Upon coming to the song “Molehill & the Mountain” on the Sole CD, I blocked out everything but the lyrics, trying to make some sense of what Dose was saying. The beat and the emcees were a little too experimental for me. Just when I was ready to give up, the beat died down and a third emcee stepped to the forefront with a beautifully poetic verse. There began my experience with L’Roneous Da’Versifier.
So when I later saw “Imaginarium” at the record store, my curiosity overcame me and I picked it up. It was a lot more of the same material that attracted me to this emcee in the first place. In other words, straight up underground hip hop – no hooks, no choruses, no off-key r&b singing, just beats, rhymes, and scratching. Some nice, jazzy horns accompany the verses in many songs.
While no song on this album is as breathtaking as, say, “Bottle of Humans,” it is consistently dope. From the opening metaphor on “Castaway the Stowaways” to the hidden track at the end, L’Roneous always has a worthwhile topic to rhyme about. In the marvelous but much-too-short “L’chemy,” he gives a scientific interpretation of constructing a rhyme. “A Place Called This” starts off like a description of a nightmare, but by the end L’Roneous reveals that he is talking about racist behavior that takes place in every city. The title track is true to its name, an imaginary tale taking place inside the emceee’s head. “No Limitations,” featuring Gennessee (the only guest on the album) is another well-executed song. While it may not be as conceptual as the other tracks, the emcees mesh very well together.
The listener leaves this album with a renewed appreciation of hip hop. Why? Because L’Roneous stays true to the art. This album won’t give you amazing punchlines… it’s difficult to even find a real quotable. But as a whole, the songs come together. There is a purpose for each song, rather than just a bunch of nice lines strung together. My main complaint would be that I was left wanting more on some songs. I guess when the only bad thing you can say is that you wished a few songs were longer, though, you have found a pretty good album.
-Joe Kostelnik
