Kero One: Early Believers

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

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Stay on the Grind

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A Song for Sabrina

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