After a phenomenal display of lyricism, wit, charm, appeal, and dedication on his freshman solo mixtape Great Expectations URB Magazines NEXT 1000s Candidate Element, of the critically acclaimed Los Angeles based Hip-Hop collective Custom Made, returns with his highly anticipated A Long Story Short.
With this project, Element aims to show the masses a completely different side of himself while still remaining the passionate poet that the fans know and fell in love with. Even though this is a mixtape; with all original production and all new music, it sounds more like an album. This time around, all of the production is handled by Custom Made producer, Abstrakt Soundz.
A Long Story Short features Custom Made cohorts Bluff, Scoobs, Sinister Sixx, Skitzo, and the lovely voice of singer Dena Fleming. It is the second installment of Element’s mixtape series and is also here to hold fans over while he polishes up his official LP, Battle Cry. With this release, Element is definitely defining his talents as a poet, his uniqueness as an emcee, and his sincerity as a person, all in A Long Story Short.
DOWNLOAD
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Element & Custom Made are dope, I’m definitely checking this out
I hate when cats describe something as, “a breath of fresh air”… i just hate it…. This shit right here is more like inhaling a lung full of mustard gas. It’s just that SERIOUS. Thank god there’s still hip hop that matters. Thank you brothers for putting out great music.
Peace!
ROUND 2(In that OG Street Fighter 2 voice)….
I actually heard one of the early versions of A Long Story Short and i must say really grew and went a LONG way since. When I 1st heard it i was thinking damn these two done did it again. Chemistry here is beyond noticeable and not something you see very often now a days, due to what people like to call “Creative Differences”. I’ve felt like a few tracks were cut that prolly would’ve fit in very nicely into this project but regardless This was definitely a VERY NICE project, that hit a lot of different areas in such a short tracklist…
Funny thing is I’ve been asked what do I like better Great Expectations or A Long Story Short…and still gotta roll with Great Expectations(Although they’re two completely different subject mattered projects). I honestly til this day feel like this project was missing “something”(that’s actually driving me crazy cuz i cant grasp what exactly it is). But at the same time Great Expectations is missing a Self Explanatory track, which has got to be ONE of my favorite Element tracks. Anyone that follows him knows he’s not really one to show that side of him and to see it definitely shows his comfort of expression with inner battles that some of us can prolly relate to but wouldn’t be able to express it as well…
Next, the production(which is something often overlooked unless the producer is a household name), I definitely think AB showed versatility and not to mention the ability to capture that “feeling” and express it WITHOUT a change-up. Feeling is definitely a trait i feel like a lot of producers have forgotten about or simply just overlooked and AB shows that is something he definitely takes into consideration with the outcome of his tracks….
Call me bias or call me a hater but ima give this a STRONG 7/10…
With the best track: RADIO
(When i 1st heard i felt like it wasn’t a strong intro…then i saw the light haha)
The best beat: The Shining
(Ima old school Rza fan and for some odd reason i get that grimy Wu Tang feel here)
FOR THE RECORD…I’VE HEARD SOME BATTLE CRY TRACKS…ALL IMA SAY IS WOW!!
Ya’ll Emcees need to step ya game up and producers should prolly do the same LOL!!!!!
good beats, good rhymes, all around illy. shit starts off with a real bang and keeps up the pace throughout. felt like more guest appearances than great expectations but perhaps not.
shit is dope. enough said.
deep. that about sums this shit up.
Element’s passion is crazy strong, you can hear it in his voice… like he wants to punch the mic in the face!
and Abstrakt’s beats are so fucking dope it makes me want to punch him in the face.
this project has everything a listener could want, it’s worthy of being an actual album… so i hope they come hard with Battle Cry.
kudos Ab & El.
Heard it some weeks ago, definately one of the dopest project ive heard in a while
Nice… haha… thank u guys for al lthe coments n love shown… n thanks Kev for postin it… YOU THA MANNN!!!!
I must say, this album is the step in the right direction for both cats.
They put feeling and effort in their music and you can mos def hear it…
can’t wait for more
Reelife4Ever