Fans of good rap music and all arenas of hip-hop have had to suffer through some horrible times lately. A lot of copycat behavior, ego inflating and pre-packaged garbage has held the airwaves hostage.
Most attempts to liberate the listeners have fallen on deaf ears.
Composition, an album from a young and local artist, Espee, a South Florida native, is an attempt to accomplish the lyrical deliverance that fans have been waiting for.
Yet, Espee’s album runs the risk of falling into the music industry’s trap of portraying an image, and while doing so, he misses the masses completely.
The lyrical content of the album is gritty, street and in your face. However, the content almost sacrifices Espee’s unique sound. Word play and skill demonstrations seem to get lost in a sea of thug imagery.
This constant portrayal of a gangster’s life also clouds Espee’s ability to present his content.
Songs like “Change up,” that show Espee’s ability to do just that, change his delivery style, are almost overshadowed by attempts at Tony Soprano fame.
It’s also hard to say that Composition is one of the most original works, because of the constant attempts at thuggish representation. The song, “Girl Please” is a tribute to the struggles between a hustler’s life and the wishes of a lover. This song does not show his creativity because like many others, it’s theme has been over done.
Composition is a basement album, so the sub par production quality is understandable.
Even so, it gets a passing grade because of the effort put forth to give each song its own sound.
Even though the album has been hurt by Espee’s attempt to portray a thuggish image, songs like “Step ya game,” “Send an angel” and “You gone make it” show that Espee has definite talent.
If he continues to work toward original song substance and his own personal image, he will make it.