In today's PYSC I talked a little bit about Honors English and his debut album with producer Needlz. However, it's an injustice to say a little about such quality hop hop, it deserves a whole review (as do a lot of the other projects) and because this is his debut, I think it warrants it.
As the first rapper on producer Needlz' Dry Rain Entertainment, the bar for Honors E was likely very high. People might've been expecting a producer/rapper, a job description that is becoming more common. People might have expected a rapper more similar to some of the other artists that Needlz has produced for e.g. Donnis, 50 Cent, and Drake. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. I first heard Honors English when I saw the video for his single "Crazay", and though the video was cool and the spitting was quality, I felt like something was missing. What was missing was a full project.
Some artists are able to sell millions of records off of one hit single, but in today's industry (in reality in the greater history of hip hop) being a solid, respected artist is about the album. Plenty of people can have accidental masterpieces, but creating 11 or more for one project takes both time and talent. That's one of my personal reasons for not downloading singles, and that's why I wasn't sure Honors E could deliver. "Crazay" was good, but no matter how unorthodox, clever, and interesting the video and song were, if State of the Art wasn't quality enough, then he might've gotten the do-not listen stamp. However, I soon found out, "[Honors English] is a fucking beast." and so is Needlz.
From the "Intro" we get to hear Needlz work his magic with a solid baseline, angelic choral sounds, and a calm that reminds me of System of a Down. A tempering set-up that alludes to the greater explosion that is to come. Without a bit of delay, the calm breaks into a contained explosion on "The Name Is..." which acts as an introduction to Honors English. With lines like "counting the emcees as sick as me? You'll need two missing hands..." we can clearly see how witty Honors E can get, but this isn't something that he'll do for free. His goal, like most passionate emcees, is to earn money from this. Bink! and Needlz handle the production on this track with at least two tonal changes (a constant production theme here). The next song "Anybody Go Hard" finds Honors E questioning the country that we are apart of , with lines like "funny how the illiterate guys have the longest sentences..."while also lacing the instrumental with verses that build up in energy. The production here begins with very punchy drums, which sink into a very orchestrated soundscape which sounds extremely atmospheric. Basically an instrumental to play while meditating. Honors E does just that through his words.
Fast forwarding a bit takes us to the seminal track on the album "Cymbals on the Sidewalk" which sees Needlz as the conductor of an orchestra featuring piano, violins, and electric bass, mixed to perfection. Again the drums here are punchy, but rest underneath the other instruments very well. We hear Honors English come even more at the issues in our society; which is the theme of the album, with each song coming back to speak on where Hip Hop is and what world surrounds it. Skipping over a couple other tracks brings us to the first single from the album "Flying High" which features Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco. Here we can hear Honors English shed the saturated cinematic instrumentals that make up the majority of the album, and hear him get extremely free and relaxed. This song is about having a good time, yet Honors E still finds a way to slip in some thought similar to Lupe. "Flying High" also shows us that Honors English can rock just about any tempo of instrumental, and can throw some very light hearted energy behind his bars and can carry hooks as well.
Nothing's ever all good, and at times on State of the Art I found myself wanting Honors E to crank the energy a bit more. I found myself expecting build ups to culminate in a kanye-esque presence and found myself a bit disappointed. After a marathon of listens, this problem isn't a "problem" but Honors English has a voice that could definitely pack a greater punch if he brought out more levels (not telling him to sing) but a bit more tonal variety would be nice. There's no instance where this stands out more than on "Anybody Go Hard" where Honors E sets a level of inflection that isn't exactly matched throughout. Also, as a whole I'd have liked to hear E carry more of the hooks, as Needlz sampled vocals for a large portion of the songs, or they were sung by another singer.
Those things said, State of the Art is definitely one of the more impressive free albums and one of the best artist debuts I've heard in a long time. Though 2011's Blue Slide Park, Radioactive, & Cole Word: The Sideline Story, had some hiccoughs and stumbles, Honors English is proving that well thought out ideas and execution still equal great hip hop. I'm looking forward to more music from Honors English and Needlz' label Dry Rain Entertainment.
Lyrics 9/10 Beats 10/10 Originality 9/10
Overall 9/10
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