Sha Stimuli: My Soul To Keep

Sha Stimuli has most definitely paid his dues. His record label dispute with Virgin Records and Roc-a-Fella has left him in a state of MC limbo. You can ask 10 different people how they heard about Stimuli and you may get 10 different answers. I was late to the party and first heard of him in his standout MTV2 Sucker freestyle. What you won’t get ten different answers about is his lyrical ability; quite simply dude can spit. His first major album release, My Soul To Keep, is comprised of solid production provided by Focus, Just Blaze, Cookin’ Soul and others, laced with smooth, hard hitting lyrics that you would expect from the Brooklyn native. Sha is definitely a force to be reckoned with and shows it on this record.

The first real track of the album, “Hang On” is among the best on the entire album. Backed with calming horns and harp strings that give a sense of tranquility, Sha gives 4 and a half minutes of bars, no hook. The song starts out with a child reciting the lyrics and fades into Sha rapping, pouring his heart on the track, talking about how far he has come, “ I went from breaking into my neighbor’s Honda Accords, to breaking records laughing at the loot I made before” to the current state of the rap game. Diving into the religious theme that the album’s name implies, “Blashphemy” is the most emotional track on the record by far, as the pain is evident in Stimuli’s voice as he curses God’s name and questions life’s struggles “We take afflictions of the addicted and serve em, and keep em sick and its hurting, so we get rich and its working, but when you flip and reverse it, they lock us up we purchased and brought it over to service, the system set up on purpose. Why you do that? You could have just made us one color like the smurfs, you don’t think that would have worked?”

The Just Blaze banger “Move Back/ The Reason” is impossible to not break your neck to. Just’s trademark snares and kicks, along with the moaning of the vocal sample fit perfectly with the Freeway feature (Just Blaze plus Freeway equals one hard track every time). The Madden soundtrack nominee is definitely a highlight on the album, not to mention one of the catchiest hooks of the year in “The Reason,” “You the reason I get up in the morning, you the reason I get up in the morning, you hate me it makes me stronger.” The track “Last Time/Bucket List” doesn’t start out as anything special, with an almost spoken word, 2 minute intro, but getting past that leads to the real gem of the second half of the album, the Focus produced “Bucket List.” With the drum and piano scheme you would expect from the Dre protégé, and a sax sample that kicks in at the perfect time unexpectedly, the Brooklyn MC drops grimy bars that mesh with the beat wonderfully, “I wonder why they call you late, when you leave, I hope God calls me late, don’t grieve I want to show up at my wake, better yet I wanna be awake.”

If there is one universal flaw of the album, it would have to be the length of it. There are only two songs that are legitimately under 4 minutes and five songs over 5 minutes. There are really no bad songs on this album, though the two cliché love songs, “I Wish I Was You” and “My Girl” are skips on the iPod; most of the tracks just simply grow stale after 3 minutes. “My Soul” and “Do It For The Doe” start out solid but lose their staying power throughout the song. “Sometimes” has a great theme to it and has Sha pouring out his soul, but at five and a half minutes and average production it leaves the listener wishing the album ended a track sooner. And no matter how hilarious, “The Smelly Cat Song” doesn’t really flow with the tone of the album, and probably would have suited better as a standout bonus track.

Sha Stimuli shows everyone that he can hang with the best lyrically, as it is lyrics that carry the album. There isn’t one track on the LP that doesn’t have a quotable. There are times where the momentum of the album is in full force and heads are forced up and down, then it begins to lose steam as songs are dragged out much to long. Nevertheless, My Soul To Keep, is a good album and is something you should definitely pick up and give a listen.

82/100

“Hang On”

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“Blasphemy”

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“Move Back/The Reason” feat Freeway & Young Chris

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“Last Time/Bucket List”

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