Leading off with pummeling drums, the Living Legends reintroduce themselves to their fan base, which should be larger after the release of their latest EP, The Gathering. On this album every rapper gets a chance to launch cannonballs of vocal shock and awe, on each track.
They come out like caged lions spitting lines so fast that not even a stenographer jacked up on speed could possibly keep up. With reflective lines like, "The man I am today is because of all the struggling," the group delves into what brought them together and what is going to carry them to the top. They make it very clear from the beginning of the album that they're back to claim their crown. Cleverly referencing several ethnicities and the traits of each group, the Living Legends display a welcomed playfulness in their rhymes, self-proclaiming the group as "seven of the dopest grown MCs you'll ever hear in your life."
The production intrigues while each rapper holds their own, like seven unstoppable relay runners in a race for rap's gold medal. At times they sound like a distinctive combination of Snoop Dogg, Outkast, Jurassic 5 and the Nappy Roots, all mixed in with an overall influence of classical West Coast hip-hop. The album starts off with the group claiming ruling authority of hip-hop and proceeds into deeper subjects with the same clout.
"She Wants Me" spices thing up with lines like, "I got a restraining order on my ex-girlfriend / We had a fight / She pulled a knife / I'm at the precinct again." The Legends mix humor and criticism with a deft touch, combining so many elements of rhyming that it's almost ridiculous. "Spread like butter, stretch like rubber, freak like no other / Not for you mother / Touch her with a ten-foot poll, don't love her," they later rap on the aforementioned track.
"Pants on Fire" is a scathing social commentary where the group exposes all the lies we've been told by the government and religious groups. They shake things up, trying to wake us up from our mental hibernation, in hope that we won't sit silent and accept more lies. Like activists fed up with the state of this nation, they go off on this song with a reckless abandon, clearly living up to the title of the track. The Legends take aim at topics such as gas prices, the Jenna Six, President George W. Bush, ex-girlfriends, promoters that never live up to their own billing, Columbus (for murdering millions of people), and our founding fathers (for selling slaves). Their jovial jabs are still maintained, though, with lines like, "You play with my food / Now I sh** in your beans." Towards the end of the song, the Legends really pounce about like a giant mosh-pit of MCs, as sirens blare in the background.
The group's socially conscious lyrics continue on "War and Peace." They put it quite plainly and succinctly that "If you want to make war end / You got to start with peace," while guitars rifts blaze behind their rhymes. As the track progresses, the Legends reminisce about the riot filled days of the Vietnam War and compare it to the situation we find ourselves in currently. With the conflict in the Middle East adding a personal and emotional touch, their stories of ancestors who took part in past wars adds some historical context to the record and seeks to encourage us to put a fist in the sky and stand for something. They also vehemently call out MCs with lines like, "If you can't change the world, then why MC?" And Blame the "Bush Crime Family" for using the 9/11 attacks to scare us into another foreign war.
"Luva Changer" opens up with a sensual arrangement, followed by a club-banging atmosphere. The song is less abrasive than the other tracks, and its smooth grooves allow you to enjoy the record in a group setting, without potentially offending anyone. And though it is quite different from the preceding songs, it still maintains the cohesiveness of the record. By far, the track mimics modern rap more than anything else on the album. However, the Legends' persistent consciousness is not lost, even on this one, with mentions of poverty and life back on the block.
Though at times the Living Legends seem to suffer from a case of contradiction, they make up for it with their tremendous audacity. The MCs admit that times have changed and that they themselves have also changed during those years.
"Samba" starts off with some lightly pounded drums, leaving the listener on edge as to what possible chaos is about to ensue. It builds, and builds, and keeps building as if a skyscraper of suspense was being constructed. Aesop drops in and tears down the tower of anticipation, crashing into it like a hijacked plane and owning the track as if it were up for sale and only his skills could afford the top prize. Though this track is solid, it's a bit different from most of the records on the album. It's almost like a filler between a bombastic first four and an epic finale, but the sh** talking and riveting references still keep it interesting.
The Legends save their best for last, beginning with "After Hours," and display their sickest vocals from their case of ammunition. The mood on the aforementioned song is like that of an early morning after a night of debauchery. The MCs are just waking up, recovering and giving their observations and realizations of what must have taken place the night before. All the while, claiming they don't care how you judge them. Contemporary commercial rap is outdone by "After Hours," which finds the Living Legends employing tribal chants, laid back lyrics and an appeal to the gods of hip-hop. With harmonious horns providing the soundtrack of their ascent to hip-hop heaven, their subject matter still centers on the real world and its harsh truths.
If "After Hours," and pretty much the rest of the content on The Gathering, had been dropped back in the early '90s, all of these guys would likely have their own reality shows on cable by now. The album is not necessarily ahead of its time; it's more like a historic, pre-dated opus before the hip hop industry sold its soul. Yet, it is still progressive enough to be considered part of an ever-evolving rap scene. In other words, it somehow encompasses all the glorious eras of hip hop music and culture, and tosses it into a blender to create a stout concoction of positive yet socially cognizant lyrical liquid, poured over frantically crushed pieces of ice cold production. The mixture serves as beverage of common sense for true connoisseurs of archetypal, well-refined rap music.
This remarkable "gathering" of MCs is clearly primed for a bright future, both as a conglomerate of talents and as individual entities. For those that seek words of wisdom on man's everyday struggle to survive and a versatile offering of tracks that take you from the bedroom to the courtroom, this is unquestionably worth checking out.
Beyond Hip-Hop Shopping Guide: August 2008 Here's our August installment of the shopping guide for all your avid BallerStatus.com visitors who love the newest ... full story
Digg It
Del.icio.us
