On this follow-up to King Mez's last producer-meets-emcee project, The Paraplegics, recorded with rising Raleigh producer Commissioner Gordon, Mez sacrifices his introspective touch for a load of self-assured work with North Carolina's best beat statesman, Khrysis. Just like the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech, Khrysis is Geoffrey Rush to Mez's Colin Firth. He tutors his young leader-in-the-making through a trial of vigorous beat workouts.
This six-song set is a proclamation of the aggressiveness previously missing from some of Mez's work. The opening track, "Reaching Out (Intro)," finds Mez putting forthright rhymes upon Khrysis' tormenting beat. Equally as brief, haunting and rewarding are "Nightmare" and "Something's Missing." Some of this angst could either be attributed to the recent loss of his mother or just an answer to some unfounded local speculation about Mez being an overrated overnight sensation. If the latter is the case, then the title track should shut down all such claims. Mez pairs himself with N.C.'s throne holder, Little Brother's Phonte Coleman; they both splinter their verses.
Even still, Mez is just as convincing when he's by himself. He knows that the kingdom won't simply be handed to him, that he'll have to be a hard-willed monarch to gain the respect of his peers and followers. On "Nightmares," he addresses this notion: "Ambition wrapped around my neck like tightly coiled steel/ There ain't much I can do/ It's like an oil spill/ My life been hard, and I'm under the soil still/ So I leave the milk out/ wanna know how them spoils feel." Soon enough.
- To create paragraphs in your comment, type <p> at the start of a paragraph and </p> at the end of each paragraph.
- To create bold text, type <b>bolded text</b> (please note the closing tag, </b>).
- To create italicized text, type <i>italicized text</i> (please note the closing tag, </i>).
- Proper web addresses will automatically become links.
Latest in Record Review
-
Various artists' Waste of Time: A Tribute to Paint Fumes
Friday & Saturday at Slim's
- May 15, 2013
-
Bevel Summers' The Cards
The Carrboro band's first full-length, a magpie collection featuring more voices, new instruments and a wider palette of influences, is united by a keen sense of songcraft.
- May 8, 2013
-
LiLa's IV
LiLa's IV has some soul packed in the places you'd least expect.
- Apr 24, 2013
- More »
More by Eric Tullis
-
GQ's Death Threats and Love Notes
In the limited pantheon of the basketball player-turned-emcee, perhaps no one has been more full of philosophic platitudes than former UNC point guard Quentin Thomas, who raps under the alias GQ.
- Apr 3, 2013
-
Life and Nas were good
For the former faithful, Nas was the all-time liberator of beats. He was a writer, a rapper to inspire spoken-word poets and aspiring emcees alike. He wrote like a thinker, not a bankroller.
- Feb 27, 2013
- More »
