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bigsto reviews - nolan the ninja: "he[art]" review كلمات الأغنية

boom-bap somehow seems to have caught a bad rep over the years, i’ve heard arguments that it’s boring, you can’t turn up to it, it takes the culture too seriously etc. etc. in the underground where boom-bap is prevalent, we see rappers use boom-bap as a springboard to get more mainstream acclaim. neither of these is the case for detroit hip-hop artist nolan the ninja, who shows on his first full-length label debut “he[art]” (courtesy of left of center) that he lives and breathes hip-hop. now nolan exploded onto the scene late last year with his “f-ck the hype” ep, heightening the antic-p-tion for his full-length. let’s jump in

the lp opens up with “opulence” and personally i believe this is one of the best openers i’ve heard on a hip-hop record in a hot minute. produced by pig pen, both him and nolan tell you exactly what this alb-m is going to be like and where this record is heading. nolan’s going to give you razor-sharp lyrics with a commanding voice, the production is going to be grimy, hard-hitting and blow you right out of your seat. “immortality” follows the first joint and is honestly the reason this review took so long. i played this so much my coworkers thought they were “live from the mitten”. soundboy produced this joint and everything from the escalation of the beat in the beginning to the b-ssline throughout the joint, shows the talent in nolan’s circle along with his ear for beats. nolan addresses his doubters and speaks on how he’s not going anywhere in this hip-hop game. this is only the beginning
from the second you press play if this is your first time hearing nolan it is easy to immediately draw comparisons to a dmx an m.o.p etc. in the multiple settings i’ve played or talked about this alb-m, many have drawn comparisons to the ny based pro era, but hear me out for a second. i understand both comparisons, but there’s so much depth and content behind his words that the voice is a bonus. nolan is also educated enough in the art to know when a beat needs a “softer” approach instead of just tearing the beat to shreds. we get this in the self-produced t-tle track. no longer are we getting the grab you by the collar emcee, instead we’re getting the more humble ninja, who’s been through and experienced a lot and is here to p-ss that knowledge onto us

hip-hop as a whole can sometimes come off as selfish: rappers not crediting producers, artists putting out a compilation of hot tracks rather than taking the time to craft a cohesive project…not with nolan the ninja. we’re given 16 tracks that blend perfectly together while still managing to be different. detroit producer 5ynot creates the foundation of the sound on “he[art]” contributing 7 beats to the record, to build along that we get a couple beats from nolan himself and other contributions to round out the alb-m. to go alongside this we get guest features from both “up and comers” (i use that term very loosely here) and veterans, every single one of them repping detroit. red pill of ugly heroes, l.a.z and noveliss of clear soul forces, guilty simpson, supa emcee, finale, dj soko, a-minus and more all join nolan the ninja on this record and not a weak verse/beat exists on this. we also get insight on some of sessions where you hear these heavyweights support nolan the ninja and the movement

i honestly believe nolan the ninja has a serious project in “he[art]”. he’s unequivocally himself, he’s immersed in the culture that created hip-hop and it shows in this alb-m. we get an actual posse cut with three other emcees (see “epitome”), we have an artist repping his city in every creative step in the process, while bringing back flows, cadence and style we haven’t seen in years, all while being himself. “coda” ends this masterpiece of a record (yes, i know i said masterpiece). a confident nolan the ninja gives us his last batch of knowledge and makes it clear what he stands for. this is hip-hop, bangers, soulful joints, posse cuts, dj scratches, introspection, social justice all behind an emcee who knows his potential and wants you to see yours. humble enough to know there’s more to learn but confident enough to get in your face and split you with a 16. this is a record we’ll be talking about and one detroit will be talking about for a long time

grade: 95%

buy/stream “he[art]”

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- bigsto reviews

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