Note: This review was based on a recording of his visit to The Usual Suspects radio show and the reviewer’s copy of the album.
On April 11, 2000 emcees by the names of Spontaneous, Roman Numeral, and Xtrakrdt (extra credit) dropped into the KUCI studios during The Usual Suspects. All we knew was that this cat originally out of Chicago was about to drop an LP off of Good Vibe Recordings and Atomic Pop. Apparently this cat produced his own shit and also hooked up with a number of L.A. heads. According to him heads who bought the album could expect to hear “lyrical wittiness” from him in an effort to bring back “the fresh era” where people was “living the spirit of hip hop.” During the show he dropped some impressive freestyles alongside Roman Numeral and Xtrakrdt of Dislexsik.
So I had to get off my ass and shell out my $17 (damn CD’s getting pricey these days) and check out the LP. I popped it in the deck and was impressed all the way through. The lineup of guests is impressive too: Xzibit, Saukrates, DJ Drez, Tash, DJ Revolution, Rock (from Heltah Skeltah), Asthete, Bobby McKalester, DJ Phyz Ed, Roman Numeral, Xtrakrdt, Bahamadia, and Kurtis Blow. The opening intro sets up for the title track. “Spur of the Moment” talks about how emcees can be spontaneously going from fame to wackness in the game. In “Reprezen’n” Spon trades mics with Mr. X to the Z and Saukrates, making it one of the hotter joints on the LP. Both guests spit one of their best deliveries on an underground track. Quote from Xzibit: “…Perpetrate like you upper class / I’m ready and willing to smash on that fuckin’ ass / Bust a high caliber ammo, but you miss me / I roll like Clinton and bitches suck like Lewinsky.” “Srv1” is one of the better known tracks featuring Tash with DJ Revolution on the cut. Spon busts out his hilarious wordplay: “So wack niggas I suggest you keep walkin’ / Cause ain’t nobody talkin’ when I’m talkin’ don’t be talkin’ shhhh…” I won’t give the rest away…I’ll let you savor the rest, cause as Spon even said in “Quiet on Da Set!:” “Got a format so phat I need liposuction.”
Overall Spon brings the realness to this album through his deliveries. And yes, he talks the same way as he rhymes in real life. Hence, there’s a personal aspect to this piece. The only downsides to this album are the skits. Believe it or not, out of the 22 tracks, 7 of them are skits. I found them to be unnecessary and out of place, disrupting the flow of tracks. If Spon replaced some of those skits with more joints, this album would be off the meters. This debut has a lot of potential, but it needs more publicity in order to gain popularity beyond the underground.
-JP Almeda
