OBADIAH
Baptism Beneath Monsoon
Album Review
I first heard this guy at the last ever Dookie Squad gig in
Exeter back in July last year. He was brought up on stage by Jman during his
set. Back then I was thinking, this guy is good and so I kept an eye on his
career since.
Straight out of Plymouth in the South West of the UK,
Obadiah has had a couple of previous releases via Bandcamp, 2016’s Obiwan EP
and 2017’s Thoughts Manifest Reality Album.
Baptism Beneath Monsoon comes with a nice physical CD in a
limited run of 150. Not sure if Vinyl is on the way or not? The nice thing is
the CD inlay comes with full lyric breakdown. Sure helps with a review I can
tell ya. The album is 13 tracks deep with a few guest appearances and will hit
you in the eardrums for the best part of 43 minutes.
So, let’s take a quick rundown through the tracks:
Frequent Flyer
(Prod. DaMaven): A nice intro track giving you a taste of the verbal skills to
follow. Some great word play, that flows effortlessly along with the top notch
production.
Times of Adolescence
(ft Chillman & Prod. Moff): Nice laid back track with stories from the days
of way back. Something we can all relate to, even if you’re one of those adolescent
ones out there.
Like That (ft
Moraless & Prod. James Tsoi): Laid back and drawing on experiences from
real life. This is one of those tracks that has you thinking ‘Yeah, I’m with
dat’.
The Dreamer (ft
Lazy Eyez, Big Rain, Nuggz & Prod. DaMaven): We all have dreams and the message
here, well the way I see it, is to never lose sight of those dreams. You are
the one who can make them come true.
Soul Secrets
(Prod. DaMaven): Back to Obadiah on the solo tip dropping lyrics about life and
how we all have and keep those secrets and we keep them for countless reasons. The
beat just rolls along giving you the right atmosphere.
Imagery (ft
Flowtecs, Tok, K.C & Prod. Hybrid Freqs): Heating things up a bit on this
one. Lyrical content is still rooted in reality to keep you focused cos you can
relate to every verse.
The Chronicle
(Prod. DaMaven): Half way through and the realness in this album is cemented.
Obadiah is hitting hard on this one, spittin’ double time just to make sure you
got the message.
Right in the Zone
(Prod. Soss): Different vibe to this one. No less appealing to the ear. Obadiah
switching speeds up n down on this one. Proving what happens when he gets Right
in the Zone.
Drowning Demons
(ft Mish, Gaddzilla & Prod. DML): Out of the whole album, this was the only
track I can’t quite get into as much as I would like. Lyrically on point, no
issues there. I just found the production was not really my thing. Don’t get me
wrong, it does not detract from the album one bit. It’s just not my thing
personally.
Fruit of Nubia
(ft R. I. Z & Prod. DaMaven): Deep track this and one of those that you get
a lot from having the lyrics. You are drawn into some of the crazy shit that
goes on in day to day life, where most people walk around in a mind numbed daze
unaware and controlled by the powers that be.
Cross (ft
Gaddvilla & Prod. DaMaven): Banger this one. Powerful lyrical delivery with
reggae chorous. I just wanted an extra verse on this one. Definitely could have
vibed to this for an extra minute or two.
Mic Check (ft
Lauren Thomas & Prod. DaMaven): Bit more laid back this track but, no less
harder than what has gone before. What you get is that feel of the energy and
the pride of what Obadiah is doing.
War Wit Us (ft
Unanymous & Prod. DaMaven): Some proper Hip Hop dropping on this. Giving it
straight to all the fakes out there and drawing on a diverse range of real life
stories. For me, this one just stands
out a little.
Ok, so overall what did I think?
What Obadiah has done here is bring in a diverse range of
producers who each bring a different vibe and a different edge. Especially
DaMaven, who has a diverse range all of his own.
This allows Obadiah to showcase the range of his skills. His
writing and lyrical delivery is superb. The way he crafts his verses drawing on
all manner of true life stories that we can all relate to and associate with, you
can feel the energy and the pride he puts into everything he does. Regardless
of whether you like this or not, what you can’t get away from is that Obadiah
is one, of a steadily growing stream, of Hip Hop artists from the South West of
the UK, who are really making their mark on the UK Hip Hop scene.
Baptism Beneath Monsoon is definitely one album you need to
check out. Get the CD as it’s a great package and if CD’s ain’t your thing,
then fingers crossed there will be a vinyl version at some point soon to quench
your thirst.
Definitely one on my recommended list this and will be
looking forward to more from Obadiah in the future.
Check below for all the links that you need.
I’m outta here,
Steve – Infinite Sounds
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