inch is one of the most perfect records that ever saw the light of day, simply due to there not being a single flaw on there. And there's just something about getting a record, be it a 12, an EP or a LP, where each and every song is brilliant. Where every time you listen to it, you pick a new favorite song, and where you are not tempted to use the skip button.
So you must be wondering how Sub's album is. And the prospect of getting an album full of that "Pushin' Orbitz" ish, sounded like Christmas and your birthday falling on the same day. But, to maybe get that out of the way right away: this is nothing like that 12". The whole 'image', if you want to call that, that was built up by the 12 (deep lyrics over mystical beats with Sub being the subway philosopher that struggles and suffers with the record being his therapy that allows him to keep his sanity), is abandoned on this album for the most part. Cause Sub is very much not the above life emcee we got the impression he is, but he's actually someone who likes to spit punchlines as much as he's willing to destroy brain cells with his word play.

tracklisting
1. Lyric Luvers Deluxe!!!
2. The Daydream
3. Journal Pages (Live In Buffalo N.Y.)
4. Whut Part Of The Brain Is That?
5. Loose Lipped Diction
6. Partial Carcass
7. Mumble Mission
8. I Spit Sub-stance
9. Shades Of Excellence feat. Oktober
10. Tired & Talented
11. Fluidity
12. Plyometrics
13. Stick Shift Scripts
14. The Deep Dish Thesis
15. (the) All Out (ro)
Nevertheless though, this album is for the lyrics lovers, as the title and first song lets you know. "Lyric Luvers Deluxe" then again proves Sub's incredible skill and the ability to point the finger on the right description. So he calls this the album for those that would enjoy to buy the accapella version, to then go "I don't need no applause son, I'd rather hear crickets / that's how I know that heads was really listening". He's also the man who memorized the lyrics of albums so he wouldn't have to buy it. And as this song is so nicely explanative, it's also one of the best on here. That's however also due to the straight and very boom bap DJ Eli beat, who offered something that works as well with Sub, as those space cluster beats on the 12".
However not all songs feature original production, but Sub is actually forced to spit over other people's beats (what again is a poor statement on hip hop, if someone this nice can't get beats). Many songs are used to simply have Sub spit and let the world know how nice he is. Like "Daydream", like "Loose Lipped Diction", like "Partial Carcass", while the last one contrasts the words with a relaxed and humble jazzy beat, that builds around a piano. The other two songs pick commercial bubbling beats, that are not just a mismatch with Sub, but that Sub shouldn't even bother to rhyme over. "Tired & Talented" then merges the spitting to show his superiority with reflective verses, while on "Fluidity" Sub incredibly incorporates everything that makes water into his flow and the beat, to make this a really styled verse. On "Whut Part Of The Brain Is That?" we get a neurology and psychological lession on the sub consciousness, as Sub is picking apart its reaches and meanings, while on "Stick Shift Scripts" he's knocking us over our head with skills again.
Then there are the songs featuring original beats, like "Mumble Missions" where Jon Rockskins provides the boom bap. The song is a vibes heavy and repetitious offering, that gets us remotely in the area of "Pushin' Orbitz" again. Getting jazzy is "Shades Of Excellence", produced by DJ Spier. This song also pairs Sub with Oktober, who sounds perfect with Sub, and so when they dissect what excellence means, the total is one of the best songs on here. Spier also did "The Deep Dish Theory", that is anothe one of the best cuts on here, with giving Sub another chance to get his manifest out.
And lastly, there's also a couple of accapella songs on here, like the "Journal Pages (Live in Buffalo N.Y.)", where he goes "to keep these skills in the shower is mad selfish", and where he nicely shifts the intensity of his delivery according to the meaning of the line. "I Spit Sub-Stance" is allowing you to analyze every single line like a Trekie. Sub is spitting some wisdom, while on "Plyometrics" he's the cult leader who says "I don't need to go pop, that's for cheap condoms", and finally on "(the) All Out (ro)" Sub waves us goodbye.
You will be disappointed that everything that made "Pushin' Orbitz" is totally neglected on this album. Apart from the incredible lyrics, the flow and the majestical delivery. So there's still much on here you are going to like, with the disappointment steadily fading away, allowing excitement for this album to grow. Sub is still one of the best, while very unknown. Which is just another sad statement on the times we live in.
 
review: tadah
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