 | Ivan Ives |
This is an album I’ve been wanting to write about forever. I got it way back like maybe even in January or something and was trying to time a review with the release date, but the release in May came and went, and it is a shame because this is easily my favorite hip-hop record this year and I am really kind of surprised that it hasn’t gotten any more attention that it has. Well anyway, better late than never, and I figured it was due time with 2009 closing out to hit on this one, which is one of the sleepers in the top albums of the year honestly.
Ivan Ives is originally from Russia but moved to the U.S. when he was young and basically grew up in LA (per wikipedia). He has a great delivery and style on the record and has some killer rhymes thrown in here as well, with a lot of the more new school rhymes that are in a lot of ways random and hilarious. This is not gangsta in any way, but is really mired in pop culture to a large extent, with about a billion references thrown throughout, most are perfectly crafted and well put in there. A lot of moments that just keep hitting you left and right throughout the tracks that just have a lot of give and a lot of go but no quit really. Not really skit heavy either but there are a few funny ones thrown in there.
The beats are incredibly smooth and largely funk based. The album is incredibly well produced and these are very melodic and radio friendly beats. The music is very well done and really adds to the songs and gives them a great rhythm, but the rhymes are really exceptionally featured here. There is even some R&B shouting out going on in “All the Love That I Wasted” and “I Can’t Wait” (great one), with all of the ‘hit’ rap elements of a great back beat, some female sultriness, and just a bit of everything. “Villain”, the lead in track, has some great raps in it and has some of the funnier bits in there. There are so many shout outs and references in here that it is really worth just listening and each time you will probably hear something new. Pretty much every time you are like “did he just diss Ben Affleck right there?” There is even an entire ‘Office Space’ reference thrown into ‘What’s Your Excuse’.
They hit very technical raps and more ethereal/epic raps (“Love Attack” and “1984″) as well. It pretty much hits every angle of it all. He has an awesome sense of sound and how everything technically fits together, and it is so superbly mixed and put together it really has it all.
Mikey Rocks, The Cool Kids, Pharcyde, Percee P all make guest appearances on here. There is a lot here that is similar to the Cool Kids honestly, but this has an almost more accessible sound and the rhymes are probably even less obscure here. This is one of those albums that is 100% solid from the beginning to the end and it has been a while since I have listened to a hip-hop album that I have enjoyed nearly as much as this one. It is a shame this didn’t become the big summer thing like I thought it would, but hopefully this review will help a little bit and I guarantee you this will be making its appearance on my personal year end Top 10 list.
BV Rate: 87
Ivan Ives – Villain – From Newspeak
Ivan Ives – What’s Your Excuse – From Newspeak
