Consequence

Don't Quit Your Day Job!

Aite yeah I just been listening to a heap load of new music lately. Something that has been banged constantly over the past week or so is that debut Consequence album "Don't Quit Your Day Job!" Dude has been around a while but it is a joy to hear him on every track on an album, rather than the odd Kanye or A Tribe Called Quest Track track here and there.

Quence (originating from Queens) immediately sets himself apart from other rappers with his unique voice and flow. It's not surprising he is Q-Tip's cousin. He has that kinda higher-pitched voice but his flow is real cool too: very laid back. He kinda rhymes in a similar style to that with which he speaks (you here him speak on the rather amusing skits in the album). It's kinda like he is here, but his mind is elsewhere. And he can't really be bothered articulating what he is saying much, cos he's not really thinking about it anyway. Maybe he is thinking of the next line...cos cat keeps streaming onto the next line. He rarely pauses. And all this combines for a real cool, different rapping style.

As for the album, its dope how it has a bit of a theme. I like an album with a theme. It sorta means, if your feeling a certain way, you could return to a certain album that speaks to you in that area. For example, with this album, it's about weighing up pursuing the dream of making hip-hop music, or staying realistic and following more subdued work choices. At the start of the album Quence decides to put "pride to the side/Go get a 9 to 5" over a deliciously laid back beat on the track "Job Song." Throughout the remainder of the disc he touches on other subjects along the way (like "Sexy Mamas"), but ultimately gets fed up with that job and decides to quit and focus on music, despite his mother's nagging. So you could easily have similar frustrating periods in your life (I know I have) and just kick back and play this album and chill. The final track culminates everything nicely: "Who New My Luck Would Change." Who indeed?

While some lament the inclusion of the 4 year old "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly," I applaud it. It is a strong track, and this is after all Consequence's debut album. Artists should put all their best songs they have created on their first release, no matter how long ago they may have been made. Another not-so-new track is DJ Khaled's "Grammy Family." But is again a solid, laid back track and really fits in on the album so I have no qualms with that. The seagull in the beat, while cliched, is cool.

On "Callin Me" Quence puts out some of his best work on the album. He sounds completely disinterested when letting some guy know about a girl who keeps calling him, and it works perfectly. As for production on other tracks on the joint, the preceding track, "Feel this way" featuring John Legend, is another chilled beat, as is the following track "Disperse" featuring GLC and Really Doe. You may have noticed I mentioned that a lot of these tracks have nice soulful chilled beats. Its true. The production on this album is top-notch, for the most part.

Where the album doesn't work is when cat Consequence tries to do that normal rapper bravado stuff...most noticeably on the track "Night Night". Cat just doesn't sound fierce enough to be getting away with all that shit. I don't really think he is gonna smack me and make me go "Night, night." He might make me some tea and then tell me "Night, night."

Still, its a small blip on an otherwise dope album. I'd recommend ya'll check this album out some time soon. Its the 2nd best album this year after Sean Price: Jesus Price Superstar, so word that up.

Night, night!