Easily One of the top Hip-Hop albums of the year thus far!
by Sama'an
As the Deviants of Reality's cd "Love, Sex, and Situation" begins a smooth jazz beat plays softly in the background as the deep voice of a fake radio dj played by DJ Alex J welcomes you to the Late Night Love Line, a skit which will continue you through the album without ruining it's integrity.
The first song, Mystikal, opens with a wonderfully smooth beat that should have flashbacks of The Roots and A Tribe Called Quest playing through your head almost immediately. It is a fun song which is based on the issue of women who just won't make up their mind about relationships. A smooth R&B voice croons "You're so mystikal, here we go, vertigo." Alex J opens up the 1st verse by asking "Girlfriend so what's the situation, are you for real, are you just playin? Everytime we split we get back together again, I thought you said that you just wanted to be friends." The next verse finds D.O.R.'s other half, Udig summarizing the song by saying that the girl is "Hurricane Anita, I hate her but i need her"
As the song ends, the R&B singer is asking playfully "What's up what's up with us?" If you're looking for a great song to just lay back and relax to, this is the one.
"Summertime" is just an absolutely great joint, a slowed down salsa groove, a high pitched female voice singing "Summertiiiiiiiiime," and Alex joining in with "It goes down in the summer, it goes down son, it goes down."
"Raise It Up" has the biggest old-school feel on the album. It invites the listener to throw his/her hands up and "Raise it up, we gonna raise it up, we wanna raise you up, we gonna push it push it." On the song Deviants of Reality "Thank the Lord for Outkast and The Roots. "Perfect World" finds a familliar crooner singing "Sometimes i wish i could go back in time, and relive my life...In a perfect world i could change all that's wrong with my life," which is something i think we all wish we could do from time to time. UDig rhymes about frustration in tryng to find the right girl, "It's really hard to find a girl that relates like matching license plates, on the first date, but sorry it was my mistake...."
"I Get Down Like That" is the closest thing to a club record on the disc. While a full non-club record would have been good, variety makes it great. The Deviants ride a Middle Eastern beat all the way through the song for some body-shaking fun.
"Let It Go" is just an absolute perfect song to end an album with. Using what is probably the greatest jazz-flute sample I've ever heard, Alex and UDig give you great lyrics and an amazing beat you can just absolutely, 100% chill to. By the end of the song you'll be singing along too, "We let it go son, we let it go..."
Some artists hire great producers, but can't match up their poor lyrics with the all-star beats (e.g. 50 Cent, Lil Jon), others flop because they think lyrics alone can carry them (e.g. Grafh, Canibus), but the duo, Deviants of Reality, out of Red Bank, New Jersey do not disappoint you on either side of the spectrum. Their superb abillity with words is matched beautifully with the beats provided by rapper/producer DJ Alex J.
I have not heard such mastery of music in years. Just when i thought hip-hop was drowning in club albums focused on sex, drugs and violence, the Deviants of Reality tossed it a rope and pulled it out of the quicksand. It feels like a second-coming of A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, or De La Soul, but it's not, this group, though similar sounding, have their own unique vibe.
5 star albums are ones that will be remembered, praised and emulated 15-20 years from now, and this is just that. A true hip-hop classic in every sense of the phrase, it is an album your ears will thank you for allowing them to hear. mark my words, this is 2006's album of the year!
--Sama'an Ashrawi, Cy-Fair Reporter
