Copywrite is an underground
hip-hop artist from Columbus, Ohio. Copywrite emerged onto the independent
hip-hop scene in 1998 along with his group "MHz" with a debut single
on the legendary Fondle 'em Records, entitled "World Premier". Since then he has worked with the High and
Mighty, Royce Da 59, Dilated Peoples,
Inspecta Deck, Sean Price as well a heavyweight producers like Jay Dee (J
Dilla), RJD2, Jake One and J-Zone. He is
a talented emcee who has worked with a cadre of UK artists including Mystro, Rhyme Asylum, Loudmouth Melvin, Skillit, Sarah Love and Sam Khan.
This is his
first full length since his 2010 release The Life and Times of Peter Nelson and
is released on Man Bites Dog records on the 13th of June. Its seventeen tracks long with only one
interlude and a whole host of emcees and producers on board. In fact every track features a number of
other emcees and a variety of producers.
The
album kicks off with a track called Year of the Gun produced by Wu Tanger
Bronze Nazareth and featuring Killah Priest, Inspecta Deck and Bigz
Flygerian. The beat is mellow with a
soulful vocal sample throughout and some nice strings. All four emcees drop lyrical gems with Deck
and Copywrite coming out the strongest but Killah Priest and Flygerian still
hold their own. The second joint
features LA native Crooked I alongside West London native Iron Braydz over a
Surock produced joint. Serious battle
rhymes over this harpsichord beat. All
three emcees spit fire on this one with lines like “Its like surviving an avalanche to die in the ambulance” and “I did’nt lose my mind I purposely
misplaced it”.
The third
track is an interlude with UK DJ Sarah Love telling us about the album and how
it features a host of UK emcees which to be honest I would expect most people
who listen to this would already know.
The fourth track is Troop jackets and features BCC All Star Sean Price
and UK emcees SAS. The beat is provided
by Kount Fif and samples the Labi Siffre classic I got the Blues with an
additional guitar sample thrown in for good measure. Copywrite once again shows off his lyrical
skilss with intricate rhymes, Sean Price does exactly what you want him to do
with boisterous rhymes and SAS represents London nicely.
The next
joint features someone called Context and Jason Rose produces the beat. It’s a slower paced track featuring an
uninspiring sample and although both emcees represent nicely the beat detracts
from their obvious skills making the track tiresome and boring. Track six features one of my favporite
rappers, Royce Da 59 and South London rapper Genesis Elijah. The beat features a crisp snare with some
nice strings but it’s the emcees who stand out here. Copywrite spits “I’ll put you in a box for
Eternity like Calvin Klein” alongside Royce telling us that “Give me a track
and I give it back in an Urn”. However
its not just the US emcees that represent on this joint Genesis Elijah makes us
South Londoners proud with a dope 16 bars.
A very strong track for those of us who like our lyrics strong.
J.O.Y. is up next featuring one of my favorite indie
emcees Torae and a vocalist called Jason Rose who also produces the track. The beat features an of kilter piano and some
nice snares alongside some singing from Jason Rose which at first I didn’t like
but after a few listens it grew on me.
Torae and Copywrite drop some nice lyrics with intricate word play. A surprisingly enjoyable track. Jason Rose also produces the next track, Got
Myself. Which is a snappy joint with a
nice piano loop and light drum paradiddle throughout. Lyrically we have Gillie the Kidd and
Sinister Daniro joining Copywrite this time with pretty much run of the mill
lyrics but this highlight’s above average lyrics.
More Sorrow
is a mellow joint paying homage to those who have left us produced by Stu
Bangas. Lyrically it works well to
express the emcee’s grief and the beat is mellow but the sung chorus grates and
detracts from the track. Without the
singing the track would have been better instead the singing ends up cheapening
the track. Copywrite and Illogic
represent well but Don Jaga’s sing is misplaced. Yo MTV Rap (Money for Nuthin) is another
Jason Rose produced joint which he also lays down some vocals on. I have a problem with this track as its just
a poor rip off of Dire Straits and from what I have heard on the album this is
below par for both Copywrite and Jaosn Rose.
A bad idea in my opinion that should never have been allowed to get this
far.
Golden State (of Mind) is a superb
tribute to LA featuring LA legends Casual, Evidence and Roc Marciano over a
Vanderslice beat reminiscent of the West Coat indie heyday of the late
90s. A very enjoyable slower paced joint
featuring a good beat, some nice scratches and strong lyrics from all four
emcees. Illogic joins Copywrite again
for the Marco Polo produced Opium Prodigies.
This is classic East Coast Boom Bap with two talented emcees spitting
intrcicate rhymes that will fly over the head of your average Lil Wayne
fan. Lines like “ Use reason and logic
and stop using Reason and Logik” impress me and also show me who this album is
aimed at, straight up B-Boys. Killah
Priest returns for the Jaguar Skills produced track Arachnophobia this time
with Lord Basis and Melanin 9. It’s a
faster paced joint that the majority of the album and all emcees perform well. The beat sounds like its sampling some
orchestral strings with a nice crisp snare.
The fourteenth track of the album,
Starter Hats is produced by Kount Fif and features Sonny Seeza and Akalla on
the mic alongside Copywrite. The beat is
nice and features samples that sound like they could have been lifted from a mid
70s cop show. Again the UK lyricists
represent these shores skillfully alongside their US counterparts. The beat works well and so do the emcees to
produce a dope track. G$K is the
fifteenth track on the album and is another Stu Bangas produced joint. It features a lovely vocal sample running
throughout and touching lyrics from UK emcee Dru Blu alongside Jason Rose’s
singing again. However this time the
singing works well as its not too intrusive and adds to the tune rather than
detract from it. Copywrite rhymes well as per usual but then I would expect
nothing less form this talented emcee.
The
penultimate track of the album, Still Pickin sees Sean Price return this time
with UK legend Mystro and Dom with Kount Fif behind the boards. The beat is nice with a xylophone sample and
some dusty drums. All emcees show their
own personalities in their rhymes providing interesting and at times funny
metaphors. Another strong track. The album ends with an eight and a half opus
called A Talk with Jesus produced by Poetiq Beatz. This track is has Copywrite on his own and
shows him being very personal in his rhymes.
Talking about the loss of his parents and his relationship with religion. A skillful track where the second verse sees
him acting out a conversation with God where he provides both sides of the
conversation. An interesting concept
handled well. The album ends with Illogic giving a brief summary of Ohio
Hip-Hop.
All in all
a very strong Hip Hop album. It’s not
ground breaking musically but then again I don’t always want that. It provides strong Boom Bap beats that sound
great in my car with interesting talented lyricists. Copywrite has always been a great lyricist
who has earned his underground stripes but with this album he has shown his
respect for UK hip-hop by including so many of the dopest UK emcees. A few of the tracks could have been dropped
which would have made it a stronger album and I would have liked to hear more
of Copywrite on his own being more personal as some of his best work ever has
been when he has shown his own life through his rhymes (the phenomenal June
from RjD2’s first album is a fantastic example of this). However that said he is a talented battle
emcees who uses detailed metaphors and snappy punch lines all over this
album. The list of guests help to make
this a good strong album. Easily a four
out of five.
