www.beliefmusic.com - $$(1/2)

Review by - Nin

I have trouble reconciling the fact that many heads who decry the deplorable state of contemporary hip-hop are simultaneously churning out mindnumbingly mediocre music. There is plenty of enjoyable, sufficiently convincing music populating the underground right now, but the nourishment these platters offer seem meager when placed against the smorgasbords of yesteryear. The flux of releases and labels has the consumer spoilt for choice, but in earnest, what was the last truly monolithic release to be burped forth from the gut of the subterranean scene?

I’ll be bold and say that the last indie-rap slab I’d put against any of the most hallowed records in rap history was Jaylib’s masterful Champion Sound, or J. Dilla’s Donuts compilation. Not that there aren’t many tantalizing prospects on the buffet table now, it’s just that many of them offer transient satiation.

Woefully, this is the case with Belief’s Dedication, a recording that, in every imaginable respect, boasts all the traits of a indulgent, gratuitously gratifying sonic stew, but falls just a little short of being a truly exemplary album. Much of this, I feel, has to do with the delivery of some of his esteemed guests. True, the astute Murs turns in an inspiring performance on the frank, anti-heroic “Fountainhead” and his sincere, barebones verse sparkles on the thematic “Getyourmindright”, but his staccato delivery on “Let’s Go” feels somewhat ill-advised. The always erratic Vordul Mega often sounds languid and awkward, while Wordsworth fails to rouse (I still believe this chap’s finest performances lie in his early, incendiary battle-oriented material and even his experimental turns….”I-95″ anyone?).

The beats themselves are well-crafted and, sometimes, even exquisite in construction- “Hot Nights” is spare and intelligent, with thudding, propulsive kick drums, suppressed synths and wistful looped strings, “Runs The World” is bustling, bristling hyperactivity, “The Fountainhead” is contemplative and brooding. To be blunt, though, the true highlights of the record are the three entirely instrumental outings, which see Belief indulging his inner muse with unfettered abandon. “Worker B” is top-class cybernetic blip-funk of the Prefuse 73 variety, a progressively escalating mélange of android breaks, thuds and elegantly melodic synth lines, whereas “Dedication” and “Passion Aggression” are meditative, atmospheric, CEREBRAL headphone pieces akin to RJD2’s more thoughtful passages.

There are flashes of greatness here that could really be developed to better effect- either by coaxing better performances out of guest emcees or by vetoing them altogether. The three instrumental numbers and “Fountainhead” definitely deserve repeated spins in these quarters, and perhaps with more focus Belief will set forth an LP that stridently pierces through the prevalent haze of oblivion and mediocrity. This is certainly better than your average producer-oriented recording, and is worth some investigation.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Music, The Lyrical Lounge (Hip-Hop). You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.