Yamin Semali is easily one of the most slept on artists I've ever listened to. He has this aura to him and his music, it's just a wonder why more people haven't heard of him. Semali is the artists that other artists listen to and want to work with because he is just that good. If you haven't read the interview I did with Yamin then I highly encourage you to do so. You will find that he's extremely humble and very excited about his latest album, Senior Dues which was released on December 7th. Senior Dues is exceptionally strong in terms of variety. The element that most indie hip-hop albums lack is replay value, or the number of times you can listen to an album before getting tired of it. Senior Dues is an album that you can play all day, and not get tired of it because of the diverse, original and smooth sound in which it possesses. From start to finish Semali shows his range, lyrically and even his ability on the boards. One thing Semali is commonly complemented on is his professional sound. He masters the albums to make sure that you are getting quality music, and I think that speaks volumes to his passion, and pride for his music.
Semali touches on more adult subjects such as love, more so than his past projects. He does this in a way that makes it possible to still bob your head while listening, and the songs are actually about love...not sex. That being said, this album still brings bangers that present such energy and flow that you just can't help but to love. Yamin is an outstanding emcee, his flow is phenomenal, and his lyrics actually tell stories. He's not the kind of guy to rap about a lot of nothing, his songs have points and he has a skill that is not common among most lyricists. That skill is imagery. Anyone can tell you a story, but the metaphors and pictures Semali paints vocally give you a better understanding of what he is saying.
Behind the lyrics are the beats. Not just any beats on this album, these beats have many different noticeable influences and that gives a really diverse listening experience. The jazz, pop, blues styles shine through and add another dimension to the beats. The most astounding part about the beats and lyrics, is the cohesiveness in the tempo of the beats, and the subject matter. This is something that is hard to explain, but listen to the album and you should be able to decipher what I'm talking about.
In all, Senior Dues was an early Christmas present to the world. Something for everyone should be the slogan of this album because of all the many styles and branches of music all on one tree. I previously stated that he is one of the most slept on artists and Senior Dues only adds to that. This album is a name your own price album, and I'm not sure why. This is easily worth more than most things you'll find on Itunes but that's just my two sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment