The album starts with an eerie intro entitled "News From the Ship" , it sounds like spoken Word in a somewhat foreign language, that seems to be speaking to him/someone, while they are in a dream state while sleeping, I may be slightly off about that but its still trippy as hell, as soon as thats over you get to the first track with vocals "Amnesia" where Elzhi displays his pen game, he is in a boastful but confident mood on this one, with the standout line being "They look for dirt when they dug up my past but unearth these diamonds, Too pricey for your neck and wrist wear Got the Shady execs in despair Those who hit the deck can kiss air, From 80,000 feet off the ground, Rising like cream that turned steamed coffee brown, That's simple math during breakfast with your buttered toast, Thoughts I utter most Just make the pen mightier than the sword that can gutter ghosts.." , he knows his worth and isn't afraid to vent in his Music to the listener, the vocals are very uplifting on this one, reminding you that you are loved by at least somebody,
the follow up track "Every Moment" feels like a continuation of "Amnesia" but this time around it centers around not just being loved by somebody but to see each day as a gift, that you can live in your own way, on "King shyt (Say Word)" Elzhi is really feeling himself and expressing that he is a King of his craft, he starts the song over some drums with the lines "All king everything, Call me sire from the traces of royalty in my blood" and on the hook he also says "I'm married to my faith as long as the ring fit" , on the first verse he spits some funny lines like "They know the name but wouldn't speak it after dark three times in the mirror" , on the second verse his tone is much more serious, where he raps about nobody being able to shoot down his dreams, he really wants his respect with the music, he big's up himself while paying homage with the line "I was on cassettes speaking murder over caution tape, I got a question; does anybody make music anymore?, Like Biggie at 24 or Nas in '94, I hear lies behind war, Y'all thought it was curtains, I just disguised the encore." all this over a dreamy traditional Hip-Hop beat with some cool piano and ear grabbing synthesizer.
"Understanding / Understanding Reprise" is also beautifully produced, with more Piano and this rhythmic baseline, the track is based around reaching an understanding with each other, when building a connection and future, when it comes to raising a kid and investing for those around him, this track is very soulful and a cool change of pace, Hip-Hop meets Neo Soul, "Already Gone" was the 2nd single from this album and in my opinion slightly superior to the track that follows this one, the track starts with a funky baseline, that pulls you in right away, their is a nice echo in the sung vocals, which sound like their coming from a distant place in time, Elzhi's songwriting is very strong on this track, the song has a pessimistic feel but a real nostalgic flare with the production and vocals, On "Strangeland" hes back on his boastful King talk, over the Jazziest beat on the album with some nice punchy drums, I love the way he closes this song out with the lines "We came to record the stand-out album of the year for the listeners, For those cooking up the dish like it's Siddish for us, It's going to get ate up, how it's meant to be, I mentally disturbed the entity that's sent to me.." , his confidence is not overbearing, its quite humorous and somewhat justified by the way he can rap and write lyrics. On "Pros and Cons" Elzhi gets graphic and emotional, "Nefertiti" is a signature Elzhi track, which has shades of "Transitonal Joint" & "Ferndale" from his last album, where he gives thanks to a Woman who he sees as a Queen, this track is respectful and classy, on the closing song "Compassion", he makes a well crafted track about being thankful for the hardships and critics and listeners, who helped shape his mindset.
This album really gets better and better with each listen, don't listen to this once without paying attention to the lyrics, this is sophisticated grown man Hip-Hop, Elzhi has being a mainstay in my collection and music rotation for years, he had a 5 year hiatus as a solo artist after the "Elmatic" mixtape dropped, due to personal problems and mental health, that made me more concerned than impatient, when he came back on the "Lead Poison" album you really got that vulnerable and deep side of Elzhi, you can tell he was going through the most when making that project, one thing about him as an artist is, the way he can craft words so effortlessly, it makes you want to be an MC yourself, his flow is impeccable and the way he opens each song lyrically, is that classic golden era way, the bar is normally quotable. Georgia Anne Muldrow I was no stranger to coming into this either, she has being doing great stuff, for well over a decade now, she is not only a good producer but a good ARTIST, it so happens her Beat tape "VWETO III" is also fire.
dope album.
damn maybe my taste level is low cause I actually just straight up like her stuff. They told me they were just going around playing venues from town to town.bought her CD..just loved her songs. I'm gonna go down a trip down memory lane and play those old songs again
