The bay area has consistently birthed and bred some of hip-hop's most amazing and captivating talents. Nord1kone is no exception to this. He's a seasoned vet with bars for days! Rappers that are genuinely true to the art of the culture will never compromise their sound or allow the world to put them in a box. I'm sure most listeners have a specific sound in mind as soon as they hear "Bay area", however the sonic vibe of "Respect the Skills" is nothing but pure boom bap and ill rhymes. It's quite refreshing to hear this sound still going on strong! The body of work features amazing production from partner in crime and San Francisco native LMT. Break, so there's no way this one could fail. With 21 tracks and a run time of just over an hour, I'm excited to review this project after doing some research on the origins of Outsider Syndicate. After this, I have PLENTY of back catalogue to explore.
Hazardous material high voltage under pressure/ Chessmaster lyrical composition and texture"
Nord1kone - "Smoke Signals"
Nord1kone & LMT. Break "Respect The Skills" | Rap Nerd Review
As a part time producer myself, I can tell the beats are made either on an MPC or a Roland SP sampler. The production style is absolutely insane and a pleasure to listen to. Some boom bap production can tend to sound flat, but these beats were still warm, wide, and not to mention mixed and mastered to perfection. "Respect the Skills" starts in true hip-hop fashion with just a dope beat break. There are a couple more instrumental interludes within the album that give the album a consistent and cohesive flow. These include "Deep Earth" , "Mind Calibration", and one of my favorites, "Home Stretch". That beat gave me a chill up my spine no lie. The album features other dope talent as well like Cyph4, Dierek, El Da Sensei, IG, Lee Ricks, DJ MROK, Jimmy Beatz, and the I.M.F. who by the way absolutely SMOKED track 2 "Smoke Signals". Other stand out tracks on the project include "Progression", "Knock Knock", "The Concept" and "Enter the Cypher". Truthfully, every track is good.
"My years of study added up to what you can't subtract, run the numbers, we're giving you the deep math/ synthesizing to the rhythm as I'm multiplying/ kinetic energy, moving like my time's divided"
Nord1kone - "The Concept"
There's no doubt that the music is fire, but what also makes this underground hip hop gem stand out to me is the packaging. The cover is dope, and there's also a vinyl version? How cool is that!? It's mentioned early in the project that this is meant to give that old school feeling, and that's exactly what it did for me. It reminds me of the time in rap where ya know...you actually had to be GOOD. Overall "Respect the Skills" did not disappoint at all and does have great replay value. If you're into the traditional backpack rap and you want to hear clever punchlines , this album will not leave you hanging.
TAP IN WITH Nord1kone & LMT. Break --->
Instagram:
@nord1kone
@lmt.break
@outsiders.syndicate
Sincerely,
D-Sick aka "Rap Nerd"
Rap Nerd Rating (4.5 out of 5)
written by Derek "Rap Nerd" Moore
Rap Nerd LLC
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