Ever since creating a buzz in the underground with the independent release, “Too Complex” back in 1997, L Da Headtouchas’ (a.k.a Larry Cheba) long awaited album finally drops – ‘Destined For Greatness’. After being on a number of collabos with various artists and producers, with one of the most recent being two tracks on Soul Supremes ‘The Saturday Night Agenda’ LP, L is finally able to stand on his own two, in the form of 22 tracks (minus a couple of skits). The Massachusetts native enlisted a slew of up-and-coming producers to lace the album with beats with the likes of; Chi-town’s finest Dug Infinite, Xtreme, fast-rising Soul Supreme, DJ Cuts, Napalm the Extremist, Ski, Omen, Dcon, DJ Shame, Diamond T, Tarus, Muffa and Scram Jones. Under the alias of Larry Cheba, L makes obvious use of this platform to showcase his emcee skills (punch lines, wordplay, overall delivery, etc.) in various forms with ranging concepts each track. ‘Evolution’ is a gem of a track (beat-wise and lyrically) where Larry gives a respectful and humble dedication to moms & pops duke explaining his value in the lessons, love and sacrifices that was given to mold him to where he’s at now as a person and human being. ‘Sunshine’ is a lyrical-assisted confessional prayer by L, K-Slaughta and Paw Dukes to the most high on the ills of the day-to-day on the streets and in their lives. The Dug Infinite produced banger, ‘So Alone’ is an emotional description of the come-up from the drug game, life in the streets to being on lock in the system, with the aid of Co-D and his perspective. ‘Makin It Harder’ is an ode to the girl who is always edging up on everything a cat does (whining, complaining, down-when-the-money-is-good-but-illin’-when-the-bank-is-broke, etc.) with the 70’s-ish type of feel on the beat with production from Ski. The Spanish-flava, club banger, “It Hurts” has harmonic vocals from Evelynn Santana, which is similar in style to the Fiesta remix by R. Kelly. Other standout tracks are; hometown dedicated, ‘Wortown’, ‘B.M.G.’, ‘Men of Valor’ which features KrumbSnatcha and W.O.L.V.E.S., the Beatnuts-fashioned, ‘U B Hatin’, Underground classic, ‘Too Complex’ and ‘It’s Your Life’
In a seemingly age of repetitive beats, repetitive lyrics, repetitive ideas and concepts within each varying rap track, L Da Headtoucha identifies with the world around him and within the element that he’s existing in, sharing tracks with the help of different production styles to enhance his versatile conceptual flow. Some might compare his style, flow and sound to that of Royce Da 5’9 or a couple others, which might be a close comparison, but he definitely stands alone with his individuality, capability to flip styles and messages from the hardcore street level to that of self-realization and homage. As L shows his lyrical prowl ness throughout the album, it only proves that he’s definitely a diamond in the rough of emcee that should’ve came out with sooner. The “better late than never” ideology comes into effect on “Destined For Greatness” leaving you wanting more from Larry Cheba from Wortown.
Reviewed By P The Uptownkid for HipHopHotSpot.Com
