Get To Know H.E.R.

Honestly I was never really a huge fan of Slum Village, not even of Fantastic Vol 2. Blasphemy I know, but while it was chill beyond no other album ever created, sometimes it was way too chill and I ended up zoned out a lot. Anyways, Elzhi wasn’t even an official member of Slum Village at that time so let’s move on. While I never really got too deep into Slum Village as a group, I do consider myself something of an Elzhi fan and I played the shit out of Europass earlier this year. So along with his great pre CD release, and the fact that the majority of The Preface is supposedly produced by Black Milk (slightly overrated, but with good reason), I’m almost 100% certain that this is going to be a good album. Then again, that’s what I felt about the RZA’s album earlier this year, so we’ll see.

The Good:

2. The Leak (ft Ayah) - After a solid intro, this track really kicks things off. Honestly, I’m all for leaving intros off albums if they add nothing to the overall album and just starting albums with actual songs.

3. Guessing Game - There’s so much going on in the production that it’s amazing that Elzhi’s rhymes manage to stay the focus of the whole thing. Great track if I’ve ever heard one.

4. Motown 25 (ft Royce Da 5′9″) - Yeah, you’ve probably heard it before on Europass. Who cares? This track is hot as fuck. I would’ve been mad if they left this off. The beat provided by Black Milk is banging, Elzhi comes correct, and Royce tears shit up. Royce is one of the most underappreciated emcees of all time.

5. Brag Swag - Three excellent tracks in a row. So far this album is shaping up very nicely.

6. Colors

8. D.E.M.O.N.S. 

9. Save Ya (ft T3) - It’s a nice collabo with fellow Slum Village member T3. You’ve probably heard it already on Europass, but this version’s actually a bit different.

11. Transitional Joint - The beat gives this song a great chill vibe to it. Not the chill vibe that puts you to sleep but that chill vibe you want to kick back and drink a beer with your friends to.

12. Talking In My Sleep 

13. The Science (ft Fes Roc) - The production is kept pretty minimal without absolutely sucking ass, which allows for a completely rhyme centered track, just the way I like it.

14. Hands Up 

15. What I Write - Sick track. It’s probably the best track since Brag Swag.

16. Growing Up (ft AB) - The singing on the hook meshes with the beat very nicely, and makes for one hell of a closing track.

The Solid:

1. Intro (The Preface) - It’s a decent intro but honestly doesn’t stand out in any way, shape or form.

7. Fire remix (ft Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Fatt Father, Danny Brown, and Fat Ray) - The hit trees hard like George of the Jungle line had me laughing for a bit, but overall I’m not feeling this track as much as I did the tracks before.

10. Yeah (ft Phat Kat) 

The Bad:

Final Score: 9.5/9.0

So I was wrong about The Preface. It’s not a good album, it’s fucking fire. Seriously, Elzhi comes off a lot harder on this than on any other Slum Village track I’ve heard and it really pays off. Motown 25 is still the best song and the fact that it was included on Europass is alright with me. It’s an excellent album and it’s may even be slightly better than the Reks’ album I was going nuts over last month. Pick this shit up.

On a separate but related note, Black Milk is still not an excellent producer in my eyes, but the potential is most definitely there and is slowly being realized.