This album was released on May 18th this year. Emceein’ Eye is an artist from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He’s signed to Cold Rhymes Records, which is why I decided to check him out. I’d never heard any of his work before, but I listened to about three singles from this album and really enjoyed them. I’m not expecting this to be one of the best albums of the year, but I’ll be kinda shocked if I don’t enjoy it at least to some extent.

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The album begins with Broken Glass, which is a highlight for me. I really like the kind of dusty, guitar driven production from Brett F, and Emceein’ Eye’s performance over it is great. I really like how aggressive he sounds, and the somewhat motivational lyricism is very wholesome.

If you need some strength, you can have some of mine
I know this world seems rugged, rough & covered in grime
Don't give up, never comply
And if you need some strength, you can have some of mine

I also like the melodic hook which alludes to Grandmaster Flash’s monumental single, The Message. The song is dope as hell. It’s followed by Sprained My Chakra. Once again, I’m really digging the kind of Rock influenced production from Brett F. The song is just under two minutes, but I wouldn’t say it sounds incomplete or anything. I really like Emceein’ Eye’s performance on this one.

Sprained my chakra, car full of Happy Meal bags
Drivin' through a tunnel of trees planted by my dad
Spinnin' Mary Mary, lookin' clean and let's strike
A lightning bolt to the brain, heartbeat starts to spike

The entire song is pretty much just one verse, so there’s not a whole lot to dig into. I like it a lot though. It’s a dope song. It’s followed by Black Mop Water, which was released ahead of time as a single. I wrote about it during week 20 of this year.

This track is pretty solid, although I will admit that it’s probably my least favorite single that I’ve heard from Never Comply so far. I mainly just like it because of the production, but I feel like the song is a bit too slow paced overall. The first couple verses are really nothing special to be honest. The hook is cool though. I definitely think the third verse is better than the first couple, but it’s still not super impressive or anything.

Step into a circle of knuckleheads, they’re chuckling
Go in on these riffs, y’all are choking up and buckling
A heckler in the crowd, just a tolerated presence
Y’all forgot that I’m the Eye on the mic with the essence

I think the rapping probably would’ve stood out more if he switched his delivery up a bit more. It’s been practically the same on every verse I’ve heard from him, so it’s starting to get a bit old. I do want to stress that I enjoyed the song to some extent though. Obviously it’s far from my favorite, but I do like it. Check it out and lemme know what you think.

The following track is called Burn the Road Up, and it features an artist named Twinn Zeus. I actually really loved his verse at the beginning of the track. The content about rushing to a venue in order to perform on time was pretty dope.

I've got the whole squad, in the back of my car
We've got our thumb drive, and our XLRs
They say early is on time, so I'm pushing my ride
On I-40, doing 90 in a 65
Trying to do show with the bro's Speak n' Eye
So we can all rock rock and help you catch the vibe
You know that the Quest couldn't best the Tribe
Any mic any night we're the best alive

The production here from DJ I’ll Tell You What is really great too. I think the contrast between Twinn Zues & Emceein’ Eye’s deliveries is nice. I can’t really say who had my favorite verse because they both compliment each other very well. Eye’s verse was dope.

Chakra weakened, I meditate on the drive
Stare out into an open road both dead and alive
It’s what’s inside that counts, that keeps me going, and I thrive
To get out and burn the road up, one more time

The song is really dope. Track 5 was the first single I covered from the album during week 19; it’s called Use a Mic, and it features P.T. Burnem along with Necessary People, which is a duo comprised of ialive & Height Keech.

I’m trying to get into more stuff from the Cold Rhymes Records label since I enjoyed the recent album from ialive so much. Emceein’ Eye is an MC from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and one half of a group called Speak n’ Eye, along with his brother, Unspeakable. This was my first time ever hearing any of his music unless I’m forgetting something, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It’s taken from his upcoming album, Never Comply, which is slated for release on May 18th, so be on the lookout for that. Anyway, the production here has a pretty nice saxophone loop along with some nice Boom Bap style percussion. I like the way Eye set this one off with the first verse.

Back it up, mic check, yo, give me some room
I gotta whole new thing I wanna show you goons
Best to step light, if you don’t wanna get wrecked
Ceein’ Eye breaking sweat, on the set, better bet

The second verse from P.T. Burnem was interesting to me just because of the unconventional flow he employed. The odd manner in which he took little breaks after certain bars was interesting. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but by the time he was done I was pretty satisfied with his performance.

Unconventional expression if the mood’s right
Leave them hurtin’ for clues out in the moonlight
We go to work out in the hills and keep it elevated
Authoritarian regimes do not get celebrated
We do not need your agents coming to the show tonight

ialive of course had my favorite verse. I just think he has a really awesome voice for rapping, and his flow was tight as hell too.

Peace patch on a military jacket
Please pass the auxiliary jack, kids
‘Cause ain’t nobody like your picks
& I got four bald tires on an icy bridge

I love the way he closed his verse too.

Eating petit fours, dizzy from attack drones
And when the world end we’ll still get busy over saxophones

He killed this shit. Him and Height Keech were the only artists with whom I had any experience before checking out this song. I think there’s a really nice contrast between their deliveries on this song. ialive has that signature laidback, monotone style, while Height Keech is much more energetic and aggressive. His verse was very dope.

Ricky Creme calls this one Chivas Regal
And now I came back to enact the sequel
The future’s vast, but the past is past
Don’t use a mic, that should be illegal

This was a pretty dope song, and I’m really enjoying the process of familiarizing myself with the Cold Rhymes crew, so I’m looking forward to the full album. Check this shit out and lemme know what you think.

It’s immediately followed by the Dinnerlude, which I also covered in the same week.

I am a strong proponent of “just because you can rap about something doesn’t mean you should.” However, this guy really pulled off an entire song about getting a late night snack. I don’t know how it could’ve been done any better than this to be honest.

Sometimes you gotta treat yourself, just can’t sleep
Rollin’, tossin’, turnin’, tangled up the sweaty sheets
I’ma creep outside to get a smoke and take a leak
It was so froze, got piss to freeze before it hit the street

The song is only a minute long since it’s just an interlude, but the verse is really tight. Shoutout to Height Keech on the production too. This shit is dope.

Track 7 is called Walkin’ Tall. I really love Height Keech’s melodic production here. This track is exactly one minute long, so it feels super short, but I enjoy it while it’s on. Since there isn’t much time for things to develop, there’s just one quick verse, but it’s pretty dope. A lot of the lyricism felt oddly sexual, but maybe that’s just my filthy mind jumping to conclusions.

Ima bust ass, and even gonna kiss it
Sometimes you gotta get in between the legs of life and lick it
North Carolina come on and raise up
Take your shirt off

He also had a line in there where he says “stroke it all night, feelin’ broken and dead,” which made me think of some lonely nerd masturbating. Overall, I like the song a lot, but the short length does make it feel pretty scant. I still enjoyed it quite a bit though. The following track is even shorter. This one is called Make It Stop, and it’s only 57 seconds long. I really like it though. I love how dark the lyricism is here. The verse is only 8 bars long, but it’s really dope.

Children drinking water in a cell out the toilet
Mothers passing notes through a hole in a fence
People starving living on top of each other
How can this morally make sense?
There’s a bunch of monsters at the bottom
There’s a mess of demons at the top
If I squint, yo, I think I could hit 'em
With a slingshot and a rock

This song actually does have kind of a hook at the end of the track. I love the production here by the way. I’m not exactly sure what instrument that is. It sounds very European. I think it’s either French or Italian. Probably the latter. No, it isn’t an accordion. It’s a stringed instrument. Okay, I just asked my mom. It’s a mandolin. I have no idea how she knew that. She’s smart as shit. Actually, it might just be a Baroque guitar. I have no idea honestly. Anyway, even though the song is super short, I really love it. I think it’s very dope. It’s followed by another major highlight called Ice Cold. I absolutely adore the production on this track. Height Keech put his ass in that beat. The sample sounds very familiar. I know I’ve heard it before, but I can’t remember who flipped it. I wanna say it was Big K.R.I.T., but I really have no idea. Anyway, the first verse of this song is really dope. He’s pretty much just rapping about skateboarding, but he does it well enough to keep me interested. This track also has one of my favorite hooks on the project. I love it. I think I like the second verse even more than the first one, even though it’s shorter.

Hit a patch of black ice
I pissed my pants and I sat up real right
Now we’re down in a steep ditch
Somewhere in Chapel Hill in the stink pits
Stench bog, hog shit in the fog
In the air, freezing in the dark

This is neither here nor there, but I was in Chapel Hill the other day and literally NOBODY there was wearing a mask. I was so pissed off. Also, there are so many white people. I think that’s the first time I’ve been to Chapel Hill since I was in elementary school. I never go there. I hate that town. The parking is absolute ass too. Anyway, if it isn’t clear enough, I really love this song. I think it’s dope af. The penultimate track is another major highlight for me called Work Ain’t Done. Once again, the production from Height Keech is glorious. There’s only one verse here, but I like it a lot. He’s pretty much just rhyming about coming home from work one day and then performing at a show afterwards.

Now that I’m home, the work ain’t done, first I peel off my socks
Jump in the shower, wash the dirt off my skin; soon I’ll be racing down the block
To rock these heads to bed, and gain some cred, and put some worth into my stock
Crowds come and go, year in and year out, amazed at the way we jock
It’s a hit or miss if they gave a shit, if it was in one ear and out
I’m not here for clout, just here to put it down, so feet don’t fail me now

My favorite aspect of this track is probably the hook. I just really love the melodic background vocals. That really added a lot for me. I think it sounds great. The song has kind of a laid back, somber, kind of sad aesthetic, but the content isn’t very emotional at all. It just puts me in kind of a despondent mood, but not in a bad way. I like that aspect of the song. I can just imagine myself sitting at a bar getting blackout drunk in order to drown my sorrows after taking a big L while this song is playing. I love it. I think it’s dope as hell. The closing track, Don’t Fade, is yet another highlight for me. Once again, Height Keech’s production here is kind of somber and sentimental, and Emceein’ Eye’s singing over it sounds fantastic. I love the hook. I feel like Slug would sound amazing on this track. Emceein’ Eye’s verse here is phenomenal.

I know it ain’t easy to hold your breath when shit stinks
I believe we can all make it, stay connected like links
They say the world is much smaller than we imagine and think
I'm thankful for heads who got my back when I’m weak
When I fail, fall off the horse, and tumble down to that creek
When she’s throwing shit off the porch and my guitar's in the street
When your crying, just know when your hurt way down deep
That your not alone, we stick with you through the heat

This is the kinda shit more people need to be making. I love when rappers make songs that sound like their composed with the intention of healing listeners. This track is dope af to me. I love it.

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_{This album is great. I like how the entire album has a very consistent aesthetic in terms of the production. Emceein’ Eye has a very traditional approach to his rapping, and there aren’t any crazy concepts or anything. You’re not gonna get any curveballs thrown at you. If you just wanna hear some dope rhymes over great production, this is for you. It’s a very short project too, so it’s not too much of a commitment to give it a listen. A lot of the songs are under two minutes. I’m looking forward to hearing more work from Emceein’ Eye in the future, and I’ll have to check out his work with his brother as Speak n’ Eye. This shit is dope. Check it out.}

Favorite Song: Don’t Fade
Least Favorite Song: Walkin’ Tall

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