This album was released on July 7th this year. I recently covered AJ Suede’s collaborative album with Televangel, Parthian Shots, which I really enjoyed. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that it made me want to listen to even more music from AJ Suede, so the logical thing to do was to listen to his latest release, which we have right here. Some day I’m gonna go back and check out the pre-Metatron’s Cube material too. Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be covering this album or not because I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be on the level of Parthian Shots. However, this is now my favorite AJ Suede album that I’ve heard so far. Let me tell y’all why…

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The opening song is entitled Alternating Currents. I really dig Suede’s kind of soft, mellow production here. I love how the beat doesn’t fully drop until after 49 seconds—well into the verse. The verse itself is really nice too. Suede’s rhymes and flow sound really nice.

Balancin' the challenges, the talented accept
You don't ever gotta ask me 'cause you know the shit I rep
Fools rock designer clothes, but it's cripplin' their debt
Save up all my checks, rock a couple different sweats

I like the way the beat kinda switches up after this quatrain, and the outro is pretty nice as well. It’s a really dope song overall. However, it’s actually one of my least favorite songs on the album. I think almost every other track is even better. A lot of it has to do with AJ Suede’s stellar production. For example, the next song is called Direct Currents, and it’s got one of my favorite instrumentals on the album.

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The vocal sample sounds really great, and Suede killed it. I love his rapping here.

You could get your shit like the Severance show
Sever your dome, now you're never workin' from home
Use so many words that it's hurtin' your dome
Shorty give me top hat like the 1800s
Tryna keep it underground and get mainstream ducats
Rockin' the ruckus, like it's Heltah Skeltah, so duck down
Used to look down, come around 'cause it's up now
A little too late for you to keep it a buck now

What really pushes this song to the next level for me is the way the beat switches up after 80 seconds. That second beat is boiling hot fire. I mean, the first beat was already dope, but the second one is even better. I love how Suede’s vocal delivery just gets more and more aggressive as the song progresses too. He killed this shit. The song’s dope as hell. It’s followed by Tesla Coil, which is one of the more exciting songs in the tracklist for me because it features brainorchestra. This song probably has my least favorite instrumental on the album, but I still think it’s pretty good. The vocal sample sounds very nice. The actual rapping is what makes this song so good for me though. Suede found a really nice pocket with his flow, especially towards the end of his verse. Brain killed this shit too.

These dudes buffoons, need dunce caps and balloons
Bitch I hit the zoom mach-9, mockin' me is a crime
I was on the sidewalk with a brown bag of the dimes
Had to get the cash, stretch it, make it last for the next stash
Blowin' ahead stash, thinkin' of the past
I had a mean one, my soul stepped forward upon my dreams, drunk
All together now, I'm tryna see sumn, they couldn't see son

The beat feels a bit repetitive, and I don’t think it sounds as rich and layered as a lot of the other instrumentals, but I still fuck with it. The song’s very dope overall. Same goes for the following track, Wrong Things. The vocal sample is really cool, and I like the minimalistic approach to the percussion. I kinda was hoping that the beat would evolve as the song progressed, but that’s not really the case. However, since the song is so short—under two minutes—I don’t really mind the straightforward nature of the instrumental. The verse from AJ Suede here is really nice.

Garlic cookies for the vampires, stealin' energy
Couple silver bullets, holy water sold separately
Give the game away, they be wishin' it was simpler
Tryna steal the sauce, but you can't forge the signature

I liked that line towards the end of the verse about giving Lady Liberty a facial. Again, it’s a very short song, but it hits. I think it’s really dope. It’s followed by a highlight called Wild Bunch, which features Eldon Somers & randal bravery. I was looking forward to this track because Eldon Somers’ performance on Oil on Canvas was so good, and thankfully this verse didn’t disappoint at all. The first thing that I noticed about this track, however, was just how phenomenal the production is. The melodic, piano-driven instrumental here is really beautiful. It kinda reminds me of something Damu the Fudgemunk would be involved in. I can definitely hear an artist like Raw Poetic or Blu spitting over this. I love the way the drums come in right as Eldon starts rapping. Eldon fucking killed this shit too. I was hooked by every rhyme, and their flow and delivery sounded fantastic. The following verse from AJ Suede is really nice too.

Game rigged against us, and the jury gotta stay sequestered
Blunts lit got me lookin' like Uncle Fester
Sellin' game, givin' jobs to the beta testers
Makin' livings off the lessons that I'm givin'
Sermon givin', made the hustle my religion
Makin' paper in the shadows like a ghost kitchen
And your knee is full of arrows by the fibula
Guards say that they used to be adventurers, I keep oaths to oblivion
Rappers who be soft as shit, I'm Bioware and Obsidian

I’m not totally sold on the final verse from randal bravery. I enjoyed the lyricism, but I just wasn’t really a fan of the kind of simplistic flow. However, overall I would say it was a solid verse. It definitely wasn’t bad. This is the longest song on the album, and it kinda feels like the climax of the record. It’s a big song. It’s definitely one of the best tracks to me. However, the following track, Radiation, might be my favorite song on the album.

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I don’t know; I haven’t chosen a favorite song yet. This is definitely a strong contender though. A lot of it has to do with the stunning production from Suede. That horn loop is absolutely gorgeous. This beat makes me feel like a small child on a playground having fun. It gives me nostalgia for when everything was simple and easy for me. It’s a really warm, comforting sounding instrumental. I also really like AJ Suede’s vocals when he sings “radiation” at the beginning and end of this track. It’s a small detail that adds a lot to the track for me. The verse from Suede is great too. Honestly, this is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever heard from him, and it’s easily one of my favorite tracks of the year. I think it’s dope as fuck. The following track is another highlight called No Brainer, and it’s pretty exciting because it features Scallops Hotel. Once again, I was very impressed by Suede’s production here. His opening verse was very nice as well. I really appreciate how aggressively he was rapping on this one. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the Scallops Hotel verse since he wasn’t credited as R.A.P. Ferreira. I really enjoyed his performance here though. He rhymed really well, and his flow sounded great as always. The song’s dope as hell, and a good taste of what’s to come from their G’s Us material. Track 8 is called Fame & 4chan, and it’s another one of the more exciting songs because it features Sleep Sinatra & Teller Bank$. This shit is fire. This is another contender for my favorite song on the album. The production here is amazing. I love the way the beat drops as soon as AJ Suede starts rhyming, and his flow sounds fantastic over it. Sleep fucking killed that second verse too. His flow and rhymes were absolutely on point. I love it. That’s definitely one of my favorite features of the year. His breath control was very impressive. I swear that dude is just getting better and better. The song already was amazing, but then Teller Bank$’s verse comes in and makes this shit even better. It’s really the icing on the cake. Everyone involved in this song absolutely murdered this shit. The production and rapping are stellar. The song’s dope as fuck. The penultimate track is another highlight entitled Most Black Superheroes. I really like the hook on this track despite its simplicity. Suede’s flow on the actual verse here is fire too. I get the coveted involuntary head nod as soon as he starts rhyming here.

Couple of lanterns lightin' then path
Left with the science, but right with the math
Storms gettin' summoned all night for the grass
Harvest abundant, feedin' the village
Armor like tungsten, wolfram, wonder who indestructible
Billionaire deductibles, government clusterfuckable
But I still feel wonderful

The production here is very nice as well. It’s mainly the actual rapping that I love though. This is an excellent song. The closing track is one last highlight entitled Aviation. I really like the weird, rising production on the first half of this song. Suede sounds great over it too. I really enjoyed his verse.

Went pro, rode the bench, but you givin' me advice
Doesn't mean we A-alike just because we see alike
Couldn't mirror anyone, I don't wanna be alike
I just wanna break the ground, shake the town
Ripples rappin' round the world, pull up then I paint the town
Flyin' over, lookin' down, swoopin' down
Kings get beheaded, you could have the crown

The way the beat switches up for the closing verse from Freddy Stone is really awesome. I wasn’t familiar with this artist prior to hearing this verse, but I really enjoyed their performance here. This last portion is what really pushes this track to the next level for me. This song is fantastic.

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^{This album really surpassed my expectations. I honestly think it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. It’s definitely my favorite project from AJ Suede so far, and a lot of it has to do with his superb production. These beats are fire. I’ve always enjoyed AJ Suede’s production, but not like this. The instrumentals are a major selling point of this record for me. The features are really good, and Suede himself hasn’t missed a beat on the mic. The short length makes it so that there aren’t really any filler tracks. Nothing here feels like it should’ve been left off. I was actually caught off guard by how good this album ended up being. It’s really goddamn great. Give it a listen and let me know what you think in the comments below. I think it’s dope as hell.}

Favorite Song: Radiation
Least Favorite Song: Alternating Currents

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