It was never an easy task for him to accomplish. Hell, it would never be easy for anyone to pull off. But, when Detroit’s celebrated lyricist, eLZhi, proposed his plot to interpet, innovate and re-imagine one of the greatest albums in Hip Hop’s young history, I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief.
In past months’ news of Soulja Boy auditioning to play Tupac in the upcoming biopic, Juice, and with Lil Wayne applying his own martian meaning on Shakur’s classic “Hail Mary”, for a moment, it seemed like the legends and their legacies were fading away, their places being filled with modern mediocrity (Twitter beef not intended). About.com recognizes Illmatic as the greatest Hip Hop album of all time, ego trip considers it the best Hip Hop album you could buy in 1994, while MTV ranks it as number 2 on their list (like we care what MTV has to say about Hip Hop, though). Point is, elZhi was walking on sacred land; and he wasn’t permitted to put a foot wrong.
Elmatic kicks off with the familiar sirens-and-boom-bap flavour; Will Sessions re-working DJ Premier’s original beat with live instruments. “Detroit State of Mind” exercises how uncanny the resemblances are to the original Illmatic instrumentals, only with cinematic ambiance. While eLZhi serves up a solid lyrical seminar on the opening track (pretending “The Genesis” isn’t legitimate album material), I can’t shake the critical cloud that hovers on the mind: Nas took Premo’s production and made “N.Y. State of Mind” his own – it just can’t be matched. The Sean Boog and DJ Flash-assisted “… Part II” addition underwhelms, also. No cigar, El.
Journeying through Elmatic, making stops at “Halftime” and “Memory Lane”, eLZhi’s chemistry with Nas’ original surfaces, and can’t be denied. Due thanks to Mr. Sessions, “Halftime” is flipped from a rugged street anthem to an uplifting harmony, resonating with positive vibes as the man of the moment claims every drum beat with his skillful flow. Instead of forging an exact replica of Illmatic, eLZhi displays confidence (and ability) to toy with the concept, lacing it with his heart-warming and gospel-preaching values, delivered in a lyrically-stunning package. The whole project is dope, but this number ranks highly.
It goes without saying: when reviewing an eLZhi release, discussing his writing prowess is common routine. Hit play on the aforementioned “Memory Lane” and the fruit of his lyrical labour offers only one conclusion. Akin to Mr. Jones, the former Slum Village emcee traces his childhood steps on the song, introducing his opening verse with relatable content, only conveying it with such mind-puzzling penmanship that his lines are a near-contradiction: “Yo, I’m trying to get to memory lane, but wonder should I take the train/Of thought? Or hop on the mental plane?/I don’t stay far, but there’s a place you can’t get to in your car/To travel, standing still as Bizarre, but there you are.” Who is laying down concepts like this right now, really?
It’s business as usual through “The World Is Yours”, “Represent”, “One Love” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”: Will Sessions does a fine job of recreating Premo, Q-Tip and Large Pro’s original production in live form, while eLZhi’s verbals are consistent. The memorable “Life’s a Bitch” sees Royce Da 5’9″ play AZ to eLZhi’s Nas. Having proved their on-mic unity on previous tracks like “Glow” (with Jake One) and “Best To Do It” (with Madwreck), the double-team degree was in no doubt. Royce hits par on the lyrical mark, anyway, initiating the 21st Century interpretation by mimicking AZ’s classic line: “Visualizin’ the realism of life and actuality…” before embarking on his own lyrical endeavour. The addition of Stokley Williams provides the soulful conclusion that the record deserves.
While the talk and the tweets surrounded the rapper and his genius Elmatic concept for months (these range from the “quit bitin’ someone else’s style” to the “he can never do it” stunt), people misread the script: it was never an attempt to out-do Nas, eLZhi was just showing the up-most respect to one of Hip Hop’s finest ever emcees.
Tracklisting:
1. “The Genesis”
2. “Detroit State of Mind”
3. “Halftime”
4. “Memory Lane”
5. “The World Is Yours”
6. “Represent”
7. “Life’s a Bitch” f/ Royce Da 5’9″ & Stokley Williams
8. “One Love”
9. “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”
10. “Pete Rock Shout”
11. “Detroit State of Mind Pt. II” f/ Sean Boog & DJ Flash
Watch: “Halftime”
Listen: “Memory Lane”
Listen: “Life’s a Bitch” f/ Royce Da 5’9″ & Stokley Williams
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