By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss
After seeing the above cover art, my third eye was
opened and all of the sacred chakras were energized. Either that or I wanted to
hear what a beat tape from Marley Marl’s 19 year old son MWill sounded like. I
love esoteric stuff, but ever since people claimed Jay-Z was in the illumaniti,
artists everywhere have been pandering to basement conspiracists with
half-hearted masonry references and stupid owl t-shirts. If mystical cults are using all of their elite
power to get people to listen to Drake, they’re doing something wrong.
With my scorn for hipster Hermeticism in mind, I approached this project from a critical distance. Had all of the work gone into making obscure references in the track listing or would it be legitimately interesting? Luckily, it was the latter. As Above So Below is an instrumental EP dedicated to and featuring samples from progressive rockers The Alan Parson’s Project.
Usually beat tapes can’t hold my attention, but
there’s a lot going on. In just over 30 minutes, it packs spoken word, rap
samples, classic prog and futuristic loops. “Elohim” features a catchy guitar
sample, Homer Simpson introduces “Atlantis” and “Zohar” is a lo-fi dreamscape
for drug trips on rainy days.
If you’re expecting MWill to carry his father’s
legacy with authentic boom-bap beats for the “real” hip-hoppers, you’ll be
disappointed with these astral sounds. MWill instead pays subtle tribute to Marley Marl
by mixing lines such as “rap annihilist flowing like Pegasus” with chilled
electronics. Plus, a Lords of the Underground guest spot.
After all, it’s important to respect the past, but
there’s nothing better than innovation. Talent can come from good genetics. The
reptilian humanoids that control modern society will be pleased with this
record. Even if they don’t have ears.
