The last Murs project I reviewed on here was Varsity Blues 2, and if I'm being perfectly honest, I didn't feel it much at all. Yes, a couple of the tracks were pretty dope, but one of them was a previously released song anyway, and when it was bad, it was bad. Shit like "Bummed Out Blues" and "She's So Lost" were some of the weakest shit I've heard in this entire Murs-athon. Hell, I'd rather listen to stuff on Sweet Lord than those cuts. Still, the fact that I was unmoved by the album as a whole doesn't turn me off from the excitement surrounding the next project in Murs' catalogue, and the album I'll be listening to today - the extravagantly titled Love & Rockets Vol 1: The Transformation, apparently so called because Murs transitioned from having hair to not having hair during the recording of this project.
This album was released on October 11th of 2011, and it's disputed where exactly it falls into the Murs catalogue. The only name that is listed on the front cover is that of Murs himself, and so therefore one might assume that this falls in as his 6th solo studio album, a follow up to the stellar Murs For President he dropped back in 2008. However, there are a lot of people who would list this amongst his many collaborative projects, the reason for that being that this album was entirely produced by Ski Beatz (except one track, apparently) - that's the same Ski Beatz who worked on Jay-Z's first two albums, yes, and was the man behind "Dead Presidents". So, already I'm excited for this record - that's no no-name producers cooking up weird rock and folky beats. Instead, we have a revered boom-bap producer who made the beats to some of Jay-Z's best '90s cuts. I mean, how can you argue with "Streets Is Watching"? "22 Two's"? "Politics As Usual"? This guy is clearly a mastermind - the question is, was he still on the same caliber in 2011?
Well, fans of rapper Curren$y would tell you "yes", as the man had done some work with him, but personally I haven't heard any of his later work, so I don't know. Let's stop talking about him now, though, and instead focus on the star attraction - that's Nicholas Carter, also known as Murs. This album was one of the man's biggest and most successful (it's all relative, remember) to date, with "Remember 2 Forget" being one of his most streamed songs, and "Animal Style" not being far behind - in fact, I've heard the latter of those already, and I can say with confidence it's one of the best Murs songs ever, and one of the most daring song concepts in hip-hop history. Just wait until we get to it, you'll see. The features on this thing are fairly sparse, with the only ones I'm even slightly familiar with being West Coast veteran O.C. and TDE signee Ab-Soul, with the rest of them being names I personally have never come across before. I mean, Locksmith? Tabi Bonney? Come on, no-one knows these guys. Also, we have Dee-1, with whom Murs dropped a project in 2020 titled He's the Christian, I'm the Rapper - not a title that gives me much hope, but we'll see.
This album is 13 tracks long, and so it's not too lengthy, but still certainly long enough to classify it as a proper album. The question is, is this an album that will improve Murs' discography, or lessen it's worth to a large degree? Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Also, that album cover is fucking sick - that alone makes me more intrigued for the project.
All songs produced by Ski Beatz except where noted.
1. Epic Salutations
I can't lie, this song title really makes me want to like this one. I know, it's silly, but I guess that's how things go sometimes. Over a fairly unorthodox instrumental that starts off drumless but then builds into something more hip-hop like, Murs raps about a bunch of random shit, including adventures in space, dealing drugs to aliens, and (toward the beginning) his own impact on the genre, and how he believes he's been a substantial part of it. He also mentions how he has quality and quantity, something you can't really deny when looking at his discography so far, even if there has been a couple of iffy moments. This song is just one long verse over some fantastically weird yet equally celebratory music from Ski Beatz, and Murs sounds invigorated and excited to be in the booth. This was probably the best way he could have possibly introduced us to the record. "While I'm slanging moon rocks to these alien fellas!"
2. Remember 2 Forget
Well, it seems that we're at the break up songs already, but I don't mind that, as I actually enjoyed this one. Even though the "2" in the title is irksome, the whole "remembering to forget a relationship" concept of this is really interesting, and probably has given many support when they find themselves in the dire situation where they can't get over a lost love. The instrumental on this thing isn't too down, with Ski Beatz providing a fairly spacey sounding beat with use of a sample that reminds of 9th Wonder, and Murs' actual lyrical content on this thing was good, even if it reminds of other songs in his catalogue, such as "A Part Of Me". Also, the hook is really, really memorable. This was actually a dope track - there's a reason it's one of his most famous.
3. 67 Cutlass
Murs kicks his first proper storytelling rap of the day, and it's another absolute success. The instrumental on this thing has an old-school boom-bap flavour that I just adore, and it's the perfect place for Murs to spit - and man is this guy good at laying out a story. On this one, we hear a tale of Murs and his buddy rolling around in their vehicle, and with some shrooms in there too, and then they get pulled over by a police car, so they're like "aww, shit". Then, they eat all the shroomz just before the cop gets there, and he tells Murs to pop the trunk. He does, and there's weed in there, albeit not his weed. So, his buddy admits to the cop that it's his weed, and then runs off into the distance, knocking the cop down. As the pig tries to get back up, Murs trips him over, and he hits his head on the side of the car and fucking dies, not a turn I was expecting the story to take. So, Murs and his friend put him in the boot, and head off to the woods to bury him, and just as the police helicopters start circling to find the two murderers, the shrooms kick in. What's funny is that I just told that whole story after one listen, and with no transcription in front of me. That's just how invigorating and fantastic Murs is here. This was another fantastic cut.
4. Eazy-E
Track four on this album is a light-hearted and celebratory tribute to the West Coast hip-hop artists who paved the way for Murs and others like him, and I absolutely loved it. Murs drops as many names here as you'd hear on the average The Game song, but it works in this instance as he pays tribute to Ice Cube, E-40, WC, and of course Eazy-E, as well as many others. The song also starts with a reference to a line from Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day", so that was dope too. Ski's instrumental on this thing was simply beautiful, with great melodies and dope drums, and Murs' verses were filled with classic reference for the West Coast fanboys to vibe to. And this had easily the best hook on the album so far, too - that chorus was nice as hell. This was a fantastic tribute cut, and arguably as good as Murs' other dedication to his hometown "L.A.". Well, maybe...
5. Hip Hop & Love (feat. Tabi Bonney)
A collaboration with another hip-hop artist called Tabi Bonney, who I had never actually heard of until now, but whatever. This actually appeared on one of his projects before this Murs one, I believe, and it's easy to tell, as this has a very different atmosphere to what we've seen so far. It's still good, though - this one's a tribute to hip-hop as a whole, and Bonney's opening verse was definitely decent, even if his delivery was a little bit sleepy. The chorus was alright, but really it was Murs who made this better - he uses a deeper voice than usual on this one that reminds me of his performance on "Lookin' Fly", and it's for the better, as the rapping from him on here is dope as hell, especially in his second verse where he shouts a bunch of artists who inspired him. As for the production, it was a pretty basic West Coast upbeat tune that you could ride your convertible to in the sunshine - or at least that's what I got from it. This wasn't fantastic like the first four songs, but I still certainly enjoyed it a lot.
6. International
Well, Murs has never been one for the most conventional subject matter (remember "West Coast Cinderella"? How about "She's So Lost"? No? Oh yeah - they both sucked), but even if making a whole song about how you like to fly and the act of actually getting on a plane isn't guaranteed to captivate, Murs does a nice job of it on here, especially when it comes to lines like "nope I don't smoke weed, but do I stay high? Yes!". This is of course largely helped by Ski's jazzy instrumental, which is all kinds of excellent, but even without such a brilliant beat, I would most likely still find myself very entertained by Murs' lyrics on this song - there's even a Cheers reference in there, which was appreciated. This song was dope as hell.
7. S-K-I-B-E-A-T-Z (feat. Locksmith)
This was certainly one of the songs that stood out on this tracklist thanks to the title, and also the feature from a gentleman under the stage name Locksmith - now that's intriguing to me. And this song was bloody good, man. As much as I love Murs' "everything is wonderful" attitude a lot of the time, it's nice to hear him get back to dissin' whack rappers and being a cocky twat throughout this one - even if he discredits his own work at the end of both of his verses, and says "let's get back to the music". Some of the lines on this thing were straight hilarious, such as "she got a crazy body, but she a stupid-ass" - that one genuinely had me laughing. The instrumental meanwhile once again utilises horns, but unlike on the last song which was quite subdued, these ones are loud and triumphant, perfect for the braggadocio displayed in the verses. Oh, and Locksmith came in at the end for a dope verse too, with a faster flow than Murs to make for a change of pace. The scratches on the hook that spell out the song title are just the icing on the cake - this was easily one of the best songs so far.
8. Westside Love
Remember that song "Freak These Tales" from the classic Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition? Well, this song appears to be in a similar vein at first, as Murs details many meetings he's had with different girls, and all the hook-ups he's had over the years. This is the subject matter he details in the verses, anyway, but during the chorus he gets to talking to this one chick from the West Coast who he really wants to be with, and I have to say that the chorus is probably my least favourite element of this song, all thanks to the weird electric guitar and vocoder sounds that enter during that portion - it just sounds too cluttered if you ask me. Still, the actual rapping on here was cool, and the overall message of the song was nice too. Murs is good at making love songs, and as long as there aren't any more on here, then this one should stand out as a dope joint. We can hope...
9. Life & Time (feat. Ab-Soul & O.C.)
Another more celebratory cut with an aggressive flavour, and also the song with the two star guests on this album. This song is an interesting meet-up - we have a '90s West Coast MC, a 2000s West Coast MC and a 2010s West Coast MC all teaming up, and all delivering equally fantastic verses. And no, that doesn't reflect badly on Ab-Soul - it just shows how damn good O.C. and Murs do on this thing (well, you can expect Murs to be spitting fire at this stage). Murs' first verse disses modern rappers for being too soft (*cough*Drake*cough*), and he actually spits some dope disses in there - "wouldn't throw a cream puff in a cupcake war" being one that I found funny. Ab-Soul spends his verse bigging himself up, which he does a good job of, and he also says on there that if it wasn't for hip-hop he'd probably lose it - I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before? Anyway, O.C. brings up the rear for a dope verse where he compares the old and new scenes, and he does a good job for how long he'd been in the game by this point. The instrumental on this thing was all kinds of fantastic, and I loved the performances from all three MCs. This is the type of shit I love in hip-hop, man.
10. Reach Hire
I can't lie - that song title is stupid as fuck, and does not give me high hopes for this song. But consider me surprised, as I actually found this to be one of the best joints on the whole album. The chilled-out boom-bap instrumental on this song worked perfectly, with the jazzy elements complementing Murs' flow to a tee, and the actual rapping was dope as a muh'fucker too - this wasn't some cringy anthem telling us to "reach for the stars" like I thought it would be. Instead, Murs spends the tune rapping about his own come up, and his journey from local backpack rapper to one of the most respected underground MCs of all time. I honestly can't imagine anyone not liking this - the song title sucks, but everything about this actual song was great. I was literally just chilling and vibing the whole time to this one. Great song.
11. Dream On (feat. Dee-1)
Another corny title, but will this one surprise me like the last song? Well, at first, I actually thought I was going to dislike this one, because I've never been the greatest fan of Murs & electric guitar together, but as I got further into this song I realised that it actually worked really well. Despite the aforementioned guitar, the beat was still quite chilled out on here, and I really loved the general vibe of it. What I also really liked was the back and forth between the two MCs, who delivered eight bars each on all of the three verses to make for the dopest structure on this entire record. The rapping here was also really good, as the pair of them talk about their own accomplishments, and the dreams that they still aim to pursue. I was slightly disturbed by the line "And I refuse to be that old, lonely dude at home watching porn, forty plus lurkin' around the college dorms" from the guest here, though - I mean, shouldn't you be repulsed by that idea? Just the way he said it made it seem like it was an alternative to him if he wasn't married. Like, that's a fucking disgusting thing to do, you know? Most lonely men probably aren't lurking around college dorms every night! That line really got to me, but otherwise I enjoyed the guest's performance here. I also loved the hook - "what's a dream without a dreamchaser chasing it?" This was a dope cut.
12. 316 Ways
Murs brings another song title to heavily reference his big day - the 16th of March, or "3:16" as we are constantly reminded of. This song is bloody aggressive, sort of Murs' version of Tech N9ne's "The Industry Is Punks", as he picks apart the flaws of the mainstream industry in hip-hop music, and disses all the rappers who are going around flaunting their wealth, not knowing that they're bound to be screwed over soon enough. The title refers to the chorus - "316 ways to kill the industry" - a chorus that stands as one of the best on this album, by the way. The instrumental on this one is pretty intense, and incredibly enjoyable, and Murs absolutely rips apart his three verses here - he doesn't name names, but that's probably due to the fact that so many companies and rappers could fall under the banners that he addresses. This was one of the best songs here, for sure. What a track.
13. Animal Style (prod. Embassy the Hitmaker & Royal P)
You know, I literally only just figured out that this song was not produced by Ski. I always thought it was. Anyway, I remember around the time I first started this Murs-athon, I was on his YouTube channel, and I noticed that this was his most popular video. I checked it out, and to say I was mindblown would be an understatement. This is seriously one of the boldest and at the same time greatest hip-hop songs I have ever heard. It's utterly phenomenal. The production on this song is perfect, with loud drums, strange guitars and wonderful synths coming in at different points in the song to match perfectly with the tale that's being told. The tale itself is also unbelievable, and just gives me goosebumps every single time. I'm not going to give it away right now (even though I kind of did give the story of "67 Cutlass" away, but whatever), but if you haven't, then please listen to this. It will seriously give you a new view on life. This shit is fucking incredible.
Wow... I'm honestly stunned at how good this album was. I actually enjoyed every single song on here, which, judging by its general reception and how much I enjoyed the last project in Murs' catalogue, I was not expecting at all. But it wasn't just that I enjoyed every song - the overall cohesiveness and feel of this album was something to be marvelled at. The production and rapping throughout this album was very diverse, and consistently a point of interest for me. The beats on here ranged from celebratory, chilled out, slightly aggressive, to even tear-jerking on "Animal Style" - the fact that it was the same producer behind all but one of these tracks is incredible to me, as the vibes on this album were pretty diverse, more so than on Murs' work with 9th Wonder up to this point. I actually liked pretty much every beat on here, and it was the same for the features. There were no dodgy sung hooks on here - instead, every feature was a dope MC who bought something to the table to help with Murs' vision. Ab-Soul and O.C. both shone as I hoped they would, but I was also pleasantly surprised by Locksmith and Dee-1, both of whom killed it too. The only feature who I wasn't huge on was Tabi Bonney, but even he had a decent performance, even if it wasn't as good as the other performances on here. And then we come to the host of proceedings, Murs. The rapping on this album is bloody fantastic. By this point, Murs has found a flow and stuck with it, so if you want to give a criticism then let the general flow not changing up much be that. But when it comes to Murs' humour, storytelling and subject matter, everything gets the green light. Not only did I like the break-up tracks, songs dissing whack MCs and songs about following your dreams, but I also loved the more abstract storytelling songs on here too - "67 Cutlass" and "Animal Style" were two of my absolute favourites. This was quite easily my favourite Murs album since Murray's Revenge, and if he follows down this road of intriguing and diverse subject matter teamed with dope production, then things can only continue to be great from here. This album was extraordinary, and I'm very excited to get into more listens of this. I ain't been this excited about a Murs album in a while - what a project!
Expectations: Exceeded
Best Track: "Animal Style"
Worst Track: "Hip Hop & Love", but really I even enjoyed that one.
Catch up on the rest of the Murs-athon here.
Image taken from Album Of the Year.
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