This album was released on March 3rd this year. AJ Suede’s first collaboration with Televangel, Metatron’s Cube, is still my favorite album that I’ve heard from him, so I was pretty excited when I found out they were doing another album together. I know I’m gonna enjoy this album, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up too high that it’ll be better than Metatron’s Cube. Some of the features are really exciting, but there are others from artists that I’m not really into, so we’ll see how they end up performing. I’ll be shocked if I end up thinking anything on this album is wack.

---

The album begins with First Day. I really fuck with the melodic production on this one. AJ Suede’s performance on this track is pretty nice. He’s flowing the same way he always flows, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your stance. Personally, I think his flow always sounds good, so I don’t mind. He rhymed really well here too. I mean, he always rhymes well. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about him after listening to this project; he never really spits a rhyme that feels like a stretch or a struggle bar. All the rhymes are on point.

It's ironic in the Mecca of electronics
Defy logic, Seattle lost the supersonics
Makes you wonder, rainy city should've been the thunder
Got the kraken, but didn't satisfy the hunger
Standin' on your own two feet come in handy
Flood the sidewalks like Hurricane Sandy

Lyrically, I think this is some of the most interesting rapping I’ve heard from AJ Suede. I was pretty much hooked by every line. The beat kinda gets a little repetitive by the time the song’s over, but that’s just a nitpick. I think this shit is dope. The following song is even better to me. It’s called All That Jazz, and, as the title indicates, it’s probably the jazziest song on the whole album.

---

The piano-driven production is fantastic. This is the kinda beat that I would be able to enjoy even if there wasn’t anyone rapping over it. The verse from Suede is great.

House of representatives
Half of them might dabble in embezzlement
Uphill battle, keep peddlin'
Thin blue lines of that Methergine
What those cops investin' in
Bet I got the formula from Heisenberg
Ain't no Jesse Eisenberg
Couldn't cheat my friends for social networkin'
Not the type to give no props to Zuckerberg

I love the horns that come in during the hook, and the vocal sample that closes the song sounds really good. The hook itself is really nice too. I fuck with this track. It’s really dope. The following song is a highlight entitled Mount Doom, and it was one of the more exciting ones in the tracklist for me because it features Onry Ozzborn. Once again, the melodic, rich, detailed production is amazing. It’s definitely my favorite instrumental up to this point on the record. Suede kinda switched up his flow on this song, which I appreciate. He sounds really great here. I mean, he always sounds good when he raps, but I just think he fits over this beat incredibly well. His verse is great.

My mind movin' fast at a supersonic speed through a Green Hill Zone
Chaotic with your emeralds, cheffin' like Emeril, records on the menu
UFO landin', alien stranded with heads like cones
Patriotic t-shirts at the state fair, on the line for the scones
People gettin' overlapped 'cause they couldn't cut the crap, always rantin' from the phone
Never got slapped, you can tell by how they talkin', but I'll leave that shit alone

The vocal sample that comes in during the hook is really nice. Onry Ozzborn sounds really good on the second verse. I honestly wouldn’t mind hearing a whole project from him produced by Televangel. That would be fire. Anyway, this is one of my favorite songs on the album. I think the production is really awesome, and both of the MCs rapped really well over it. The song’s dope as hell. It’s followed by a major highlight called Rosicrucian Rolls Royce. This is honestly one of my favorite songs of the year. I think this shit is amazing. The melodic production is catchy as hell. I instantly got the coveted involuntary head nod as soon as this shit came on. Suede killed this shit too. His flow sounds amazing here, and every line had me hooked.

Bringin' you the horror like amity
Summon true king of all calamities
Honor like the Cosa Nostra families
Even though they hate me
Politicians fearin' for their safety
A top 2 rapper, people rate me
I ain't number 2 though
Knocked you out the ring like a sumo
Givin' information like you're workin' for the you know

The hook is really great too. There’s really nothing about this song that I don’t love. The production is absolutely stellar, and Suede killed it. I really love this song. I think it’s dope as fuck. It’s followed by another highlight called Too Filthy. The production on this one is a lot darker, but it’s still pretty melodic. The main appeal of this song for me is AJ Suede’s flow along with the production. The lyricism towards the end of the song is pretty interesting though.

Lightning in the think tank, tsunami in the sippy cup
Tryna make my people rise, but ain't no one to lift me up
Things get outta line, then I gotta use my mind
Party with the green while I'm baggin' up the Jill Stein

That Green Party reference was nice. This song is kind of short, so there’s only really time for one verse. I prefer it that way though. As much as I like the instrumental here, it probably would’ve gotten old if the song lasted any longer. Overall, I think this song is dope as hell. Track 6 is another highlight called Holy Moly, and it features Bruiser Wolf. This song has another one of the best instrumentals on the album in my opinion. The percussion sounds amazing. The first thing that really stood out to me about this song is AJ Suede’s flow. It’s completely different from the way he normally flows. I wasn’t expecting him to rap like this because he usually flows the same way on every track. This was a much appreciated breath of fresh air though. The line where he said “give me neck like a rosary” was simple, yet effective. I like that line. I’m not really a fan of Bruiser Wolf at all, but I didn’t mind his verse that much here. I definitely would’ve preferred if this was a solo track from Suede, but I still really fuck with it. I think the song’s dope as hell. Track 7 is a really short song called I Know It’s Not. Since it’s only just over a minute long the whole thing just consists of one verse. The rapping is really good though, and I love the production once again. The references to early Kanye collaborators like GLC & Rhymefest were pretty awesome.

Gotta thank our patron saint of high self esteem
And the ones that hated us for G.ettin' O.ut O.ur D.reams
Dealin' with the Consequence, the GLC
It's a Rhymefest when you rappin' with me
Actually, I know it's not the same vibe
But my circle of collaborators are the best alive

I have mixed feelings about the brevity of this track. On one hand, I appreciate it because the beat likely would’ve gotten stale if it lasted any longer. However, I also think the straightforward structure of this song makes it feel less fleshed out than most of the other tracks. Overall, I still really like this song though. I think it’s dope. The following track is called Quit Right Now, and it features Old Grape God. I absolutely love the weird beat on this song. When that shit dropped I instantly got the coveted involuntary head nod again. As a marijuana enthusiast, I really appreciated the opening lines of this song.

Might've smoked like 2000$ worth of raw papers
Add the filters, might be another rack, word to Joe Crack
Today's price and yesterday's aren't even close in the slightest
25 lighters on my dresser, yessirski, rare common courtesy
Holographic aura, if you gotta question use Quora, ahora
Tryna make a Soul food truck, brick and mortar
Built this from the ground up
Been through every era, never truly changed the sound up

I think Suede’s verse is great, and I like the hook a lot. Old Grape God is an artist I’ve heard a couple times on features before in the past, but they never really left much of an impression on me. I enjoyed their verse on this song though. I like how the beat kinda calms down for their performance. Overall, this is another really dope track. It’s followed by another highlight called Groundwork. The melodic, guitar-driven production on this song is fire. This is another one of my favorite beats on the album, which is saying a lot. There’s only one full verse on this song, but it’s really good. I really appreciated the GameShark reference, and I like the straightforward hook that comes in toward the end of the song a lot. It sounds great over this beat. Again, this is a highlight for me on the album. I think it’s dope as hell. It’s followed by yet another highlight entitled PBS Kids, which features Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire.

---

Once again, I’m really blown away by the production here. This beat is amazing. The first verse from Suede is really nice.

You got Anthony Fantano on your channel, no prob
Busy world of Richard Scarry, Virgin Mary hijab
If you think I came to joke around, no siree, Bob
Rest In Peace to Mac Dre 'cause it’s thizz to the lam
First niggas went to Paris, then it's niggas in Prague
Seen it heard everywhere, niggas is gods

I really like the way his flow switches up for the final quatrain of the verse. He sounds great here. The second verse from Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire is really good too. It’s not quite as memorable as his verse from Metatron’s Cube, but I still really enjoyed it. The song’s dope as hell overall. Track 11 is a highlight called Lounge. I really love the melodic production on this track, and the lyricism from Suede is great.

I know the rules, so I break 'em often, more like disregard them
Innovation deeply rooted on the streets of Harlem
And depression deeply rooted in Seattle roads
That's comparin' Ninja Turtles to a Battletoad

The line about how he’d rather meet his grandkids than have a mural was nice. The vocal sample that comes in for the outro of this track is really cool too. This song is kinda short, so there’s just time for one verse. The verse itself is really good though, and the production is fantastic. I think this song is dope as hell overall. The following track is called 3 Eyed Raven, and it’s another one of the shortest songs on the album. I love the melodic production, and AJ Suede sounds really goddamn good over it. Again, since this track is under two minutes in length, there’s really only time for one verse. It’s really good though. I love the beat, and Suede killed it. This shit is dope. Track 13 is called Terrible, and it features Milc & Nacho Picasso. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this song because I’m not really a fan of either of the featured artists, but they both thankfully came through with good performances, especially Milc. The reference to The Coup & Sorry to Bother You was nice.

Death closer than birth, Paul Wall, I'm close to the Earth
Drop gems & pop shit most of the verse
This rap shit a ways away, it's all nonsense
If I weigh this up, it'll be weighin' on my conscious

This song probably has my least favorite beat on the album, but I still think it’s good. It’s just nowhere near as interesting as most of the other beats in my opinion. I do appreciate how dark it sounds though. It definitely fits Nacho Picasso’s style well. He definitely had my least favorite verse on the song, but I wouldn’t say it was bad. It just didn’t really stand out that much to me. This song is cool, but it’s nowhere near a highlight for me. I do like it to some extent though. I think it’s pretty good. The following track is called Like Lava, and it’s another one of the shortest songs on the album. I think the production is cool, but it’s not really one of my favorite beats here. It doesn’t stand out that much to me, but it’s cool. This song actually has a hook despite its brevity. I think the line about him being like lava instead of like water is really cool. The verse is nice, and the production is solid. However, this is one of the weaker songs on the album to me. It’s far from a highlight, but I still think it’s good. The penultimate track is called No Fly Zone. This is the only song on the album that I don’t see myself returning to. I kind of liked the beat at first, but it’s just super repetitive, so it gets old really quickly. After a while it just gets annoying. Thankfully the rapping from Suede is great, but it’s not enough to salvage this instrumental. I don’t think the song is bad overall, but it’s just not something that I’d ever have the desire to listen to again. It’s decent though. The closing track is one last highlight entitled Goodbye, and it features Rich Jones. I think this song works perfectly as an outro. The beat is great, and AJ Suede switched his flow up again for this track, which is appreciated. There are a lot of cool lines from him.

This light is undimmable, this game is unwinnable
My ancestors do the ghostwriting, my whole team invisible

The hook from Rich Jones is pretty amazing honestly. His soft, light vocal delivery sounds absolutely superb. I love it. I don’t think they could’ve chosen a more perfect feature for this song. The horns that come in during the second recital of the hook sound awesome too. This song is honestly another one of my favorite tracks of the year. I think it’s amazing.

---

^{This album ended up being better than Metatron’s Cube for me. I think it’s the best project I’ve ever heard from AJ Suede honestly. I’d say this is one of the best produced albums I’ve heard all year too. The beats are super detailed and melodic, which I really appreciate. AJ Suede is in peak condition all over this thing too. His rhymes are on point, and it was refreshing to hear him switch his flow up here as well. I definitely think the first half of this album is better than the second half, but there aren’t any songs that I would say are bad. There is one that I won’t be returning to, but even that track is decent to me. If you’re a fan of AJ Suede, I can’t imagine you not liking this. This is one of the most well-crafted projects I’ve ever heard from him. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below. I think it’s really dope.}

Favorite Song: Rosicrucian Rolls Royce
Least Favorite Song: No Fly Zone

84