23/07/2023
REKS (biased) REVIEW.....MUSIC
Rekless aka Rek -WALKING CONTRADICTION
Rating: objectively speaking it's 💣, subjectively speaking it's the 🔥 that touched the wick of the 💣
🇨🇦 rapper is back with a new project "WALKING CONTRADICTION" (official release Aug 2nd,2023.). The album contains 10 tracks from a variety of Uber talented beat producers (H3music 🇺🇲, Heritvge🇺🇲, Ablo Esco 🇺🇲) and mixed by Rekless himself, plus a few features from other talented artists. Production wise, this album is next level, dripping with creativity, giving the music a refreshingly new unique sound. This Album falls into the category of Alternative Hip Hop....it's not all cash clothes and hoes, there's actual thought put into this project, and what will likely help this album stand out is the concept....The album is Titled WALKING CONTRADICTION, and stays true to that contradictory theme, with songs alternating between opposing view points, or you may say light/dark. You'll have 1 song talking very positively and oozing motivation, followed by a track about robbing a bank because the world sucks. The whole project adheres to this concept, which is a lost art in today's music.
the Title track WALKING CONTRADICTION has a vibe you'd expect to hear on a Kendrick Lamar project...an uptempo drill inspired beat that Rekless dances on going from aggressive to smooth, soft to hard, with a melodic hook speaking in contradictions with some very creative memorable bars.
This is followed with a more modern boom bap style track KEEP IT THORO with a feature from Indiana Artist Ablo Esco and repeating sample from prodigy's (of mobb deep)song by the same name. Ablo and Rekless play well off each other's vibe, making for a banger of a track. They definitely kept it thoro.
the 3rd track GOOD LIFE has a vibe that makes you want to go sit on a beach and look at the ocean, with a hook that will be stuck in you head long after you hear it. The juxtaposition of this song, is smooth delivery dreaming of living a good life, but with deeper meaning.
The fourth track sees Rekless reuniting with long time collaborator, R&B singer Maurice Weeks. this heavy bass track is about REP[PING] THE CITY you live in with Rekless speaking on the good and bad of his city with a memorizing soulful hook by Weeks. very unique flow by Rekless on this one, that will have you guessing what's coming next.
Fifth track goes in a completely different direction. FIND THE WAY is an almost sing-rap style over a guitar laced beat about finding your way in life. Rekless gets a bit personal on this track, but it's still relatable to listeners. Again the melodic hook will stick in your brain like gum on your shoe.
Track 6 is where this album takes a dark turn, but in an interesting way. the song TAKE IT TO THE BANK is a hypothetical story about a rapper who decides to rob a bank to get the cash to try to forward his music career. very interesting word play in this one, with a contradictory hook, stating that he is robbing the bank to use the money to make more money in his rap career then bringing it back to the bank to invest. the beat is dark but upbeat, it's an interesting tune.
the 7th tune is , a song about trying to make it in the world, but because of the non stop bullsh¡t we face in life, the only way to survive in the jungle is to release the inner savage....in turn becoming a problem to society and basically becoming what he's complaining about. thus song is over an unusual abstract drill inspired beat.
The 8th track is Mrs.Reks favorite off the album. the song WAR DOGS, plays off the name given to people who profit off war, if you've seen the movie War Dogs, you'll understand the concept. The difference is, he is not profiting directly off a live war, but rather stating that us in the western world are all a form of War Dog since to live in our modern privileged society, ppl have to suffer so we can all prosper. Rekless states that we're all guilty of being a War DoGs. You may disagree, but after taking in this very aggressive song, you'll likely see the world in a different light.
the 9th track is an interesting one. The song states that Rekless has a dark version of himself, very similar to the late DMX. Rekless uses bars from popular DMX songs to drive the concept over an energetic beat.
the final track sees Rekless reuniting with his NOTUS brethren Chris Thomas and Double E. the song title is "I can do anything", and they definitely do anything, with bars that are all over the place....literally doing anything, but nonetheless, you won't even notice while nodding your head.
Overall, for an underground artist putting the whole album together on a budget of $0.00 and doing all the production solo, this album delivers a solid product, definitely worth a listen. It is a breath of fresh air given from the winds of creativity in a music industry that seemingly creates the same music over an over. This project may not be for everyone, but it has a solid variety of song types that will appeal to listeners of all genres of music. if you like creative music, I think you'll enjoy this album.
-Rek
