No, I'm not making it up - that really is what this man decided to name his debut album.
Keith "I can't be bothered to think of a proper rap name" Murray was the first protege that Erick Sermon signed on following the controversial 1992 split of EPMD, and if Redman was anything to go by, E-Double's ability to find rap stars was pretty potent - and after Keith's appearances on Sermon's 1993 solo debut No Pressure (most notably his performance on the song "Hostile", which inspired the title of the album I'm discussing today) were well received, hip-hop heads all across parts of New York were excited to see what the man would be able to deliver on the solo tip. Keith then managed to sign himself a deal with the highly popular Jive Records, probably after threatening a couple of people with the prospect of being hit with a tall wooden seat (more on that later in his discography), and in 1994 he was able to put out a debut record, that of the ridiculous title you see above. Great!
The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World managed to not only shift 500 thousand copies, but also was met with positive reception at the time by most hip-hop fans not named Prodigy or Havoc - not only for the Erick Sermon production, but also for Keith Murray's unique delivery on the mic, and lyrics that showed a lot of promise for a young upstart who'd had little experience in the game. As many of us know, Keith's short temper and deteriorating ear for beats gained him somewhat of a poor reputation from the year 2000 onwards, but in the blissful year of 1994, he was revered as one of the best acts in the game. Let's see if his skills as a musician hold up today.
But seriously - how did a hip-hop album with the word "Keith" plastered right across the top manage to sell 500 thousand copies? And one with that shoddy of a cover art no less?
1. Live From New York (prod. Erick Sermon)
Self important intro that perfectly encapsulates the egotistical attitude a lot of rappers had at the time. Also, a waste of my bloody time. Next!
2. Sychosymatic (prod. Erick Sermon)
From the first cry of "Cowabunga! I'm takin' MCs straight under", you already know you're in for a wild ride with this one. Keith Murray introduces himself as a rapper who can be simultaneously zany and lyrically clever, and it's all helped along by Erick Sermon's pumping instrumental - one that would blow everything he made between 1999 and 2005 out of the goddamn water. Not to mention, "ooh, I might lose my cool" is one of my favourite hooks of the record. Great way to kick things off.
3. Dip Dip Di (prod. Rod "KP" Kirkpatrick & Erick Sermon)
Another banging beat, this one with a dark piano chord added in to help it sound that much more like something from a horror movie - I think that's a Friday the 13th reference on the chorus too, although let me know if I'm very much mistaken. And while Keith does make an "all in the mustard, and can't ketchup/catch up" pun that sounds absolutely horrible every time, lyrically this one is mostly pretty great as well. Not to mention, both songs so far have been short and sweet, not outstaying their welcomes one bit. Pity later hip-hop records would frequently miss out on this simple art. This one was a banger, gang!
4. The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World (prod. Erick Sermon)
5. Herb Is Pumpin' (prod. Erick Sermon)
Keith's first action here is to ape Redman's "Tonight's da Night" with something of a false start, only on this track it's never really explained why he felt the need to do that - still, it sounds pretty dope, so why it's there in the first place doesn't really matter. The rest of the song is a short and sweet number where Keith Murray rhymes about himself over one of the dopest basslines on the record, and the result is honestly nice as hell. I forgot how good this album was!
6. Sychoward (prod. Erick Sermon)
An attempt to set up the next track, but not a particularly good one - the title on this is amusing though.
7. Straight Loonie (feat. Jamal of Illegal & Erick Sermon) (prod. Erick Sermon, Rod "K.P." Kirkpatrick & Busta Rhymes)
Why the simplest beat on the whole album needed three different producers is beyond me, but still compared with a lot of today's records this instrumental may as well have come out of thin air. Aside from (the uncredited) Erick Sermon doing his best to rhyme whilst apparently having an iron pressed against his buttcheeks (seriously, listen to the way he delivers during this verse), this song continues the album's streak of dopeness, with Jamal and Keith sounding highly competent behind their respective mics, and not finding the need to try and fail to sound like a psychopath (I guess these guys generally sound slightly more invigorated behind the mic than E-Double in the first place). Rhyming alongside two other guys really does go to show how lyrically far ahead Keith was for his time though - I wonder if he regrets his violent outbursts today, knowing that he could have been a far more important and acknowledged figure in the genre if he had just slammed a fist on the table, rather than what actually happened. Oh well. Also, Busta Rhymes on production but no verse? On this song where his zany nature would have been perfect? The fuck?
8. Danger (prod. Erick Sermon)
For the next two numbers, Keith attempts to create some more relaxed joints to "lounge" and "get lifted" to, but unfortunately the first of those, this track "Danger", is somewhat of a mood killer in the tracklist. It certainly isn't bad, but I find the samples during the chorus to not quite hit the right notes for me, and also the sudden shift in energy makes this song seem kind of sleepy in comparison with what we've heard so far. Keith still sounds nice though, and I do like the bass on this joint, so it's not a total loss - this just happens to be the weakest of a great bunch of tracks so far.
9. Get Lifted (prod. Erick Sermon)
10. How's That (feat. Erick Sermon & Redman) (prod. Erick Sermon)
Would it be bold of me to say that this is the best Def Squad track of all time? I'm gonna say no - this is seriously incredible, not only my personal favourite song on the whole album, but also home to what is potentially a top 10 Redman verse ever. Seriously, that man blows the others out of the water on this record. Jesus. Erick Sermon's beat is dark and bass heavy, but seriously unique amongst the rest of the album, sounding more up to date and rich; meanwhile, the rappers drop some of their best performances ever on this record, with the aforementioned Redman verse being the crown jewel here - that man really went berserk over this instrumental. If you're lacking 40 something minutes to check this whole album out, at least find time to track down this song - it's seriously worth your time. What a great piece.
11. The Chase (prod. Erick Sermon)
Another skit which really didn't need to be here. What a surprise.
12. Take It To the Streetz (feat. Ron Jay, Fifty Grand & KiKi Hitsville) (prod. Erick Sermon)
Over a relaxed instrumental that reminds me of Xzibit's At the Speed of Life album for reasons I can't quite explain, Keith Murray takes the time to introduce us to his own merry band of mates who think that because their friend can rap, they can as well - hey, what rapper doesn't have a gang like this around them? The crew is called L.O.D., and at the time it only consisted of Ron Jay and 50 Grand (the third feature here is reserved for only ad-libs and outros on the track), but I'm pretty sure it grew a bit later on. And for what it's worth, for guys who are only on here at all because of their association to Keith, they're not all bad - maybe the luscious beat, and Keith having one of his less ambitious performances on here, makes them sound better, but honestly I don't mind them - or the track as a whole for that matter - all that much. You know, this is actually quite nice. Also, the title is hilarious.
13. Bom Bom Zee (feat. Paul Hightower & Hurricane Gee) (prod. Erick Sermon)
Kind of a weird moment on the album, featuring a verse from Hurricane Gee of all people (who seems to show up on lots of random albums, like Dare Iz a Darkside and the aforementioned At the Speed of Life), and some crooning from a singer named Paul Hightower, who's voice is incorporated into the instrumental that stands out for being incredibly strange, and out of place on an album such as this. Keith's presence is barely felt on the record too, and while I don't dislike it, I can't help but think the album would have felt more raw if this failed experiment were left off. Huh.
14. Countdown (prod. Erick Sermon)
Keith Murray attempts to show the world that he can count from 1 to 10, but after trying and failing he had to sample it from somewhere else. I'm kidding, but really - why is this here?
15. Escapism (prod. Redman)
Another essential joint - I seriously forgot how many brilliant songs were on this album. This track, with some banging production from Funk Doctor himself, right in his Dare Iz a Darkside era, is lyrically without doubt the most engaging track on the entire record, as Keith recounts a time in which he "escaped from the world", and met some martians who he proceeded to get high with. It's a pretty crazy tale, one that a certain Albert Johnson was so pissed about that he decided to use track two of his group's infamous second album (pun intended) in order to diss Keith for his "crazy space shit that don't even make no sense", starting up a beef that never really went anywhere after that (aside from a couple more half assed shots on Keith and Mobb's albums in 1996). I'm not sure why this was such an issue though, because the song itself is really good. Keith's lyrics are nice, and the beat is even nicer. This is a great way to end the album, one of the best on here in general.
The following is listed as a bonus track.
16. The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World (Green-Eyed Remix) (prod. Erick Sermon)
An Erick Sermon remix of a song produced by Erick Sermon, and it's nowhere near as good as the original. There's a reason the original song is considered a classic and this one is all but forgotten. This beat really just isn't interesting.
In conclusion - wow! Upon relistening to this album and writing about it today, I find that it's about three times as good as I remember. Aside from the occasional stale moment or ridiculously stupid Erick Sermon verse (see - "Straight Loonie"), The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World is a fun, eccentric, and occasionally brilliant listen that most importantly, doesn't outstay it's welcome - excluding the bonus track this project doesn't even hit 40 minutes, and it's that short runtime that helps it remain highly replayable - maybe with a finger above the skip button for the occasionally dull moment (not that I ever skip, but most people do). Keith Murray is a seriously good MC, who doesn't only possess a great voice, but is also lyrically brilliant, with a bunch of complex rhyme schemes, quotable lines and generally effective bragging across this record that helps keep it engaging and at times impressive. Meanwhile, his ear for beats and guest appearances is stellar too, with the odd exception. While a song like "Bom Bom Zee" is out of place, and a track like "Danger" could have at least been sequenced a little better, songs such as "Sychosymatic", "How's That" and "Herb Is Pumpin'" portray what '90s hip-hop is all about - brilliant beats with dope basslines and drums to keep your head nodding all the way through, and excellent MCing that never fails to lose the listener. And on a song like "Get Lifted" or "Escapism", Keith proves he can be just as competent when it comes to the smoother tracks to relax to - this man isn't a one trick pony. While the album title, and even the name of the artist, may put some people off, The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World is a truly great listen, and an underrated gem of the '90s that deserves much more discussion. And goddamn is that Redman feature good!
Best Tracks: "Sychosymatic", "Dip Dip Di", "Herb Is Pumpin'", "Get Lifted", "How's That", "Escapism"
Worst Track: "Bom Bom Zee"
More Keith albums to come on here, but for now here's some Redman reviews which probably discuss him at some point.
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