Artist: Masta Killa
Album: Selling My Soul
Producers: Mathematics, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck etc.
Release Date: December 11, 2012
Review: Given the laid-back nature of tracks like "Grab the Mic" and "Love Spell" from No Said Date, it's not a big surprise that Masta Killa would eventually work his way around to doing a soul-centered album. Selling My Soul is that album, and for the most part it's a really good album. Since 90% of it is based in old-school soul sounds, I won't mention it every track - it's actually much easier to point out the songs that don't sound as classic soul-influenced.
Looking at the artwork, it's no surprise that Selling My Soul is a sexy-sounding album. Harmonious backup singers, two-tone basses and picked guitars, warm violins - it's all there. Things kick off with "Intro," where MK gives shout-outs to ODB and U-God by working some of their classic lyrics into his opening verse (including U-God's first lines from "Triumph"). Then we get into "Soul & Substance," which lives up to its name. The music is layered and engaging, and Masta Killa works his signature rap style over it with ease. The hook even reminds us of "Grab the Mic," with the lyrics "My guitar string sing / Make me wanna like spit that thing thing / When I'm on the mic talking to you how you like." If you remember, "Grab the Mic" had the hook "Spit that shit that make niggas wanna lick they Glock / When I grab the microphone I can't stop."
MK gives a shout-out to Ghostface at the beginning of the Inspectah Deck-produced "R U Listening," Perhaps that's because it also samples Smokey Robinson's "Much Better Off," just like Wu-Block's "Crack Spot Stories" did (as we discussed last week). Lyrically, MK's as strong as ever as he builds a scene of rocking the crowd. It's eloquent imagery like "Now with this piece of steel that I hold so firmly / I conduct y'all accordingly / One time for your mind, authentically designed / And crafted by the hand of God." He also gets self-aware here. He has to know he's often referred to as the most mysterious member of Wu-Tang, and continues his scene appropriately: "Autograph, camera phones flash as I enter / A glimpse of the ninja, rarely seen and heard." His unique style, sometimes forgoing end-of-line rhymes in favor of sticking the rhymes in the middle instead, is a good challenge to what most listeners perceive about hip-hop, and it's on full display here.
The tunes take a slight turn for the more conventional Wu sound on the PF Cuttin-produced "Things Just Ain't the Same." Vocal loops and a more uptempo sound set it apart from the earlier part of the record, but they don't make it sound out-of-place. Of all the tracks on the album, this sounds the most like it could have been on No Said Date - it reminds me a bit of "Last Drink." Take note of PF Cuttin, because not only did he do this phat track, but he and Masta Killa just worked together again for "The Return of the Masta Kill" (check that digital single out at PF Cuttin's website - don't sleep; it's an awesome song).
On the subject of alienating songs, though, I'm not as crazy about the combo of "Part 2" and "Cali Sun" as the rest of the album. MK provides a tight verse, and the production and guest spot by Kurupt aren't bad by any means, but they don't sound like anything else on the album. The music is more about West Coast synths and low, buzzing bass synthesizer than the soul feel of the rest of the album. It's a great track for driving with the windows down, but it feels a bit out of place here to me. Maybe that's just me though; decide for yourself.
Some may argue that "What You See" is also a wild card, since it also uses electronic instruments, but the wah-wah guitar and mid-tempo drums ground it better in the theme of the album. It's brought back home by "Food," produced by 9th Wonder. Noodles drops serious rhymes all over this beat. In the first verse, he praises reading and writing as something that can make lives better, with lines such as:
"When I'm writing, so quenching to the thirst
So refreshingly enlightening, ingeniously exciting
Stimulating brain growth is all so relevant for the youth development
So I drop musical notes for you to then quote
I gave the thought time to soak while I smoked
Then I wrote for years, months and days
Before I even spoke."
And yeah, I quoted a line about quoting him. Jamel Irief is just that good.
Mathematics also produces the DOOM-sounding "All Natural," with light vibraphone and a bouncing summertime bassline. It walks the line between indie rap and soul-based Wu-Tang. Masta Killa takes a turn at the controls himself, producing both "Wise Words" and "Divine Glory." On the former, he talks about soul music over a Zapp Band beat previously used by Tupac; on the latter he raps over Blue Magic's "Secret Lover." For my money, "Divine Glory" is the one track on the album that suffers from the same problems as Ghostface Killah's R&B outing, Ghostdini - it's a bit too polished and syrupy for my palette. But I appreciate Masta Killa producing a couple tracks, even though "Divine Glory" isn't my thing.
And then there's "Dirty Soul." Now, "Dirty Soul" has two ingredients to promise greatness: namely a good beat provided by Blackinati and a credited guest spot by Ol' Dirty Bastard, who by this point was long since dead. Instead, Masta Killa talks more about soul music (which he'd just given props to three tracks previous on "Wise Words") and he ends up rapping the first verse of ODB's "Hippa to the Hoppa" with a sample of ODB doing the hook. It's a loving tribute, but I was hoping for a bit more.
Legacy: The reception to Selling My Soul hovered between 6 and 7 out of 10 for the most part. Of course, Pitchfork once again scored something too low, giving it a 5.2 which I think should've been higher even though I agree with some of their critiques. One too many spoken tracks and the three songs I wasn't amazed by hardly warrant a rating lower than a 7 (or at least a 6) out of 10 in my opinion. There are plenty of gems on here (check "Recommended Tracks" below) and the rest at least sound good even if they don't fill me with that Masta Killa high I get from some of his other stuff. I will say that now that he's gotten one soul album out of his system, I'm excited to see him go back to more hip-hop that sounds like his other releases. Either way, kudos to Jamel Irief for taking a chance on an unconventional record that (mostly) pays off.
Recommended Tracks: Soul & Substance, R U Listening, Things Just Ain't the Same, Food, All Natural.
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