Editor’s note: Thanks to Judge Mental from VinylMeltdown.com for stopping by and guest writing for the site!
Bay Area MC/Producer Kero One made a pretty big splash on the world of underground hip hop in 2006 with his jazzy debut Windmills of the Soul. Three years later, a much more experienced Kero One releases Early Believers, his official sophomore release. While it still has some of the jazzy backdrops that Windmills became known for, there is a newfound diversity of sound: more synth heavy beats, higher BPMs, and a more polished product. While this seems like it might be a nice change of pace, it may leave some of his early believers scratching their heads, but only just a little bit.
The album will immediately strike listeners as straight up feel good music for your soul. There’s really no debating this. Just listening to the intro track, “Welcome to the Bay,” as you are driven right into things. The melody is bright (this is one of two tracks not produced by Kero One, but by King Most), and the lyrics paint an optimistic picture of living in the Bay Area. Even when Kero addresses the negative, you can really tell that he loves his home. This unbridled cheer is present throughout the album, and is sure to put anyone in a good, uplifting place.
Lyrically, Kero is not coming as hard as he has in the past. Not that Windmills didn’t have its chillout moments, but Early Believers is a much more cohesive and focused effort in that regard. This album is all about sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the overall sounds of Kero One. And in the pursuit of keeping things together, there is only one guest verse, courtesy of fellow bay area emcee MC Ohmega Watts. Watts adds his lyrical stylings to “Stay on the Grind,” an ode to persistence. It’s a nice track, and the pairing of the two artists works well.
While the lyrics have more of a solid theme this time around, the production is a little less cohesive. It’s still in a small zone, but there’s a little bit more branching out into other styles. “A Song for Sabrina,” the albums only instrumental track, shows off Latin Jazz influences, and brings in some live instrumentation for a faster-paced composition. While it is an excellent instrumental, it feels a little too energetic for the album. There’s also the issue of the synthesized additions to the beats. One of Kero’s biggest core audiences is the circle fans obsessed with the smooth Japanese hip hop instrumentals of people like Nujabes, DJ Mitsu, Nomak, and others. Some of the new sounds on this album may disrupt his core crowd.
Overall, Early Believers is a great release from Kero One. It picks up where Windmills left off, takes a slight turn, but keeps running with it. It’s cheerful, lyrically strong, and overall a nice, relaxing listen. It’s not about to blow anybody’s mind, but for those who enjoy some easily accessible smooth hip hop, this is a good choice to pick up.
75/100
Standout Tracks:
Bossa Soundcheck
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Stay on the Grind
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A Song for Sabrina
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish I had the time to review this one personally as it is my favorite release from 2009 so far. This album for me has been on constant replay. Not one skipable track. Standouts for me include “Welcome To The Bay”, “Keep Pushin” and “This Life Ain’t Mine”. But the whole album really is great!
i agree, this is a really solid effort. every song adds some sort of value to the album. btw, ohmega watts is not from the bay area , i believe hes from brooklyn and song for sabrina is the sh$#T!!!
thanks a lot Austin. I agree totally with the review. It’s a solid effort, but something is lacking. It’s FEEL GOOD hip hop, but I mean, so was Foreign Exchange’s Connect. The difference between the two is evident. Evidently, one went beyond
cool man
Kevin, where does this album rank so far for 2009?? With DOOM, POS, JADA and so on?
If you’re asking me personally, this album ranks Number 1 for me so far this year; however I just got a promo copy of the new Tanya Morgan and that joint is right up there as well.
Thanks Kevin…Also I am new to the site and notice that pretty dope albums get scores between 65-80. What are the highest rated albums on KevinNottingham.com??
My man Deez could better break down the scoring system, since I really don’t write any of the reviews. We used to have a list of our highest rated reviews. There have been some in the 90s. My guys that review albums are tough critics, so 70s are not bad scores. 80s are actually excellent scores, and 90s are more or less reserved for classics.
If I would have reviewed this, I would have given it 5 out of 5 stars. It’s that good. But that’s why I leave the album reviews to the professionals… lol. Deez would have a heartattack if a gave an album a perfect score!
This album is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time. By far one of the best I’ve heard all year. I’m with Kevin….I can’t stop listening to Keep Pushin and Song for Sabrina is that joint too! I would definitely give this album a higher score but to each its own. Good review!
I was disappointed. I can’t lie. The production is solid, but Kero’s lyricism just seems sub par on this. Not that he was ever going to win an emcee battle, but rhymes seem somewhat lazy here. I also think a lot of the production on this just doesn’t really suit rapping. I think he would almost been better off making this strictly instrumental or just have guest singers only. Not as good as as “Windmills of the Soul”.