- Production: Apathy, Celph Titled
- Label: Bronx Science Records / Buds Distribution
This release has caused me to say such things as “Rise is God,” and, “why do other people even sell their shit?” Well, although these are great overstatements, I do believe this to be a classic release in a lot of ways. First, it is Apathy’s 12″ production debut, which shines bright as hell over a beat that will I hope is played for every open mic for the rest of the year. Secondly, Rise brings a different battle style than almost any other emcee. Rise has abandoned the word “like” for every punchline. People WILL adopt this style. Rise JUST talks about how dope he is…he rarely refers to “you,” and when he does, it’s always an outstanding line. Rise brings some serious shit, basically.
The A-side, “Wickedest Flow,” is stunning. An hot little sample-filled beat courtesy of Apathy is the perfect accompaniment to Rise’s laid back voice and powerful battle lyrics. Rise drops some fun, impressive lines, such as, “Affect my direct rhymes? You’ll never be able / I use your CD’s for mirrors…tapes level my table / So many labels, known differently all over the world / Rise…my Indian name is Touchess Yagirl.” A sampled hook, taken from another braggadocious Rise quote from Apathy’s “Every Emcee” is the perfect top-off for an amazing, fun song. This one is gonna stay on my turntables for a VERY long time.
The Celph Titled-produced B-Side, “No Faith” is a well done song about the struggles of being an underground emcee. Rise maintains multi-syllabic schemes and doesn’t get off topic at all, with some introspective (and more outrospective) parts of the song. Rise keeps it real, describing a lot of the shit that a lot of emcees go through, and proving that he can do more than battle.
I can’t even decide which of these songs is better. Each of them is perfect. Rise speaks on an easy subject (battling), and does it better than almost anybody can. Then, he speaks on a difficult subject, does it better than almost anybody can, and remains funny while being dead serious. Rise has a LOT of talent. He’s EASILY the best member of the Demigodz, and has secured his spot in my favorite 10 current emcees list. Flow, voice, lyrics, and classic Demigodz production mix on this single to make it a must buy, and one that will be recognized as fire for a long time to come. [HeadLine]
Reviewed By RhymeLife.Com for HipHopHotSpot.Com
