In the spring of 2019, he confirmed that The Disconnect would in fact be coming out but, not before this surprise collaboration. The first single from Collusion was released towards the end of March with the album officially dropping worldwide on April 21st.
The intro skit begins with a soundbite from CNN as news reporters break down what collusion means. The story of Russian involvement in the 2015 American election has been on the TV for years at this point and this intro does a great job of implying how those themes of collusion and secrecy could play out on the album. But y'know, since there's no verse on this intro I'm skipping it a lot.
The opening song "Think Of That" was also the lead single. Vanderslice brings flips guitar strums and vocal riffing to accompany our snares and kicks. This is probably one of the slowest singles Diabolic has been a part of and it really works. The beat is simple and open allowing Diabolic to bounce from one syllable scheme to the next. We're also quickly reacquainted with Bolics shit disturber attitude as he sneaks in some jabs at both Talib Kweli and Immortal Technique and he finishes off with his middle fingers up at any trash talkers over the internet.
"Jitter Bug" is a pretty funky tune. Its one of my favourites beats on the album with glittering pianos and the classic crackle of vinyl playing alongside the beat. The kick and snares are pretty light. Its Bolics flow that really is the best part of the song. He catches us up on family matters and a paranoid world. Each verse carries the same rhyme through to the end with numerous internal rhymes as well. Jitter Bug can be interpreted on a complex level but its smooth as well. Jade Gritty has great vocals and attitude on the hook too making for one of the albums catchier moments.
One of my favourite stories on the album is "Normalize". Vanderslice cooks up some seriously heavy bass with sci-fi synths and rumbling piano keys. This beat reminds me of something that I might've heard on that Adlib and Rob The Viking EP a few years back. Bolic lyrics paint a picture of riots, chaos and anarchy. Some of my favourite internal rhymes on the whole album are on this song like "I say we show these pigs what survival mode is/More heads'll roll then human sacrifices on the Mayan solstice." The hook just drives the point home even further. This song is probably what Heath Ledgers Joker was bumping. Violence and calamity promoted as if no other alternative exists. Shits hard.
The second single of the album "See The Light" has one of my favourite instrumentals on the record. It's consistently eerie from its bass lines and drums breaks to what I'm gonna guess is a synth or maybe a stretched string sample. I love the couple of guitar notes that play as well. It's certainly one of the darker scores on Collusion. This joint and the first single "Think Of That" reminded me how much I missed hearing Diabolic across a whole record. There's just a great complexity and vocabulary to his rhymes and we're familiarized in lines like "Never spit a verse that wasn't worth discussing/Nasty as the bile in a persons stomach that a surgeons pumping." Bolic is no slouch when it comes to having an attitude on the mic but its syllable schemes like that that always add that extra icing to his music. Thats partly why I'm only half on board with this song. Nems rocks a guests verse here but there isn't the same credence given to complexity or vocabulary. I'm not hating on Nems for anything outside this verse as he had a very solid album this year too and I've heard him bring the pain as a feature before, however, this time around I was left wanting a little more from him.
"Who We Are" is a much more self aware and contemplative track as Diabolic employs the help of Tre Starr, Coast and John Jigg$. The group relates back to their days growing up in Long Island. Vanderslice hasn't done a beat that wasn't worth nodding your head to so far and this one just might be my favourite. The drums thunder along through shimmering instrumentation as Diabolic opens the track shouting out all the counties on the island and areas he reps before he begins his verse. I love his line "Both his eyes are open seeing lies and scams/That's why I hide my hand like I'm in was inside of France/Steady grind treating every line like a diagram/Like its the last wish of a dying man that I can cram." John Jigg$ has probably my favourite cadence and rhyme schemes in the song and its great to see Coast on a song again as he was certainly a highlight of the features on Fightin Words. My favourite line of the song has to be from Tre Starr when he said "I'm in the belly of the beast but it's a beautiful biography". Despite all the conditions they grew up in and as directionless as they all felt coming up there's a terrific sense of gratitude across this song. An easy contender for best track on Collusion.
The next song "Other Side" is another solid song too. Wild piano keys and deep bass lines weave through the drums for another solid instrumental. After hearing The Disconnect, "Other Side" almost sounds like an interlude or part one to the "Holy War" song on that album. Diabolic is grimly accepting the separation between him and other people as indicated by the chorus "I don't give a fuck if I'm by you other guys/And if I had to summarize, fuck you is my one reply." It's a great description of where Bolic will always stand no matter the political or societal landscape There's not a whole lot of vulgarity in the verses as Diabolic instead opts to flex his vocabulary and internal rhymes. I love the way Bolic says "So batshit Ace Venturas in a cave investigating" but my favourite quotable comes at the bottom of the first verse alluding to the chemistry he and Vanderslice have "It's like riding a bike for me, your lives are the price/Then I'm dividing with 'Slice like apple pie with a knife." Anytime we as an audience get these collaborations of rapper and producer I'm always anxious to hear any mention of their friendship or chemistry come out in the lyrics. That happened earlier a few times in the record I just thought I should mention it now. Anyways, solid song.
Probably the biggest curveball or experimentation on the production and rapping fronts would be our next track "Once Again". Funky brass instruments and low piano notes bounce around sporadic drum breaks to create easily the most unique sound on the record. Diabolic runs through so many rhymes while still keeping the exact same tempo through each line and verse. Much like the rest of the album there's too many quotables to narrow down a favourite but "Once Again, Vanderslice flipped some fire shit/Bring your crew, who you dying with" is a definite contender and the acknowledgment of his release history at the end of the song is worth noting as well. I love the chorus choice as Diabolic finishes each verse by saying "Once Again" as drums and trumpets triumphantly swell to take the chorus by storm. If the two of them have plans to release another front to back collaboration this is the kind of fun experimentation I'd love to hear more off.
"Simon Phoenix" gets a lot of replay from me. The song start really mysterious like with deep strings before the drums and Diabolics verse drop together. We're struck immediately with probably the fastest paced joint on the record from its wild piano melodies to the rolling drums hits. Diabolic brings a lot more animation in his delivery especially in the third verse when he says "I'm a shandy mick, I got a bitch in torn clothes while you matching wardrobes with Andy Dick". His humor and dejection play very well in the final line of the song to. Over the past couple of years through Twitter and other social media battlegrounds Diabolic has been at odds with leftists and rightists alike. It's cool to see the dejection portrayed so well across this album. Songs like this, "Normalize" and "Other Side" are what really hold the narrative of the album together without falling into the trap of another long winded installment of the "Truth" series. "Simon Phoenix" as a title works on so many levels as well. This is a very layered song from the themes, beats and bars. Also I should note DJ Revolution adds great scratches that match the lyrics nicely.
"Last Day" doesn't quite match my enjoyment of the last Diabolic and Coast song from Fightin' Words. Thats mostly because tonally this one is way different. 2014's "Here We Go" was a little catchier and more accessible but there's great moments in this track as well. As the finishing track its more contemplated and conscious with production that that chimes and sparkles to fit the tone of what our MC's are saying. Diabolic up until this point has been very dejected and critical but there's lines here like "What's it mean when I strive for being more/When all I see is poor people die tryna flee the war?" demonstrate that even beneath his attitude there is a sympathy to him and his message. Coast similarly conveys his own head space with bars like "Its business I hope you never take it personal/If you ain't versatile then you ain't really purposeful." There's a level of being heart broken and numb to the state of the world coming from both MCs but its mixed in with the sympathy and urgency we all have to make the best of our lives for those we care about. It's a great song but I feel the opportunity to make something catchier was there too.
The "Collusion Outro" calls back to his outro from "Liar And A Thief " where we hear Bolic inviting the listener to be triggered and upset over his lyrics while he counts money and tells them to slit their wrists with the vinyl copy. I usually rewind the album before this skit even starts but it's still a hilarious way to close a record.
I gotta say that Collusion is an extremely solid record. Vanderslices production is as punchy and it is musical and you can hear Diabolic actually having fun on this record even when he trudges through some of the grittier subject matter. The slower bpm that most of this album operates in actually suits Diabolics style better than I initially though it had. Diabolic is able to play with syllable schemes and flows that we wouldn't normally hear. Combine that with really terrific demonstrations of chemistry and experimentation like "Once Again" and "Jitter Bug" and you have an album that nestles comfortably in individual the discographies of Diabolic and Vanderslice, but also sets the two of them up as a collaborative act I'd love to hear more from on a second record.
Pros: Diabolic has always been one of my favourite rappers and this is another one for the books. He's poking fun at current rap trends, dishing his opinion of American society and politics as well as updating us on his home life. All this is paired with fantastic and colourful production from Slice. Front to back it has the least hiccups so far in Bolics catalog as he pushes his pen further and further and Vanderslice has very consistent and exciting music throughout. The features when employed all add something great as well. Also the streamers out there might not know but the CD has instrumentals on the other half which is a creative choice I'm really grateful for. I always need something for my drunk homies to freestyle to when I'm dropping them off.
Cons: I always crave the tracklisting on an album to be closer to fifteen than ten and felt like one or two songs would've fleshed it out a little more. A lot of Diabolics lyrics can come across as quite abrasive so I wish the lighter or more comedic tone from tracks like "Once Again" or "Think Of That" bled through onto maybe one more song, just to cheer us up a little.
Official Rating: 83%
No comments:
Post a Comment