LYRIC L / Lyric L Mixtape2
Nketchi-da-Lyric L is a London born, proudly Nigerian-heritage emcee and wordsmith who is also at the top of my list of rappers whose work I deeply enjoy. She is beyond clever, deeper than trendy. An acute observer and subtle storyteller, Lyric L is also an engaging and energetic performer who obviously enjoys what she so adeptly does.
First there is her killingly high level of vernacular skills. She can wittily do more with rhymes than the average mathematician can do with numbers, both real and imaginary. In addition to verbal dexterity, she is also blessed with a flow that is stellar. She can go full blast at incredible tempos but at the same time do hesitations, stutter phrasing, and exuberant interjections that are mind-bending. Plus, the sonic quality of her voice is distinctive in both texture and timbre. On the scene now for a little over a decade, she has honed her talent, skills and vocal equipment into a devastating combination.
I had been waiting on her first full album release (see BoL feature here) and now that Amazed is here, I am just that: amazed. Much of her music is one-off singles projects and often those recordings are not internationally available through the usual outlets (e.g. Amazon). Thankfully, the new album Amazed is on iTunes along with two singles. Limited distribution notwithstanding, Lryic L has established herself as a major voice of her generation.
Part of her success is due to her ear for music. She works with talented producers but also seems to inspire the beat-makers to go far beyond their usual modalities and boundaries. There is no monotony to the musical arrangements nor the rhythm patterns. Moreover there is also the subtleties Lyric L the storyteller employs when she runs down the obvious and ordinary, putting a unique and interesting spin on mundane and normal life pursuits and relationships. Listen to "Cold Feet." Check the way she bunches her words in clusters punctuated by one and two word interjections.
Also noteworthy is the absence of bullshit. There is no pandering to popularity, no gratuitous use of cussing or raw sex to sell the music. Rather than juvenile joking around, this is mature music. Even when she is enjoying a laugh as on "Loose Lips" or "Now!" Lyric L maintains her integrity thereby proving that she can be playful without resorting to potty-mouth inanities.
Lyric L's Amazed is a refreshing, well executed, and, yes, joyful example of contemporary music.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
Lyric L Mixtape2 Playlist
01 "Loose Lips" - Seiji - FabricLive 12: Bugz In The Attic
02 "Take Flight" - MJ Cole - Cut To The Chase
03 "Swell Sessions Demo" - Swell Sessions
04 "You Know This" - KV 5 featuring Lyric L - Instant Volume 2 Compilation
05 "Doot Dude" - Nathan Haines featuring Lyric L - Doot Dude single
06 "Ooh You I Back Together Again" - single
07 "Ever (After)" - single
Amazed
08 "Amazed"
09 "So Far"
10 "Cold Feet"
11 "Always Always"
12 "Now!"
13 "Take It Off"
This entry was posted on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 12:08 am and is filed under Contemporary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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