Of course, this is rap, and what's rap without an intro or two. But directly after that intro a barage of dopeness slaps you right in your chest alla Ric Flair. "Huey", "Mandela", and "Napoleon" as they are titled respectively are three good ass songs. (I about lost it when he said he was pulling bitches like Scorpion) They are meant to compare Cydel's greatness to other figures in history, and they are done good enough to not come off as disrespectful. Immediately you notice how dope the production is, specifically that which is provided by M16. The beats are big and heavy, but manage not to overwhelm the listener when accompanied by the smooth delivery of our host. Speaking of Cydel, it is impossible not to mention his lyrics on this tape, and how perfectly they fit in with the production. Even on softer tracks like Barry White (one of my personal favorite tracks) he is able to hit you with hard hitting punchline after punchline. The beats are extremely large and bass heavy, which is often a turn off for me, but the execution is incredible on this project. Cydel knows exactly how to coast on these beats without letting them distract attention from his ability on the mic, which like I mentioned is stellar. The vocal delivery is consistent throughout the tape which makes for an easy listening experience while you are being bombarded with the aforementioned great punchlines. A few guest features add a nice variation, and I can confidently say that after a few listens I will be revisiting this project throughout 2014.
I don't have many problems with this mixtape. Not to say that it is perfect, but it seems to be exactly what CyHi was aiming for. Self aware conscious lyricism over dope ass production. I will say that the subject matter rarely varies, and the same style of production is used over the bulk of the tracks. While there are obvious differences in all of the songs, one who is not paying the best attention might think that these songs run together too much. My advice to those people is to pay better attention, because you are missing out. I guess for some of you all the production might wear you out because of the high level of intensity, but I personally didn't see this as a flaw. I will say that after a while Cydel's vocal delivery becomes monotonous, but once again I don't really have any issues with that. In short, while there are flaws, they don't bother me. So if I can get over it, you sure as hell can too. I often find it extremely difficult to talk about the negatives on a project as consistent as this one, so I will simply say that the mistakes are few and far between.
I have to ask myself what Cydel was thinking, though. He has to be out of his mind not packaging this as an album. It has the length, it is cohesive. Hell, it has a concept. This is by far the best project from CyHi, and as far as I've seen, this could be as good as he gets. He performed so well, that this may be his ceiling. I hope it isn't, as this tape has made me a fan of his, but it will be hard for him to eclipse this effort given his skill set. This is something I would pay for, and Cydel should really have put some thought into making this an album, if for no other reason to make money. I'm not complaining that it was free, it just may not have been a smart move. But hey, maybe he knows something I don't, and he has a few more good projects left in the tank. That aside this really was a dope project that has it's appeals to all types of hip-hop fans. The beats are loud enough and contain enough bass to get anyone hyped, and the lyrics are clever enough at times to satisfy fans of lyricism. This mixtape should not be slept on, and most definitely deserves the few minutes it takes to download. Thank you CyHi.
Rating: 3.5/5