Race Music, despite being dope as fuck, is one of the least accessible albums you will come across. I say that in an attempt to avoid saying, "their lyrics are far too complex for the masses". The lyrical content on this album, is so immensely dense, and it is almost as if each seperate track is able to tell it's own story. You can tell from track one that these dudes can rap their asses off, even if you have no clue what they are saying. To revisit what I said earlier, calling this album inaccessible doesn't mean everyone can't enjoy it, it's just that you will enjoy it a hell of a lot more if you are in it for the lyricism. Building off of that I will say if there is even a minor complaint I have with Billy Woods (who happens to be, in my opinion, the better rapper of the two) it has to be his flow. It is methodically slow, and it is almost as if he strays off of the beat on purpose at times, perhaps in an attempt to accentuate the lyrics. I, of course as a fan of dense lyricism, find this quite enjoyable. However, the casual fan may find this style off putting, or even confusing at first.
Most of the tracks on this album include the simple formula of these two men bodying every interestingly put together beat on this album, with maybe a feature or two sprinkled into the mix. I did a quick review of this because of the redundancy in repeatedly saying, another incredible rhyming performance from Billy Woods and Elucid. It's not even as of none of the tracks stick out, but rather all of them are such dope displays of lyricism and storytelling that none have anything bad to be said about them. Sure, this album is as long as the evil tongue of Satan himself, but it holds your attention long enough for you to get a great listen. A standout track, and one that is considered by many as the best track of 2013 is "New Museum", which features some of the best rapping you'll hear all year. The only problem with that particular track is that they let Busdriver hold onto the mic for 2 minutes after the song was over, and tell us about his life. As if anyone cared at all.
The real meat of the album comes around the midway point. The ass ripping begins with "Willie Bosket", one of the most impressive tracks I've heard all year. Among the rest of the album, the storytelling is more straight to the point, as the two rhyme about the insanity and mind state of a truly deranged child. The story is cool enough to get into, but the real kicker is the fact that they were able to perform this over a trap instrumental. That elevates the difficulty to a degree that few have been able to reach over the past couple years. The album only gets better from hear, as the two go into "Duppy." Right of the bat, the beat sets an eerie tone, but the imagery of the funeral mixed with the african vernacular make this one of the scariest songs produced in 2013. And that hook, man. Holy shit that's badass.
My advice to you as a listener is to listen to this album as many times as possible. If you liked it from the first listen, you will find yourself gradually loving it more and more with every listen. If you didn't like it at first, take a few more tries to really listen to the lyrics, and I'm sure these two charming bastards can win you over. Sure, that will take up about two full days of your time, but the end product of finally fully understanding and appreciating this album is well worth it. This is one of my favorite albums of the year, and because of the complexity, I never get bored, and am always excited to run it back again, ultimately providing a great listening experience. To put it more simply, I liked this album, a fucking lot.
Rating: 4/5