Asterisk: Three

QN5 Flexing Their 'STREET' Muscles...

     

For those of you who've followed QN5 over the years, you'll know that their artists are highly versatile stylistically. They can switch from a love song, to a punchline battle rap, to a song where they're pummeling your skull in within an instant. It's that kind of dynamic that has made their music so refreshing - you're always surprised by how well they do all of these things. 'Asterisk:Three' is no exception to this rule. By far, this is the most 'STREET' oriented album they've put together in the Asterisk series. Just take a listen to "U Talk To Much" or Poison Pen's "Stoopid" and it's easy to see why. The production is grimey, gritty, and hard-knocking. The rhymes are on some straight "F*CK YOU UP" mentality. The difference between your standard NY-Mixtape variety and QN5 is that real lyrical skill is flexed in the process. This is Hip Hop aggro at its finest. This CD also marked the debut of PackFM's crowd-anthem, "Stomp". Just do a YouTube search for live footage of this song if you doubt its' rowdy-nature. Still, as with any QN5 release, there is still much diversity in the topics to be had. Songs like "Route of Evil" by Session, tracks the path of a dollar bill in the innercity, while Tonedeff & Kno's provide "No Hope" from the Chico & The Man project - a dedication to a slain friend. All in all, this album is more of a showcase for the QN5 production team moreso than their artists. But if you need something to get your adrenaline pumped...Asterisk:Three is definitely recommended.