| 1 |
Intro |
| 2 |
Reinventing the Wheel |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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In its title and thematic content, to understand this track is to
understand this album. With its simple bassline, montage of classic
lines, and emphasis on personality and flow, each mc has a platform
for paying their tribute to hip hop music while establishing their
uncompromised musical perspective.
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| 3 |
Any Day |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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The album's most soulful track in its honesty and character.
The reflective beat serves as a backdrop for each mc to remember
and hope. It's coherency lies in it's sad and optimistic tone.
Qwel's verse is written for his younger brother, Denizen explores
his relationship with his parents, and Qwazaar discusses his
obstacles and anxieties.
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| 4 |
Qweloquiallisms |
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A lot of people throw the term "rhyme schemes" around. On the
first of Qwel's solo songs, he displays his mastery of rhyme schemes,
seamlessly stringing together a series of mind-blowing flow patterns
without sacrificing imagery or content. Over a slow and melodic
piano based beat, Qwel kicks one intoxicating verse that leaves
the listener breathless.
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| 5 |
It Won't Stop |
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Over the album's most rugged beat, Qwazaar gets a chance to snap
on his solo song. Mic dominance, impeccable flows, and a nasty
scratch chorus come together perfectly, with Qwazaar politely
introducing himself to the underground hip hop scene outside of
Chicago.
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| 6 |
Snake Oil |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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Performed in the tone of a typical love poem, Denizen offers a
powerful critique of the "smooth/conscious" rhetoric found in this
genre. He exposes the deification of female energy as a trend that
is degrading in being a one-dimensional concept that treats women
as symbols, not people. (This is "the thin line between pedestal
and auction block".)
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| 7 |
Natural Causes |
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Combining the tradition of DJ songs with turntablism, DJ Natural's
solo song emphasizes the musical possibilities of DJing. With
cleverly selected phrases (from Diamond D to Mel Brooks) and
nasty cuts, Nat produces a head bobber accessible to both hip
hop heads and turntablist fans.
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| 8 |
Take a Number |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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Another group song over a banging organ and horn based track
that takes the listener back to true school fundamentals.
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| 9 |
The Manhattan Project |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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Qwel gets an opportunity to express his love for graffiti over a
Meatyogre track. Coming from a long-time writer, it is in many
ways the most intense and serious graff song made to date. Once
again, Nat and Dan snap on the chorus and Qwel shows that he doesn't
need to sacrifice flow or rhyme schemes in the face of a subject.
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| 10 |
Too Happy for Qwel |
| 11 |
Live Forever |
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Denizen gets inside the psyche of fame, exposing it as something
that tends to be a hollow status. Over a simple, yet subtle,
drumless beat, Denizen becomes a reflective celebrity whose swagger
and confidence cracks until he is faced with the value of his
existence.
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| 12 |
Cliche |
[Listen to it now with RealAudio >>]
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Qwel offers a devastating critique of the generic punchline based
braggadocios battle track by proving in the first verse how easy
it is for him to master, and then tearing into the shallow format
by calling for a higher standard of hip hop music in the second
verse.
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| 13 |
What You Thought Hops |
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Denizen's poem, in both its content and delivery, represents his
response to the confining treatment of poetry by academics, who
often have their own ideas of what poetry is and how it should be
experienced.
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| 14 |
Thin Red Line |
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The album's final song pays homage to Chicago and the Wednesday
Night Rap Show on WHPK. Each mc hails from a different stop on
the Red Line and takes you through their journey to Hyde Park.
They eventually meet up and pass the mic around, as the album ends
with an extended scratch solo.
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