Brilliant production by Danger Mouse. Incredible rapping by Black Thought. I can't shake the thought of a certain villainous duo from my mind, listening to this album. If that's not the greatest compliment in hip-hop, I don't know what is.
The features are on point, from Joey to Russ to RTJ to Rocky to... DOOM HIMself. And more!
The beautiful melodies in each track contrast beautifully with the hardcore rap style. You might think they'd clash, but they dance with each other, it's like the beat bends to fit the sharp edges of the lyrics and the stiff rhythm of the bars, like water filling a cup with the oddest of shapes.
Well, Danger Mouse plays good, Black Thought talks sweet, but what does he spit? The struggles of the street life, death, despair, drugs and violence. His home town, his success, his talent, his religion, his doubt. It's deep, it's honest... And it hits.
Overall, this is stupendously stupendous. Brilliantly brilliant. They did kill it, but it took just over 38 minutes. Bolt runs 100 meters in less than 10 seconds, so Black Thought was inaccurate there.
Nice review!
We were treated to some incredible hiphop albums in 2022 and this was near the top of my list. Black Thought never misses and his bars and flow fit perfectly with Danger Mouse's production. I agree with Strangers as the best track, but I can't even think of a worst for me.
I had a VERY hard time picking the worst song, I considered recategorizing it as "Least Favourite"... Oh well.