Curriculum Vitae

Album Review

Most MCs rhyme about conflict of their own doing, whether in their imagination or a result of poor choices. Jair Dynast has something for real on his mind. A star basketball player until he discovered he had a rare heart ailment, hip-hop is a second choice in career. Perhaps it is because of this major life change that he sounds both bitter and content at once. "Ain't no immunity see no one's immune to me/So you can consider these words I spit a eulogy" he rhymes in "Struggle," although his warm baritone carries none of the aggression these words (and some much more severe) suggest. Things lighten up on the dancehall strut "So Slow" while the following "Beg No Friends" takes a harder Jamaican stutter. The fact that a good half of this album utilizes island beats means it's more energetic than most conscious rap records. But this, along with the array of Toronto-based guests, Gold Spade, Indisipher, Mad Face, Kev-Db Osci, Soupy and Shakira, (the latter of whom takes over the complete vocals for "Story") will leave you wondering how much voice Dynast really has. As a cappella opener and closers "Militant" and "Life Value" prove, he can in fact flow. But while his story of hardship might be more compelling than Kanye West's jaw-wiring personal drama, Dynast needs to step a bit stronger to be taken as serious as a heart attack.