Naledge – Chicago Picasso
Vision: 2009
Before opening the CD (or the rar file; you KNOW who you are) the title of Naledge’s new ‘mixtape’ stands as a statement aside from, and alongside, the music contained in it; contrary to the norm, a hip-hop artist actually lives up to the moniker he has bestowed upon himself. Let me start off by saying that despite its bumps, Naledge largely succeeds in his statement: that he has the ability to make better ‘mixtapes’ than most rappers (not emcees, but rappers-there’s a difference) can make albums. After two excellent Kidz In the Hall records (with producer Double O, whom you may remember for being the victim of a lightsaber attack from Just Blaze), it’s clear that he knows a thing or two about the lost art of crafting an album.
“Sum Shit I Wrote” is, of course, a nod to Common’s song of the same name from his masterpiece of a sophomore album. It’s appropriately jazzy, but don’t think for a minute that’s the scope of the album, musically. The sonic textures vary from song to song, but are steady conceptually due to Naledge and his properly picked guests; it’s a rarity that a feature-riddled hip-hop album has no real instance of someone getting blown off the song, whether it’s the guest or the artist themselves.
The diversity of this record is darn near dizzying. The aforementioned lead-off song is followed by the hilarious “Standing On Sofas”, with Chip and a synthesized beat that would make your favorite trap boy grip his grain. “Cool Relax” pairs Naledge with hip-hop’s newest candidate for ‘savior,’ Jay Electronica; Rhymefest moves past any stigma of him being just a battle rapper with his verse on “Focus”, delivering what would be a hip-hop quotable in a perfect world. The album closes with “Look at Them Hips (remix)” with Bun B doing what only Bun B can do (talking about knocking off females and making it sound dignified just off the sheer craftsmanship of the verse), and in the process you forget that the song is seven minutes long.
The strength of this record, its diversity and Naledge’s ability to mesh with any texture he’s given, is also it’s Achilles’ heel. With 2o tracks it’s certainly not as bloated as most releases nowadays, but it could benefit from trimming the fat a bit (but at least the fat adds flavor) not because of quality, but because of songs running into one another.
Naledge proves with Chicago Picasso why he’s one of Hip Hop’s premier talents-and he’s brought a few of his friends along that are on the same playing field as he is-and it goes without saying that this album is worth a serious listen by any fan of lyricism, or just good music with a purpose.
3.5 out of 5
This sounds really tight, those Kidz in the Hall releases were cool, but didnt blow me away, but still Naledge knows what he’s doing, so i think i’ll check this out. Dope review.