Without Time (Vintage Footage Edition) by Explicit
Review
By S. Rider
This review has been a long time coming. I found this album
whilst looking through Bandcamp for stuff to stream or buy. It said free
streaming, Downloads and CD! All you had to do was pay for shipping? So, I
thought ok that’s cool let’s give it a go.
Explicit hails from South Central LA in the US. I paid up
for what Bandcamp says the postage should be. I also posted a crafty message
asking for a signed copy if possible. I ended up exchanging a few emails with
Explicit as he was having troubles posting the CD as UPS wanted extortionate
amounts to get it here. Anyway I told him that regardless of what happened and
his efforts, I would post a review anyway. So, following all the issues I have
had recently and some last minute promo reviews, I am now going to make good on
my promise.
This mixtape is 20 tracks deep so I am going to limit
exactly what I say about each one but, here is my track by track run down....
The Intro is
produced by BrassKnuckles and is Explicit just telling us who he and where he’s
at and that place is real Hip Hop.
Won’t Understand
prod By Easy Mo Bee, A nice chilled beat with Explicit hitting a nice flow with
a raw sound and telling us he is Hip Hop and that’s what some won’t Understand.
Exactly, prod by
Juno Adonis, A short track with a simple beat and Explicit telling what life is like.
Get Down, prod by
Oddisee, has a nice beat with Explicit bringing it harder with the lyrics and
giving us the lowdown on his style.
I Could Tell,
Prod by DJ Desue, Explicit tells us Illmatic is his bible and that No weapon is
needed... Nuff said, South Central Hip Hop without the guns...Damn...
Bombs, Prod by
Khronos Beats, Explicit dropping bombs and referencing a life like Boyz in the
Hood But, Where’s Bruno Mars when you need him.....???
Strong, Prod by
Khronos Beats, Nice beat with Explicit explaining that no one can compare.
Actually, Prod by
Be Frankly, Funky track with some name drops and nice lyrical flows.
They Just, Prod
by Havoc, Bit of a head nodder this one with a theme of how people wanna be
negative and knock you down.
Where We Are,
Prod by Khronos Beats, Bit more laid back on this track but, don’t mean the
lyrics are any less hard when focusing on life’s experiences.
Just Pretend,
Prod by 9th Wonder, Dope beat here providing the right platform for
Explicit’s stories of life’s up’s and down’s.
Sniff, Prod by
Dela, The light hearted feel of this beat provides a Yin-Yang kind feel with
Explicit making the dope you should be sniffing.
What Now/Now What,
Prod by Khronos Beats, Chilled out beat with a bit more of that classic South
Central feel?
Behind Bars (ft
Kulture) 2 Emcees spittin’ over a beat
Out of This World,
Prod by Khronos Beats, Coming out the underground it don’t make money, even if
you consider your flow is Out of this world. Explicit tells it how it is...
Regulated, Prod
by Be Frankly, First track I’ve heard to mention fidget spinners....
Watch Yo Back,
Prod by DJ Premier, you can tell this is a premier track and Explicit does a
decent job on this.
Time After Time,
Prod by Kan Kick, this has that record crackle and I like the feel of that.
Explicit again handles his lyrical flow well.
It Ain’t Hard To Tell,
Prod by Large Professor, Dopeness from the Large Pro gives Explicit a decent
springboard to launch himself into this one.
Rest In Peace,
Prod by Terror Beats, Hard beat and hard lyrics. This sounds very much like a
posse cut but, no mention of who is on this track alongside Explicit.
So, overall what did I think of this?
Essentially this is the standard mixtape scenario. An
underground Emcee looking to prove his skills by rapping over some beats. Yes,
there is absolutely nothing new there, apart from a new name and a new face.
So, is there anything here that sets this apart from other
releases of this genre of Hip Hop? Well, for me, a huge plus here is we have a
young emcee from South Central LA, and we all know that’s where the Crips and
the Bloods play. What is refreshing here is that this is not another Ganster
Rap themed offering with guns, weed and ho’s. Explicit takes a more Hip Hop
oriented look at life around him.
There times when you think well, that sounds just like the
same old shit but, in the next sentence, you are thinking, you know actually this guy is
sounding different. What also helps is the fact there are some good beats here
from top Hip Hop producers.
From a UK perspective, you might simply say this is US Rap and it’s
nothing new and while I would not dis you for thinking that, I would add that a
huge part of Hip Hop is from the US as is a huge part of Rap. Sometimes you
have to set that aside and not allow it to colour your thinking of what you are
hearing.
I will say that listening to this did not exactly set me on
fire and thinking this is the next big thing and there are some tracks where I
felt the beats were a little lacking
But, overall I do think that Explicit's style is refreshing coming from South Central. He shows life in a
gritty realism and lyrically he is pretty solid.
As he progresses and hones his
style and lyrical dexterity there is a chance he could break out to a wider
audience. Especially so, as he has enough conscious thought to bring a new and
wider viewpoint to us from an all too familiar setting!
But, as always, don’t take my word for it, check it out for
yourself.
Sadly I don’t have my CD yet but, whatever happens, I thank
Explicit for getting in touch and going out of his way to get a copy of the CD
to me. For that he gets props and Huge Respect from me.
Without Time (Vintage Footage Edition) is available from
Bandcamp. Check the link.
I’m Out, Peace
Steve – Infinite Sounds UK
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