Review Summary: "If you see 'em will you say hello? Let 'em know its all good, LinX said so. I'm kidding, imma get 'em all"
As a relatively recent Sputnik user, I've been making my rounds rating LPs these past few days which, having been introduced to the site a few months ago, was a long time coming. However, to my surprise, there was no record of my old timer hip hop artist, provider of some of my favorite rap tracks, Omar LinX.
If there is a textbook definition of a rap connoisseur, I do not fit it in any way. For the past few years if someone asked me about my favorite rappers I'd say Kendrick Lamar, Pushat T and Omar LinX, which I'm sure are in completely different levels of lyrical intellectualism, production and overall knowledge and positioning in the hip hop realm, but never stopped me from enjoying their works and styles. I'm not comparing anything here, I'm just saying that hip hop is not a genre I feel comfortable reviewing anything in.
This review serves as a non-paid and maybe never to be noticed attempt by me to shed some light on Omar, so that someone with a greater (or some) knowledge of hip hop can come around and give it the review and attention it deserves (whatever it may be) and, so that in the subjectivity of what is good music, others can enjoy this LP as I did.
When the first singles came around, Dosey Doe and Forgive Me (in that order) I was both excited and scared, the latter being exactly what I wanted from Omar Linx with some hard hitting lyrics over a simple hazy beat that allows Omar to do whatever he wants with the track (which might be the best in the album) and on the other hand (Dosey Doe) a safe, relatively boring and personally disappointing one, at the level of the mainstream rap my little cousin enjoys and I try to get away from. However, as soon as the album dropped I was reminded of why I like Omar, he doesn't disappoint. Even now (2018) he's releasing new singles that are hyping me up for his next LP and I am already hooked, but that's besides the point...
The album counts with the production of a variety of producers which ads dome great diversity. First off, Scatter Brain is a good way to start off the album, somewhat experimental, short and to the point showing off what he's here to do, which is M.O.R., which is Music Or Revenge, which once you listen to the album it becomes pretty self explanatory. Then tracks like Red Light Green Light, Lights Dim, Impressive, Walk the Road, Stepping Stones and Carnival keep everything fresh and strong, hitting you with the album's topic right in the face which could be cringy and over-dramatic but Omar makes it feel real and with purpose. He's showing his colors, doing his own thing and he 100% believes in it, not asking you to like it nor flexing in the way rappers typically do, be it women or money. But, did I mention those tracks were strong? Time to talk about The Wild, not quite the flow of Forgive Me, it's the track I always use to introduce people to this record. Hits hard from the start (even though it starts with the chorus) and is accompanied by a bass riff and trap-like dnb track that only slows down so that Omar can go even harder than he does throughout the rest of the track. Lastly, Black Rose, another standout that unlike the rest is accompanied by your typical tuned female vocals for the chorus but even then, when doing the "typical" he brings content and doesn't let his style fade even a bit, like a sine wave (with Y as it's speed) Omar is always bringing it up against the slow beat and somewhere towards the middle they meet halfway with the latter half of the song being what kids these days would consider "chill dnb for studying".
All in all, I can see people having issues with this record and I'm sure my score won't last long if people start listening to the album, but I truly believe in Omar's talent because even if the beats and production are "plain" his flow and lyrics work for me. He brings his own story and that's just fine.
