Don’t sleep on this debut album from Malachi. Whitman. It was released on August 18th this year, and is entirely produced by KILLVONGARD. I’m just gonna use this moment as an opportunity to apologize to my readers because I personally believe I have done you a disservice. My review of KILLVONGARD’s debut album is not glowing enough in hindsight. That album is fire, and I think I underrated it in my write-up. It was kind of a last minute review that I wasn’t planning on writing, so it was admittedly a little rushed. But yeah, definitely check that album out if you haven’t yet. It’s really great. Anyway, this album is also great. Malachi. Whitman is a pretty talented storyteller, and he’s got a nice, traditional, accessible flow and vocal delivery. Since this isn’t really a full review I’ll just write about a few of the highlights that stood out to me personally.
The first track that I wanna talk about is actually the opening song, Something Else. As soon as I heard the jazzy piano melody, I knew I was gonna love this shit. This might actually be my favorite beat on the album. I think it’s pretty amazing honestly. KILLVONGARD put his ass into this one. I fucking love it. As far as song structure goes, this song is pretty straightforward. It’s pretty much just one verse from Malachi. It’s a really dope performance. Immediately we’re introduced to the manner in which he tells his story, which is done in the third person.
He don’t need shit, just a beat and some free time Salt of the earth pillar writing bittersweet rhymes Got 'em all eating out his hand The way it’s going now is all according to the plan The script that he’s sticking to is the one he flipped And the way he doesn’t need anybody got 'em pissed Somewhere in the wind like particles of mist Eating off his lines like he taught himself to fish
The song is dope as hell. I absolutely adore the instrumental, and the rapping from Malachi is really dope too. The next highlight for me is track 5, which is a song called Cold Toe.
Once again, the production here is very enjoyable. It’s really chill and relaxing, and kind of somber, and Malachi sounds great over it. His voice kinda reminds me of the rapper andrew. The guy that made this album called The Rain Knows What It’s Doing. Check that album out if you haven’t heard it yet. Anyway, the opening verse is really good.
Years pass fast, and the days go slow
There’s gonna be some days sun rays don’t show
Learning how to shine in the darkest of times
Even though you can’t see him, he ain’t really hard to find
Prone to isolation, the type that likes to stay in
That’s just how he is, it’s the way the world has made him
Couldn’t just go on and keep pretending
That everything is fine, when in fact, it’s prob'ly ending
Part of me can see how someone might listen to this and find it to be a bit melodramatic, but if I don’t overthink it then I enjoy the song a lot. I think it’s dope as hell honestly. The last track I wanna highlight is the penultimate song, A Million Miles Away. The beat here is amazing; I love how melodic and jazzy it is, and the way the percussion comes in is borderline breathtaking. The verse from Malachi here is pretty awesome too. It’s definitely one of the best on the album.
Might stick around to sign some T-shirts
Leaving pieces of himself behind 'fore he leaves Earth
"I read that shit you wrote, my dude, it needs work"
Meanwhile, he’s writing rhymes that require research
Got his books on the table, got his life in the pages
Everything he writes down is ageless
It’s like he’s summoning the ancients, the spirits of the sages
He walked away, and suddenly it made sense
The way the beat switches up after about 2 minutes and 20 seconds is really great too, and same goes for the final verse that Malachi spits. The song is dope as hell. I love it.
This album is great. I think the main aspect of it that I really loved was the production from KILLVONGARD in all honesty, but Malachi. Whitman’s rapping was pretty enjoyable as well. There aren’t any songs on this project that I don’t like. I don’t really have any consistent gripes with this album. I mean, some tracks are less interesting than others sonically, but for the most part I really enjoyed this shit. I love the jazzy production, and the storytelling from Malachi is really well done. Don’t sleep on this project if you’re into Rhymesayers-esque Hip Hop. I think it’s a really dope project. Check it out, and let me know what you think.
Favorite Song: Something Else
Least Favorite Song: Baggage
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