Murs-athon pt. 17 - Brighter Daze

The years 2014 and 2015 were some of the most successful of our old friend Murs' entire career. In 2014 he pulled a strong career move, aligning with the at-the-time red hot Strange Music label just as they were hitting their heyday. In this year he not only showed up multiple times on Tech N9ne's Strangeulation album, but he also teamed up with ¡MAYDAY! for a collaborative album called ¡MursDay!, which I may write about on here one day if I feel like it. These both created some of the more recognisable Murs tunes, such as "Hard (A Monster Made It)" and "Tabletops". And to top this off, in 2015 Murs released yet another solo album to add to his illustrious catalogue, called Have a Nice Life, which happened to include his most streamed song ever, "Okey Dog", which I must say is a bit of a banger. 

Personally, I liked Have a Nice Life but I didn't love it. Some of the music in there was a little too mainstream, and some of the lyrics a little too corny, even if there are some fantastic songs throughout it as well. It's a solid album in my opinion, not unlike the last couple of 9th Wonder collaborations. And you see what I did there? That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I cleverly transitioned into talking about the subject of today's post - yet another Murs & 9th Wonder project. Because I guess we just haven't heard enough yet. 

It was far more than rumoured at the time of its release that 2012's The Final Adventure was to be the finale for the classic rapper-producer tag team - I mean, look at it's title for God's sake - but I think everyone who's somewhat a fan of hip-hop will know to never believe statements like these. Jay-Z, The Game, even Kids See Ghosts - they all claimed to be retiring or splitting up never to work again, but it would be the spans of two or three years before they would break that promise. And with Murs & 9th Wonder, that was the case too. Enter 2015's Brighter Daze, awful title included, the duo's 6th album together. Brighter Daze received less than ideal promotion thanks to Strange Music practically blotting it out of existence, since they didn't get to release it on their label (meaning no more hits for Murs this time), and there wasn't even a CD released for it, which pisses me off to no end. I need it in the collection Goddammit! The album did differ somewhat from previous Murs & 9th Wonder albums, however, by being 12 tracks rather than 10 like all their previous projects (what a shocker!), and having quite a large guest list as well, with names such as Problem and even Mac Miller making appearances. 

But was this album any good? Well, if it's on the level of The Final Adventure I'll be happy, but if it's anything like that godawful Sweet Lord, then I certainly won't. I hope y'all enjoy the review!

Every song is produced by 9th Wonder

1. The Battle 

Besides the absence of a shout of "what up tho" at the start, something that is sorely missed on some of these later Murs albums, this shit was actually an excellent way to begin the album. 9th Wonder's production is jazzy but also high energy and intense, with fantastic percussion and bass complimenting the sound horns, and Murs' relentless verse that seems like it'll never end is better than almost everything on the previous album (except maybe the title track). Murs' lyrics revolving largely around how you can't fuck with him are nothing to get overly rowdy about, but they are enjoyable nonetheless - a Wu-Tang shout is always appreciated too, even if that particular bar is kind of lame. This serves as more of an introduction than a true structured song, but as intros go - it's pretty dope I have to say.

2. God Black / Black God

It seems Murs has further upped the ante on this absolute banger of a track, with a beat switch towards the end for good measure. The first instrumental on here is pretty beautiful though, with what in my opinion is one of 9th's better sample flips, and Murs spits some dope rhymes on here, where he denounces the legalisation of weed in LA, and also other rappers for glorifying violence. Murs paints himself as a true leader for his people on this track, but somehow doesn't come across as preachy at all, instead bringing some strong points to the table - and it's all helped by the fantastic beat. A second, more hardcore sounding instrumental joins us towards the end as Murs spits a final verse, and I really like that. I've been feeling that Murs' work has been a little too formulaic in my recent reviews of his, so it's cool to have a dope beat switch in there to give me something to be excited about. I fucking loved this one. 

3. How To Rob With Rob

Murs is back on some storytelling shit for this one, with a darker and more harrowing take on songs like "Trevor An' Them" and "L.A. Story Pt. 1", where he tells one concise and very easy to follow story in the form of a verse. The instrumental on here is probably my least favourite so far - the sample is a little too intrusive, and the beat a little too slow paced - but the rapping from Murs certainly makes up for it. I won't spoil the story, as you can go listen yourself, but I will say that it's yet another example of just how great Murs is at laying out a narrative as a rap. He's honestly one of the best. Great track. 

4. Lover Murs

Now this one is not on streaming, as it's one of two songs removed from the streaming edition of the album put out in 2019. And maybe that's a good thing, because while I really like 9th Wonder's incredibly familiar beat, Murs kind of fucks this one up by getting a bit too detailed about his sexual relations with this unnamed woman (potentially the same one he was cheating on in "The Worst"?). I appreciate that you want to express love for this woman, but unfortunately this type of hip-hop is not the place for that. Maybe go collaborate with The Weeknd and then it will work, but unfortunately one whole verse about how you "make them legs spazz" isn't exactly appealing to anyone except for yourself. Thanks, but no thanks. 

5. Get Naked (feat. Problem)

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that title. This track right here is a collaboration with the man formerly known as Problem, who is now going by the far stupider stage name JasonMartin for some reason. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's another explicit sex song. Thankfully, this one is a little less insufferable than the previous one, even if it does have its moments - hell, at least this one seems somewhat self aware of what it is. I think the chorus would potentially have been funny too if they didn't keep repeating that annoying-ass rewinding sound - what the hell is that about? Murs' verses are decent though, barring some of the cringier moments (like when he rhymes "dictator" with, you guessed it, "dick later"), and I actually enjoy Problem's slightly off kilter flow on here a lot too. Yeah, it's still kind of weak compared to the first three tracks, but it's not bad - hell, what could be with this dope ass instrumental?

6. The Shutters (feat. Reuben Vincent & Bad Lucc)

Finally we've left the dodgy sex songs behind, and we're back to the fucking dope shit. Because that is very much what this is. This track is straight up rapping with no bullshit hooks in sight, as the three MC's showcase their unique styles over an intense and positively fire 9th Wonder instrumental. I reckon Bad Lucc might have actually had my favourite verse - he sounds like Big Scoob without the dirty south drawl, and I'm here for it. Reuben and Murs both absolutely kill it too though, with Murs having a fantastic opening verse on here that really sets the tone, and is somewhat prophetic as well ("grey dreadlocks" seems to be exactly what Murs is rocking right now). This was some absolutely dope shit - at this point in Murs' career it really doesn't get much better. 

7. Wait... Back It Up

Yes, this is another "song for the ladies", but it's not really. This song is more about how you shouldn't let your lust control you, because it could potentially end up ruining the relationships with those that truly mean something, and I really fuck with that concept. The track details how Murs is not only acting like a different person and losing touch with his homies, but he's even sinking to the point of not wanting to see his kids because he's too busy spending time with this woman. It shows a new level of growth for Murs, who's older love songs were simple and surface level. And not only that, but the chorus interpolates A Tribe Called Quest, which I love, and the instrumental from 9th Wonder is relaxing and totally beautiful. This is honestly a sick track.

8. If This Should End 

Up to this point the emotional high of this record, a dedication to Murs' wife, who's relationships with our host seem to be getting a little rocky at this point - and I am aware that Murs' 2018 record A Strange Journey Into the Unimaginable is about the divorce they eventually had, so obviously it didn't get better. It makes that transition from "if this should end" to "when this shit end" in the chorus that much more heart-wrenching. I honestly do feel like this song could have been slightly better though, even though I really like Murs' verses and overall concept here, of finding why it's gone wrong and why they need to move on. I think Murs has admitted that he's not great at writing hooks, but for some reason he continues to do them, and this one is... kind of bullshit? It's just too fast for the repetition to work, and even though the transition I mentioned earlier is powerful, the bit before it is just kind of annoying. Furthermore, 9th Wonder's soulful beat doesn't really match the heart-wrenching lyrics at all. This is good, don't get me wrong - I just feel like it could have been better. Also, that "Houston we have a problem" line... oh dear.

9. Walk Like a God (feat. Rapsody & Propaganda)

Another sequel to "Walk Like a Man", and after the mediocre "Walk Like a Woman" from The Final Adventure, I think Murs has redeemed himself, as I loved this shit. However, that's more down to Rapsody than Murs himself, as her verse here is for sure one of the best on the entire record, as she laments on how different religious beliefs, including atheism, don't make you a worse person. But it's her bar at the very end "every saint got a past and every sinner got a future" that I was particularly impressed by - that's a truly excellent line, and one of those that really makes you think. Propaganda, a Christian rapper whom I had never heard of before until today, also shines through on this cut, with the lines "there were times I felt hip-hop was God's gift just for me / can't verify it but sure can't deny it" being some that I'm sure many relate to. My personal beliefs in God? I'm not sure. But I do know that this certainly offered a great commentary on the uncertainty of who or what He is. This was really good. 

10. Otha Fish

An actual cover of The Pharcyde's song of the same name - well I certainly didn't see that coming. This reminds me of when Murs sampled The Pharcyde on "Never Eat" off of Good Music. Man, I still love that album to this day. Unlike his cover of "I Used To Love H.E.R.", this one is pretty much a word for word copy of the original song, so there's not much to say, but I do think it's interesting that he did it. Covers are very much something hip-hoppers tend to avoid (probably due to the competitive roots of the genre), but it makes sense that a spokesperson for peace like Murs would be the one to do one. So I fuck with it. 

11. No Shots (feat. Mac Miller, Vinny Radio, Franchise & Choo Jackson)

Shit is fuckin' DOPE! This posse cut features legend of 2010's hip-hop Mac Miller (R.I.P), alongside a bunch of his apprentices, all over what has to be the absolute best instrumental over the course of this entire record. 9th's relaxing and jazzy beat is perfect for a chill posse cut like this, and no-one disappoints. I absolutely love Mac's singing during this chorus, and his verse ain't half bad either - but it's Murs who might be the star of the show here, with an incredibly strong showing on the final verse, which is long as hell but full of great bars. Man this instrumental is good. Why the hell didn't they put this song on streaming? It's gotta be the best song on the album. I'm sorry, it just has to be. 

12. Murs SuperStar

Murs ends the record on a poignant note with a sentimental instrumental from 9th Wonder, and verses from Murs surrounding his current situation being very different from where he started, and also how he likes being an OG of the game - then again, who wouldn't. He even makes reference to his debut album F'Real on here. This song wouldn't really work that well on its own I don't think, and doesn't have nearly as much replay value as the previous track, but as a closer here it works well, and sounds nice. A dope ending to an even doper album. 

I think I've discovered Murs' best album since 2011's Love & Rockets Vol. 1, and that album was absolutely incredible so that's quite a feat. This thing isn't quite incredible, but it's certainly very goddamn good, and I think that's down mainly to 9th Wonder's production. On Fornever and The Final Adventure, Murs was (almost) always on form, showcasing dope ass storytelling and writing, with his voice that really came into a new, deeper form during his 2010s projects, in a good way that is, of course. However, I felt like 9th could sometimes be inconsistent with the beats on those projects - some were great of course, but some felt a little cheap, with his sampling also often coming across as a bit intrusive. But on this album, 9th Wonder's production is consistently excellent, with almost every beat here not only sounding great, but fitting the lyrical themes of the tracks perfectly as well. In fact, it's Murs who's the more inconsistent here - most of his lyrics are dope, but some of these one liners are painful, and a track like "Lover Murs" should never have been written in the first place. Don't ask me what he was doing with that. But when it comes to the high points on this project, it's all laughs, because there's some truly dope shit, whether that be in the form of great solo cuts like "God Black/Black God" and "Wait... Back It Up", or some of the posse cut tracks on here, with "No Shots" being probably my favourite song on the entire album. This isn't a modern classic - I don't think there's going to be too much replay value here, and it has it's down moments - but it is a great record, and in the right setting it's hugely fun to listen to. Brighter Daze is a nice surprise, and hopefully down the line Murs can continue a solid streak - next up are his other two records with Strange Music, which hopefully aren't quite as overly polished as Have a Nice Life. I look forward to writing about those - for now, you guys go check out Brighter Daze, and make sure you find "No Shots" on YouTube - I'll promise it'll be worth it.

Expectations: Exceeded 

Best: "No Shots"

Worst: "Lover Murs"

Find more of the Murs-athon over here!

Murs-athon pt. 15 - The Final Adventure

Followers of the Murs catalogue should know by now that from 2004 onwards, every two years there had been a ten track collaborative record between Murs himself and producer 9th Wonder released to the public - they weren't always the main focus of the man's career (Sweet Lord, for example, was pretty much released as a promotional tool for his solo major label debut Murs For President), but they were always something the underground hip-hop audience could look forward to when they entered a new year that ended with an even number. 

So when in 2012, the pair announced they were to release their last collaborative piece, the hip-hop world was very sad. I think. Of course, it's entirely plausible that no-one actually cared, as the reception to their previous project together Fornever had been lukewarm at best, even though I enjoyed it personally. A lot of people were even saying that Murs had entered a rough spot in his career - even though it's difficult to believe that people could hate the wonderful Love & Rockets Vol 1: The Transformation, some still did, and it's fair to say that Murs wasn't feeling the poor reviews on his work at all. Therefore, he must have decided to re-invent himself a bit to appease to a potential new audience, and this meant that the series of albums with 9th Wonder was to be concluded. And so, on November 13th of 2012, Nicholas Carter and Patrick Douthit released The Final Adventure on the latter's own Jamla Records - and I'm sure the title alone struck fear into the hearts of underground heads everywhere. 

Like with all of their previous albums, The Final Adventure is produced in its entirety by 9th Wonder, and aside from a guest appearance on the opening song by Rapsody (a very early-stage career move from her), all the tracks' vocals are handled by Murs. The CD art for this album isn't great if I'm being honest, with a couple of kids walking though one of those LA viaducts I always associate with The Terminator 2, but what does excite me is a) the song "Whatuptho" - not because of the title, but because I've actually already heard the song, and it's great - and b) the generally positive reception on this project - from what I'm seeing people took a lot more kindly to this than some of the other Murs projects released beforehand, and that's always a good sign. Am I excited about this album, then? Yes. Very excited. 

Oh, and before I start this review, I want to say that I'm thinking of doing a Murs-athon Series 2, where I cover all of the collaborative albums with other vocalists that appear in his catalogue, since I've been enjoying his solo work so much. Please let me know if that's something you would like to see, and if there's anything else you feel deserves an introduction on the blog, then feel free to drop it in the comments. 

Anyhow, let's get this one going!

All songs are produced by 9th Wonder.

1. Get Together (feat. Rapsody)

Over an engaging and very tight 9th instrumental, Rapsody takes up a large portion of screen time discussing her admiration for Murs, and also the lyrical prowess that she herself has, and it's pretty bloody great - she's got a powerful voice, great flow and excellent lyrics that made for a highly intriguing performance - that reference to Dr. House made me laugh too. The sooner I check out her work, the better, it seems. Murs pops up again at the end (after dropping a bit of spoken word at the start) to deliver a passionate and braggadocios verse that I was just completely in love with - "what up tho? You know I had to say it". This was a brilliant way to start up the album, and the short length only added to the intense atmosphere. Great track. 

2. Whatuptho

This is the one song on the album that I have already heard, and I can safely say that it is a classic Murs joint. The beat from 9th Wonder is poignant and celebratory, and I love it, and Murs does it justice by dropping three verses full of fantastically quotable lines, and a chorus that will stick in your head for days after you first hear the song. A personal favourite line would be the one where he shouts out "green tea drinkers", since that covers yours truly, but I'd have to say the best lyric on here would be "Ain't no difference between a gangbanger and Malcolm X - the same anger / just misdirected, now neighbourhoods infected / so I gotta speak the truth, by the youth I've been selected". That is just one of the best lyrics Murs has ever spit. Yeah, this song is brilliant, and perfectly justifies the weight of its title. 

3. Funeral For A Killer

Holy shit I did not expect that. So, I don't know if anyone's seen Murs' podcast Best Rapper In L.A., but it's something I have found loads of interest in listening to, and a podcast I have become very familiar with throughout the months since I started this Murs-athon. What I did not know was that the intro music used for every episode of that podcast is actually taken from the instrumental of this song. And what's super weird is that the music did not feel like it fit this song at all - maybe it's the fact that I'm used to it in the podcast, but to me it definitely sounds more like a little introduction piece than something that could fill out a whole song, especially one with lyrics as powerful as this. Still, I enjoyed this a lot, as Murs' lyrics that talk about how he still gets upset at a friend's death despite them being a killer in real life are pretty powerful, and the hook was dark too. Unfortunately, the instrumental on this one meant that I couldn't really have the proper first listen that I would have liked. 

4. Baby Girl (Holding Hands)

The instrumental found on this track kinda reminded me of some of the more unorthodox beats we heard on Murray's Revenge, only it's just not really as good. Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure about this beat - there were elements I enjoyed, but I had to really concentrate to pick them out, and with a dope beat you shouldn't really have to do that. Still, you could say the same about the vocals - I really didn't care for the hook on here, provided by an uncredited Khrysis, and the lyrical content from Murs about falling in love with a girl whilst in third grade was, I don't know, corny, and also slightly uncomfortable. The song isn't bad, since Murs' passionate delivery is still there - this is way better than anything on Sweet Lord for example - but I'm still not entirely convinced by this song. 

5. Walk Like A Woman

Presumably, this six-minute plus track is going to serve as a sequel or companion piece to the brilliant song "Walk Like a Man" from earlier in Murs' career - let's see if it delivers. Oh right - it fucking didn't. This song was six minutes long, but unfortunately it never really clicked with me fully at any point. There was a beat switch in the middle of this one, but going from one bland soul-sample beat into another midway through just to continue on the same basic lyrical tangent isn't going to make the song much more interesting, Murs, dammit!! Honestly, I might have enjoyed this tale of Murs' journey to marriage a bit more if he didn't give it such a name - aside from having a beat switch this is the polar opposite of "Walk Like a Man", and not exactly in a good way either. Sorry, Murs, but I didn't feel this too much. 

6. Tale of Two Cities

Thankfully, this song picked the quality up, and then not only put it back to a good level but lifted it right up into "brilliant" territory - I loved this song. The track drops the lovey-dovey content of the previous couple of songs, and instead talks about gang violence in Los Angeles, and different paths the people could take in order to solve it and bring it to a stop. 9th Wonder's instrumental was powerful, especially the little harmonica hits in there, and Murs' lyricism was profound and insightful - "the future's in our reach, find solutions to the beef / get every shooter in the streets to ride for universal peace". All I can say is "phew" - I thought this album was going to a dark place for a second there. 

7. Dance With Me

Well that song title doesn't look promising. Thankfully, this song was brilliant - Murs' lyrics were really powerful and hit hard, and the instrumental enhanced them in the best way. This song wasn't a corny diatribe of Murs asking some random girl he'd met to "dance" like I thought it would be - instead it was an interesting account of a girl he was friends with whom he kind of had feelings for, but didn't know whether it was a good idea to start a relationship. Eventually they did, it tumbled down, and then they weren't really friends anymore. Sure, the content doesn't scream "L.A. hardcore rapper", but I still found it really interesting, and I loved the beat as well. Honestly, this was one of my favourite tracks on the whole record. 

8. Better Way

This was also a very interesting track, one only slightly hindered by the presence of a repetitive hook that really did not need to be recited twice at the very end. On this song, Murs discusses religion, and how even though he was bought up a Christian he doesn't necessarily entirely believe in the existence of God now. The beat on here was pretty great, and I found Murs' lyrics very relatable - my parents are both pretty much atheist, but sometimes things happen and I'm just not entirely convinced that there's nothing out there. I definitely don't believe in the whole nativity scene, nor the Adam and Eve story, but sometimes I am swayed by theories of re-incarnation - it just seems crazy to me that there is literally nothing after you die. Whatever, I'm going off on one now. Point is, the song is great. There we go.

9. Wherever You Are

Murs spits a one verse wonder over a dramatic and slightly depressing beat, that seems to discuss him meeting a woman, and then becoming confused when she introduces him to eMail. The powerful ending to the track is slightly tainted by the ridiculousness of some of the lyrics in the middle - I mean, why the hell are you focusing on your incompetence with the internet when you're supposed to be discussing love? Still, I did find this song very entertaining, and 9th did a great job once again. Nice stuff.

10. It's Over

Well, that was my fucking favourite song on the whole album. The instrumental on this song was absolute perfection, and Murs absolutely destroyed it with a passionate and heartfelt performance that included three different verses discussing completely different subject matters, with one common theme - the situation is now over. The first verse talks to an ex-girlfriend who would not stop trying to contact him even though the relationship was long finished, and the second verse is about someone who keeps trying to leech off of Murs and his fame, forgetting that he should be making a name for himself just like Murs did all those years ago. The third and final verse that ends the song on an abrupt note is all about Murs' relationship with 9th Wonder, and it's this verse that hits the most, or at least it would if the pair hadn't teamed up twice more for full-length albums - yes, the saga of Murs and 9th does continue, so don't worry about that. However, even if this was the last song they had released I couldn't have been hurt - this is seriously one of the dopest Murs songs in existence. 

I'll admit something - by the time we reached track 5, I was getting quite worried about this album. I loved the first two songs, and I kinda liked track three despite the issues I had with the beat (which was more my fault for listening to that podcast before this album). However, tracks 4 and 5 didn't move me in the way that I would have liked, and both of these songs were standing around the 6/10 area to me - honestly I would give "Walk Like a Woman" more of a 5, which is a pretty damned low rating for a Murs song. However, as soon as we reached the second half this suddenly became a great, consistent, excellent album. The last five songs are not only diverse and musically interesting, but also feature incredibly passionate vocal performances from Murs - one thing I did notice about this project was the fact that Murs sounded very excited to be working on it. In fact, I would say that this was his best rapping performance on an album since Murray's Revenge - and that's pretty high praise. There wasn't any song on here that was quite as good as "Animal Style", "Walk Like a Man" or "God's Work", but nonetheless as an album it worked together really well, and I think I'll probably enjoy those two songs I was questionable about more on future listens, knowing that the album really picks up in the second half. God, I was getting worried about this thing. Thankfully, it turned out to be just what I wanted from Murs - a dope and unique selection of instrumentals covered with relatable lyrics spoken with a passionate delivery that was even more emphasised than usual on this album right here. It would have been a tough thing to accept that Murs and 9th Wonder were ending their streak, but at the same time this project serves as a fitting end to their legacy, blending the sounds of all the albums that made them great, and ignoring the corny, uninspired bullshit that was Sweet Lord (and yes, I still hate that album). I'm very happy with this project, and I'll enjoy spending time with it up until I get to the next Murs solo effort, released three years later. See ya!

Expectations: Matched

Best Track: "It's Over"

Worst Track: "Walk Like a Woman"

Make sure to view some of my other Murs write-ups over here!

Murs-athon pt. 11 - Fornever

Followers of the career of underground MC Murs would know that his popularity hit its peak around 2008 with the release of his major label debut album Murs For President, a project that I actually really enjoyed, and had a nice varied sound only slightly upset by the placement of four break up tracks that play simultaneously towards the end. Murs had finally hit the big time, and realised his dream of getting his music out to the masses, so what next? Well, Murs, true to his underground roots, departed the Warner Bros. label very shortly after the release of this album, and decided the best thing to do now that he had reached a peak was simply to make the music he wanted to for the underground fans that came up with him in the first place. He started this endeavour with the release of a third Felt album alongside Slug in 2009, an album that I'm not listening to right now because this Murs-athon only consists of solo stuff and collaborations with producers, and not stuff with other MCs. Speaking of collaborations with producers, after the Felt album Murs knew that he would have to continue his streak of releasing a 10 track album with 9th Wonder every two years until further notice, and so on April 13th of 2010, their fourth album together Fornever was released. Man, that spellchecker is going to kill me during this write-up.

Now, as with every Murs-athon, this review is going to be more of a reaction - I've never heard the project before, and as I write these introductory paragraphs, there's not a single song on this album that has passed through my ears. There is one difference now, however - I'm slightly sceptical about this one. Yes, Murs For President was pretty damn great, but the last of these 10 song 9th Wonder collaboration albums Sweet Lord really wasn't that good at all in my opinion, and as such I don't know whether or not this project is going to impress. One thing that they've switched up a bit from previous projects is the inclusion now of more features - this album has guest appearances from Kurupt (twice!), VerBS, Suga Free, Sick Jacken and Uncle Chucc, and it even appears to have a verse from 9th Wonder himself, albeit under the pseudonym 9thmatic. These names do instill a bit of hope in me that maybe this won't be the miserable drag that the Sweet Lord first listen was, and there is one song here that I'm particularly looking forward to, that being track 7 "I Used To Luv Her [Again]", which appears to be marketed as a sequel to the classic Common song. Speaking of which, why have Murs and Common never worked together? They're both all about peace and love, so where did that collaboration end up? C'mon, I need answers!!

As I've been bumping Murs For President a lot, I am kind of in a mood for Murs at the moment, and so I'm hoping that Fornever (awkward title and all) will be a pleasant listen, albeit one I don't expect too much out of. Let's get it going!

All songs are produced by 9th Wonder (but you already knew that). 

1. Fornever (feat. Kurupt)

"Murs Rules the World", "Varsity Blues", "Murray's Revenge"... Murs has been on a good streak of title tracks so far, so let's hope that doesn't end here. Going into this I was slightly worried that Kurupt was just going to be some kind of announcer on his appearances, but rest assured the man actually does get a verse in the middle here, so that's dope. Murs also outraps the fuck out of him, as Kurupt spends most of his time talking about fantasies of filming himself having sex for some reason, and he also finds time to namedrop Snoop Dogg and Kim Kardashian in a reference I'm sure people got back in 2010, but I honestly couldn't care less about now. So yeah, Kurupt's content was a little disturbing, but thankfully the hosts really saved this one. 9th bought through one of his classic chipmunk soul instrumentals that goes down a treat, and Murs sounds just as hungry on here as he was on Murs For President, and perhaps even more aggressive. "Smokin' on the front porch at my mama's house"! This was dope. 

2. The Lick (feat. VerBS)

Well, that's certainly not a promising title. Thankfully, I enjoyed this one even more than the opening track. For this cut, 9th provides a smooth and laid back instrumental that of course utilises some vocal samples, and this beat matches the vibe of the lyrics perfectly, as Murs and the guest rapper VerBS (who I'd never heard of but showed promise here) recount just an average day on the streets chillin' out and not doing anything crazy. The song isn't intense or brutal, and it's not going to make any "top 10 Murs songs" lists simply because it's so low-key, but rest assured that this is actually another really dope song, one with great production and great rapping from the pair of MCs. Did we really need the little rant from Reverie at the end, though??

3. Asian Girl (feat. 9thmatic)

As I mentioned in the introductory paragraphs, 9thmatic is actually just 9th Wonder's alias used when he is rapping, and I believe that this is also his first ever appearance spitting on a track - at least that's what his lyrics lead me to believe. I quite enjoyed this one, and it's definitely better than the majority of Sweet Lord (which, according to 9th, is being bumped by "dudes out in Asia" - I'll believe that when I see it), but there were some glaring flaws. Firstly, this song does come across as ever-so-slightly racist, but more importantly, it suffers from the 9th Wonder (or should I say 9thmatic) verse, in which he completely disregards the topic save from the occasional mention of "Asia". Honestly, this song was kind of stupid as hell even if Murs did actually stay on topic, but hey - I enjoyed it. The instrumental was bouncy, and the lyrical content was fairly amusing in a "this really shouldn't be amusing" kind of way. Pretty solid track. 

4. Let Me Talk (feat. Suga Free)

Kurupt and now Suga Free? The West Coast oldheads must have been going crazy when this thing dropped. Anyway, this track is another relationship song from Murs, this time with him sort of arguing with a spouse that we can't actually hear, albeit in a more humorous way than a song like "Domestic Violence", or more recently "We Cry Together". Murs approaches the subject in a fun manner and with creativity that was sorely missing for most of the Sweet Lord album, and the song is only made better by the Suga Free verse, where the man sounds slightly manic, almost like DMX if he was old, goofy and from the West. This track was really enjoyable, and one of the best relationship songs I've heard from Murs yet. 

5. Cigarettes and Liquor

Surprisingly, it's taken us until halfway through the album to get a track with just Murs rapping, and no featured MCs. And yet despite this, this one manages to be in my opinion the best track so far, no easy accomplishment considering everything has been at least somewhat dope (I say "somewhat" as "Asian Girl" had its issues). On this track, Murs discusses how it's so ridiculous that, despite the fact that they're out to kill you and are inevitably going to worsen and shorten your life, people still are consuming huge amounts of cigarettes and liquor (or really, alcohol in general). The instrumental here heavily reminds me of that on Xzibit's track "Shroomz", and I'm inclined to believe that they use the same sample, although I can't tell for sure. What I can say is that this instrumental is groovy as hell, and Murs rides it as easily as his extreme dirt-bike. This track is great, and the fact that it has a strong message only makes it better. Nice stuff!

6. Vikki Veil

So far, this album has been rather humorous and uplifting, but for this one the tone changes drastically, as Murs spits a tale about a women who was completely unlike him who he accidentally allowed himself to fall in love with, only for her to break his heart by the end. The vocal sample in the instrumental that repeated the title of the song felt kind of intrusive at first, but after about a minute I actually started to really like it, and by the end of the song I was considering this to possibly be the best instrumental on here - this beat is intense and quite dark, and really switches up the mood. Murs' lyrical content on here isn't as dark as this beat, but nonetheless the rapping is still quite depressing and hits hard. This track was great, and easily one of my favourites yet. 

7. I Used To Luv HER [Again]

Well, that's annoying. On the back cover, the word "love" is deliberately misspelt as "Luv", but inside the booklet it's spelt correctly. That type of shit really pisses me (the extreme nerd) off. Still, I'm going with what it says on the back. The song itself is actually more of a sort of cover than a remake - I was worried that Murs was literally just going to lay down all of the original lyrics after the first verse, which is identical to that on the original Common song (here's a review for Resurrection, by the way), but thankfully he started to actually switch things up during the second and third verses to offer his own perspective on the changing dynamic of the genre, and towards the very end he started actually dissing the use of autotune, which was gaining a lot of popularity around the time this album came out. This part could have come across as corny, but I think Murs kinda made it work, even though he does sound a bit like he's offering his opinion, rather than making good music and shutting the fuck up (props to those who caught the reference). This obviously doesn't hold a candle to the original Com song, but for what is essentially a tribute I enjoyed it a lot. They could have cut out the last minute or so, though - I mean, six minutes? Really??

8. The Problem Is... (feat. Sick Jacken & Uncle Chucc)

I believe I'm right in saying that this was released as the lead single to this album, and had a music video uploaded for it a couple of weeks before the album came out. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've never heard anything from the two guests here, but I'll be interested to see what they bring to the table nonetheless. It's quite obvious why this one was released as the lead single, as it's easily got the most mainstream sound out of every song so far, whether you're looking at the fairly dramatic 9th production, or the sung hook from Uncle Chucc that's fairly catchy, if not anything you might be humming to yourself on the tube at 3AM after a night at the club. This song is rather serious, with Murs delivering a motivational verse that tells the listener to not focus on the bad but instead the good, and guest MC Sick Jacken delivering some content about how black people are appallingly still being oppressed by society, and this has to change. The song's flavour is a little too mainstream for Murs, but nonetheless it's pulled off tastefully enough, and ends up working well. I enjoyed this one a lot. 

9. West Coast Cinderella

Any song that has "cinderella" in the title is going to worry me - let's hope Murs dispels this. I hadn't heard a Roger Troutman style vocoder on a Murs song since "Live My Life" off of his debut album, so that was a nice little surprise - something the track was not. Sure, 9th provides a pleasant instrumental on this one, the storytelling from Murs is engaging and well thought-out, and as I said I do enjoy the vocoder. Sounds all good, but truthfully I cannot take this "cinderella of the hood" style story seriously - if you're looking for a gangsta tale from the hood, you're probably better off heading to the local library and joining the storytime circle than putting on this song. Look, Murs, we know you're trying to be all about positivity, but, in the immortal words of Rap Critic: dude, there's a fucking limit!!

10. Live From Roscoe's (feat. Kurupt)

Kurupt returns, and this time to contribute to a laid-back celebratory West Coast style tune that goes down as well as honeycomb ice cream: that's very fucking well, by the way. 9th's piano-led instrumental on here is easily one of my favourites on this whole album, and Kurupt decides to thankfully not get vulgar as hell for his verse, and instead just reflect on life in L.A. in the '80s and '90s, back when he was a young drug dealer. His storytelling on here is great, and I also really enjoyed his flow. Then, after a creative hook which utilises the vocal sample in the beat to great effect, Murs comes in with his verse and it's even better, with him just speaking on his current experiences, and how he lives a life that he can celebrate and enjoy to the fullest. This track was brilliant, and honestly the perfect way to finish off this LP. What a song. 

Wow... I don't know if it was the inclusion of features that helped, but this album was actually way better than I thought it was going to be, and an enormous improvement over their previous collaboration Sweet Lord. Yes, the album isn't flawless, but I wouldn't say there was a single outright bad song on there, and the highlights were genuinely excellent, whether it be "The Lick", "Cigarettes and Liquor" or "Live From Roscoe's". So, why exactly did this album work so well? Firstly, we have the production work from 9th Wonder, which is just astonishing in my opinion. There's a lot of variation on here in terms of the beats, with some being intense and quite sad, some being poignant, and some just being groovy and chilled out. Whatever track you head to here, you're going to end up with some dope production, and some of the best beats give the work on Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition and Murray's Revenge a run for their money - that's seriously high praise considering I've come to see both of those records as 2000s classics. Moving on, we can talk about the features. I honestly think the worst feature was bloody 9th Wonder himself, as his verse on "Asian Girl" just kind of ignored the topic altogether, but even then his performance didn't hurt the track too much. Also, Kurupt wasn't that good on the opening track. All the other features did great, though - Kurupt made up for his efforts on the title track on the final song, Suga Free and VerBS both provided humorous performances, and Sick Jacken's verse was one of my favourites on the whole damn album. I definitely think that the inclusion of more features helped this album feel a bit more varied than Sweet Lord, and as such it's more entertaining. But the main thing that really puts this album way above its predecessor is the performance from Murs. Aside from the weird-ass concept on "West Coast Cinderella", I enjoyed literally every single performance from Murs here. The man sounded properly engaged throughout, and came with both personal and socially conscious content, as well as quite a bit of humour, and these three different styles come together to help this thing be even more diverse than it otherwise would have been. Murs really does kill this one, and I'm honestly so happy right now that I liked this album. This one's definitely worth checking out, and washes out all the bad memories of Sweet Lord without being too diversifying from the pair's original sound. Man, these guys are so underrated. 

Expectations: Exceeded as a muh'fucker

Best Track: "Cigarettes and Liquor"

Worst Track: "West Coast Cinderella"

Catch up on all the other Murs write-ups here!

Murs-athon pt. 9 - Sweet Lord

Having released two incredibly successful collaborative albums with producer 9th Wonder, and some other collaborative projects in the underground too (including one with Slug and one with 3 Melancholy Gypsys), Nicholas Carter, whom is referred to by his extravagant hair stylist as Murs, seemed to finally be getting the attention he so rightly deserved by the time the year 2008 was in play. Two years prior, he had come through with yet another 10 track LP with 9th, Murray's Revenge, and it was an excellent piece of work. 9th Wonder's beats were astonishingly produced and arguably the best soundscape Murs had ever rapped over, and Nicholas himself did the beats justice with some of his best MCing yet, exhibiting excellent storytelling skills, powerful messages and a sharp sense of humour to make for one of the best records of the year 2006. And this had gotten him noticed by a certain Warner Bros. Music, a major (!!) label that was to sign Murs for his upcoming solo album Murs For President, which was set for release at some point in the second half of 2008.

But before we get to that, we have to discuss this...

Prior to being picked up by Warner and catapulted into the spotlight like an even hairier version of Sideshow Bob, Murs had teamed up once more with 9th Wonder to release the third project in their series of collaborations, and second to be put out by independent L.A. label Record Collection. And by now, we knew the drill. Sweet Lord, the new record which was released in July of 2008, was a 10 track LP entirely produced by 9th, and this time with absolutely no features whatsoever, making even the sparse guest list of two on Murray's Revenge look overcrowded. The major difference this time was that, to make the artists look savvy to the younger generation (probably), this project was released as an internet only mixtape of sorts for free, with only a very small number of limited edition CDs being pressed for the public. These CDs are now quite rare, so until I can find one for a decent price, it looks like we're back to streaming for this one. 

Sweet Lord is far more obscure than the popular Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition and Murray's Revenge albums, and therefore I'm not entirely sure what to expect of this one. It doesn't have any hits at all, and judging by the Genius views there aren't any songs that have taken off in the way "Bad Man!", "The Pain" or "L.A." had. The album cover gives me a little bit of hope, though, as I actually quite like it - the photos of Murs and 9th in their element at the shows teamed with the old school aesthetic makes me think this might retain the feel of the last two, and maybe even be a little more hardcore. Of course, the title gives an opposing feeling to that, but oh well. Still, their last two albums were absolutely phenomenal, so I'm hoping this will be a worthy finale to the days before Murs officially left the underground. 

All songs are produced by 9th Wonder.

1. The Intro

After a bit of dialogue between the collaborators that appears to mimic the intro of N.W.A.'s "Express Yourself" (which was pretty hilarious, by the way), this nice-ass 9th Wonder beat comes in, which is a perfect mix of both hardcore and soulful that makes it easily stand up to some of the stuff I've heard from the duo before. Meanwhile, Murs gets to spitting his philosophical, humorous, and occasionally brag-filled bars in a one verse wonder that dispels any doubt about the "third time's a charm" theory that Murs happens to mention. This intro was DOPE!

2. Are You Ready?

9th once again delivers on the production side of things here, offering a soulful and meditative instrumental that would seem to be a perfect backdrop for Murs to spit his philosophical and down-to-earth raps over. Unfortunately, Nicholas does the exact opposite of this and flat-out ruins the song by spitting with a slow and dull flow which still doesn't offer any standout bars whatsoever, broken up on every 7th and 8th line by the sample repeating the title of the song. The female sung hook also practically caused me to jump out of my seat from how shocked it made me - that shit somehow sounds completely out of place. Yeah, I really didn't care too much for this one, and I think that might have been the worst Murs performance since the first verse of "Like What". That's pretty bad.

3. Nina Ross

You know, for most of this song I was pretty much bored out of my brains - Murs' lame storytelling about a woman he met at a bar seemed pretty cliche and uninteresting, the hook was all kinds of terrible, and the beat was easily the weakest so far. However, when we got to that twist at the end, the song completely made sense to me. Man, that was crazy, and suddenly my faith is restored in this project. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that that ending shocked me a hell of a lot, and it's pretty much inevitable that the rest of the song will sound a lot better now that I know what happens. Yeah, I gotta give it to Murs there - shame 9th couldn't bring himself to provide a richer beat for this one.

4. Free

This one seems to be in reference to Obama's being elected as President of the U.S., as Murs reflects on this one about how he is finally free to do what he wants after years of oppression. Unfortunately, this song didn't grip me much - Murs' first verse had some pretty powerful statements (specifically the one about how healthcare should be free for everyone), but after that his rhymes seemed to blend into each other, and the hook didn't help, being kinda repetitive in all honesty. Also, this might be the worst instrumental yet on any of these Murs/9th Wonder albums - the annoying melody teamed with the bright but ultimately flat instrumentation makes for a pretty aggravating soundtrack that Murs fails to save. Yeah, I wasn't all into this one.

5. And I Love It

Murs lists out a bunch of things that he loves - a creative concept, but not one that really ever transitions into verses that I might consider actually dope, especially since the song is almost four minutes and that concept is never actually left. My theory about Obama on the last song is further vitalised by the mention of the man on this one, so that is good. However, "fruit with no pesticides"? C'mon, Murs. That ain't gangsta. If there's one thing I did like here, it was 9th Wonder's beat, which was pretty intense and had some really great samples. If only Murs had some proper content for us...

6. Pusshhhhhh

This was the song I was most excited for on the album, as this title is really cool to me. And, while it's probably the best song since the intro, it still isn't very good. Murs' lyrics on this one are actually potent, with some nice motivational bars about pushing yourself on and not caring about what others say, the hook is pretty catchy, and 9th Wonder's aggressive instrumental is actually really engaging. But why oh why is Murs' flow on this song, and album in general, so formulaic? He can't seem to switch it up ever, and this is quickly becoming a problem for me. And when your lyrical content isn't incredible, you need better flow, and Murs just isn't exhibiting that at all here. This song is, as I said, not bad, but this album really has to pick itself up from here, man.

7. It's For Real

Another merely OK song. 9th Wonder provides us with a sappy and uplifting beat that simply goes in one ear and out the other, and Murs doesn't even sound like he's really trying on here - what happened to the guy that sounded so passionate merely two years before this? This song wouldn't sound bad on its own, but after six other songs (remember, that intro was dope) of dull, uninspired content, this song is really tired. Like me.

8. Marry Me

Well this sucked, and I bet you can guess what the reasons for that are as well. Murs, this is a rap album, isn't it? Who the fuck do you think would listen to this album wanting this soppy content? Are you serious, man??

9. Love The Way

Probably the worst song yet, and if you read the rest of the review, you can tell that that's quite a feat. Honestly, Murs' performance here is a bit heartfelt and not too soppy, but man I cannot get past the awful hook (sung by an uncredited Tyler Woods) and the completely flat and uninteresting work from 9th Wonder behind the boards. This song isn't even horrible overall, though. It's just fucking dull.

10. Murs Inatra

Ugh. Last song. Corny-ass title. What the fuck's up with that? Murs-inatra? Really? That's almost as bad as "Murs-athon". Possibly worse. Nonetheless, I thought this song was alright. 9th's sentimental production was smooth and fairly enjoyable, and Murs' lone verse was actually proficient, with some nice bars covering various topics such as depression and his father's death. Even the set up of him hosting the song was fairly well done. If only the album had been better, this would have been a solid closer. Oh well. 

Sigh... Yeah, Sweet Lord is easily the worst album from Murs I've covered so far. This album was pretty fucking boring if I'm honest with you, for several reasons. Firstly, we have the production. 9th Wonder really did put all his effort into Murray's Revenge, as it seems it's been sapped here. Aside from the intro, and perhaps some other beats like "Are You Ready?", "And I Love It" "Pusshhhhhh" and "Murs Inatra", half of these instrumentals are generic, sappy, and dull as a motherfucker. It's crazy how the beat on the intro was so good, and then that energy wasn't bought back once throughout this whole project, with only "Pusshhhhhh" even coming close to it. 9th let us down, then, but not as much as Murs, who really just did not deliver on this thing. Even though I already touched on the main issue of his flows being formulaic and really uninteresting, most of the lyrical content wasn't all that either. "Nina Ross" told an interesting tale, the fake out at the start of "And I Love It" was creative, and, as I said, his performances on "Intro" and "Murs Inatra" were stellar too. Other than that, everything was pretty bad. "Free" was corny and preachy", "Are You Ready?" did the opposite of what the title aimed to do - it turned the listener away - and "Marry Me" was one of the most horrible songs from Murs yet. Even the hooks were weak, except for that on "Pusshhhhhh", and most of the time they didn't bother with choruses, instead just speaking in-between each verse. Man, this was a bloody letdown. Let's just hope Murs left his best verses for Murs For President, because if that album is anything like this, then my Murs-athon might start to go downhill, fast. 

Expectations: Subceeded

Best Track: "The Intro"

Worst Track: "Marry Me"

Catch up on the other, far, far more positive Murs-athon episodes here.

Murs-athon pt. 8 - Murray's Revenge

I didn't quite anticipate how much I ended up enjoying the previous two projects in the Murs catalogue (that would be ....The End Of the Beginning and Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition), and therefore the hype around his next effort is high enough that I've decided to listen to it right now. I mean, I've got the CD right here, so why not? Normal reviews are coming up soon too, though, and since it's the summer holidays, I'll have a lot more time to write over the next few weeks, so expect more frequent posts. And with that in mind, let's get on with the 8th solo project in the Murs catalogue.

After a fairly brief but incredibly successful stent working with underground giant label Definitive Jux, in which he released the two excellent projects I mentioned above, Murs decided to move on - this would prove to be a good idea, as the label went defunct just four years later, with El-P moving on to bigger things and most of the other "Jukies" falling off the face of the Earth - with the exception of Aesop Rock, that is. Murs seemed to want to remove himself from the shadow of the other, bigger artists on that label, and instead shine in his own right. He therefore made the decision to move to an independent L.A. record label called Record Collection, which was an interesting move considering there wasn't a single other hip-hop artist on the roster at that time aside from virtually unknown groups Brother Reade and Supreeme (well, unknown to me at least). Not only this, but he decided that instead of recording another solo album, he was going to team up with 9th Wonder once again to replicate the formula that made Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition so successful. 

It was to be another ten track album, but this time there were a few differences. This project actually had two features, one from Joe Scudda (who admittedly had a couple of uncredited cameos on the last effort), and one from Rapper Big Pooh, the other member of Little Brother who hadn't been on one of these albums yet (if you'll remember, Phonte showed up last time around). Also, instead of a measly one-page booklet, the CD I'm looking at now has all of the lyrics printed up on individual pages, which is actually a great idea in my opinion. The most shocking factor of this record, however, was that it was completely profanity free. That's right - a proper rap album without any swearwords. The thought is unprecedented. I don't know if I'm going to be able to cope. The lack of curses has an explanation, though - I've heard some of the earlier episodes of Murs' Best Rapper In L.A. podcast (highly recommended listening, by the way), and he mentions that he finally got completely drug and alcohol free about at the same time he started working on this album. This may have meant that he wanted to bring this new him into the booth, and if that's so then I appreciate it very much. And, hey - this was the first Murs album to chart on the Billboard 200, and it wouldn't be too long before he was signed to a proper major label, so clearly the idea worked in his favour. 

But will it work in mine? I've actually already heard three of these songs ("Murs Day", "Murray's Law" and "Yesterday & Today"), and I bloody love all of 'em, but I've got to remember that that was the case with Murs Rules the World too, and that ended up being his weakest album so far. Still, if this is anything like the last album (which the similarly old-school cover suggests it will be), then I'll be bloody happy, I can tell you. So let's get going! But not before I get this fucking fly out of my room...

Again, all songs are produced by 9th Wonder.

[*commence inevitably disastrous attempts to catch and get rid of the fly*]

1. Murs Day

Anyone else find it interesting how 8 years after this song, Murs formed a group with ¡MAYDAY!, and decided to call it ¡MursDay!, which is basically the same thing as this song title despite having no relationship to it? No? Well, I do. Anyway, this is even better than the intro track on 3:16 in my opinion. Murs absolutely rocks this incredibly poignant 9th instrumental with one of the best verses he has ever spit, and we can already see from this track that he's getting a hell of a lot wiser. "I'm better than your favourite rapper, but it don't take much these days for you to master the mic. Most of these rappers trapped in the hype, they makin' whole albums, only half of it's tight. So it never really have an impact on your life". I mean, these are just some incredible and incredibly truthful lyrics. I also really liked the shouts to some of his previous projects and songs on here, and even though I don't like when the beat cuts out on the word "genius", that doesn't stop this from being a classic Murs tune, and possibly his best opening track yet.

2. Murray's Law

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but "Murray" seems to refer to the pairing of Murs and 9th, judging by the image behind the disc on their last effort, which labelled the pair of them as "fuckin' Murray". "Murray's Law" is easily one of my favourite Murs songs yet, as Murs takes a spacey and bouncy 9th instrumental, which utilises some incredibly catchy horns, and rips it to shreds with three of his best ever verses. That first verse is just quotable after quotable, and best believe he doesn't slow down during the rest of the track either. I also like the peaceful and positive lyrics on this one - who said you had to be gangster and hard to make great hip-hop? This is also one of the few times I actually appreciate the abrupt cut off. This song might my personal favourite Murs song ever, it's that wonderful. 

3. Silly Girl (feat. Joe Scudda)

It seems we've got to accept that these sex songs are going to become a running theme in the Murs & 9th Wonder collaborative albums. But hey, if they're all as good as this, then I'm not complaining. 9th Wonder provides another soulful and very atmospheric beat for this one, and Murs spits two verses about this girl who keeps attempting to get him back, but it just isn't going to work, no matter what she tries. These two verses along with the chorus were all really nice and fun, and then Joe Scudda comes in with the third verse and kills it with a performance full of personality and charisma. This may not be as good as "Never Eat" or "Freak These Tales", but it's still pretty damned fun nonetheless. Great stuff.

4. Barbershop (feat. Rapper Big Pooh)

9th Wonder provides yet another beautiful and incredibly relaxing instrumental, and up until guest star Rapper Big Pooh started rambling on at the end as rappers tend to do, this was an absolute joy to listen to. Murs and Pooh speak on their etiquette when going to the barbershop (or any social gathering for that matter), and with some general brag raps thrown in there as well, but the execution is just so fun and hilarious that you can't help but love it. Murs sounds quite a bit better than his guest, but nonetheless Pooh does his thing, and that chorus is one of the catchiest of Murs' career thus far. I absolutely loved this song. 

5. Yesterday & Today

Murs has never shied away from the more motivational material, and we saw him kick verses to get any depressive up and about on songs like "What Do You Know?" and "Sucks To Be You", but this is probably his most motivation focussed song yet, as it seems all of the verses are dedicated to getting you up and at 'em again. Now, there are songs like this that fail, but this ain't one of them. "How I look a grown man with my lunch in a box?" is a personal favourite line, as it makes you realise how that actually does look rather silly, but there are plenty more on here that are more well thought out than that - I don't know, that one just sticks out to me. Murs' hook game has also improved to no end since the days of "I Hate Your Boyfriend", as this shit is memorable as hell. 9th's sampling game has been on full form so far on this album too. This track was great.

6. Dreamchaser

Finally, a proper storytelling track, and this was the best cut so far since "Murray's Law" in my opinion. During the first verse, Murs talks about himself growing up, and dreaming of being like the hardcore thug he sees on the corner, who's constantly getting shot, going to prison, and in general not living the sort of life any kid should aspire to. This verse serves to show how the kids living in the hood end up wanting to pursue goals that they shouldn't, and the final line of the break "We all chase money 'cause we scared to chase dreams" is a quotable if ever I've heard one. The second verse is set eleven years later, when Murs himself has become the toughest and most feared guy on the block, and despite this he (spoiler) ends up getting shot and killed at the end, in an abrupt and rather harrowing ending. This is one of my favourite Murs songs, and the fact that he is constantly bringing these innovative messages to the table is truly astounding to me. Also, this beat is nice. 

7. L.A.

Since Murs is a hip-hop artist who comes from somewhere that isn't the depths of outer space, it was inevitable the "I love my city" joint was going to come at some point in his catalogue, and here we are. This is actually the most popular song on this entire album, which does make sense, as this instrumental is pretty unique, and the opening bars are catchy as all hell. These aren't some of Murs' most proficient verses ever, but for a track meant for a bit of club rotation, this is pretty great, and stays with Murs' hip-hop roots, a place I'm concerned might be left when we get to Murs For President. But that's a write-up for another day...

8. Love & Appreciate

Hey, look everyone! A Murs love song where he doesn't act like an insensitive and/or really sad douchebag! On this one, Murs spends the first verse acknowledging that his relationship is on the rocks, and that him and his lover no longer are seeing each other through the best eyes. On the second verse, he and her decide to fix things, and everything ends happily ever after. I wouldn't say I was incredibly mesmerised by this one, as the instrumental was easily the least unique and engaging so far, but nonetheless I did appreciate Murs' lyrical content on this track, and the sampled hook was nice. Solid stuff. Also, I'm surprised he didn't notice that "L.A." could stand for "Love & Appreciate" - maybe I'm looking into it too much.

9. D.S.W.G. (Dark Skinned White Girls)

Hilarious title aside, this song is actually pretty serious. From the title, I was expecting something satirical, but instead I got some empowering verses from Murs spit over what was easily the most tear-jerking beat on this whole thing. I'm actually slightly disappointed that Murs chose this instrumental for this topic, and not a darker storytelling song instead, as that beat just makes me want to start bawling my eyes out. In the best way possible, that is. Man, that beat was good, and even if the lyrics weren't suited to it, I still can't fault Murs for his thought provoking and very mature bars. I enjoyed this one a hell of a lot more than I thought I would, considering the title. 

10. Murray's Revenge

So far, Murs has not missed on a title track, so let's hope this one goes well. And, as I sort of predicted, it did, only to a further extent. This is not only one of the best 9th Wonder beats I have ever heard, but it's also easily one of Murs' better rapping performances. I'd advise anyone who says Murs isn't a great lyricist to chuck this track on, as it truly is a lyrical onslaught, and that 9th Wonder helps it go down as easy as a bowl of custard. This track was great man - but why'd the CD have to cut off so abruptly? Da fuck??

In conclusion, Murray's Revenge is pretty much on the same level as 3:16: The 9th Edition. I wouldn't say that this project has as good of a song as "Walk Like a Man", or as much of a banger as "H-U-S-T-L-E", but on the other hand 9th's production has slightly improved here, and there's nothing even remotely as bad as "The Pain" (and if there was then that would have been quite something). Yeah, I absolutely loved this record. If I was to make one criticism, it would be that Murs was a little too serious on this project and not as witty as he was on his earlier work, but as you get older you'll inevitably get wiser, and I guess we've just got to accept that Murs ain't gonna make another "Risky Business". Or maybe he will, who knows. And there was a notable lack of storytelling tracks, with the only proper one being "Dreamchaser", which is a shame as I always love Murs' attentive and often hilarious tales. However, it's best that we get to the positives now, as there are a lot more. Every single beat on this thing is incredible, bar none, and 9th Wonder really outdid himself here. Sure, I said that "Love & Appreciate" was a bit duller than the others, but even that one would still stand great on its own. And looking at the best instrumentals - "Murs Day", "Murray's Law", "Dreamchaser", "D.S.W.G.", "Murray's Revenge", I could go on. The beats I named there are easily some of the best Murs ever rapped over, and man did he do them justice. Sure, there were three songs dedicated to the ladies, as there were last time, which is a bit overkill for an album that's only ten tracks to begin with, but at least Murs seems to know how to approach that topic with variety and good intentions at this point, instead of making another "I Hate Your Boyfriend" or "The Pain". "Dreamchaser" was one of his best storytelling songs, "Yesterday & Today" has some of his most uplifting verses, and the more braggadocios tracks are some of the most effective I've ever heard from Murs. I'll have to take a little more time to decide whether this is better or worse than Murs 3:16, but either way, it's another brilliant record, and one I highly recommend. It's no surprise Murs managed to get a major label deal after this - I mean, how many classics can you make before being noticed? And a "classic" might just be what this is. 

Expectations: Exceeded, considering I wasn't sure if this would stand up to the last album.

Best Track: "Murray's Law"

Worst Track: "Love & Appreciate"

More write-ups about the man that's swiftly making his way towards my top ten to be found here!

Murs-athon pt. 7 - Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition

....The End Of the Beginning, Murs' 4th (or 5th, depending on where you look) studio album, marked a new era in the man's discography - one where, after years of touring constantly and selling tapes by himself out on the streets, he was finally getting pressed up properly, and getting distribution nationwide. Signing to Definitive Jux was a fantastic move on Murs' part, as the label was easily one of the hottest and best in the early 2000s, and his first release with the label proved that he could still make an underground masterpiece without being actually properly underground. If you haven't read my review on that yet, be sure to check it out, as I'm pretty proud of the review itself, and I also absolutely loved the album, so if you did too you might find it an agreeable read. And, hey, if you didn't like that album, maybe you'll enjoy leaving an unsatisfied comment, or something like that. Point is, just read it!!

Anyway, following this fantastic release (which has been on repeat for me over the past couple of days), Murs decided to do something a bit different. Instead of creating your average early 2000s rap album packed with over an hour of music, and enough producers to fill the Grand Canyon, Murs was going to release a concise 10 track album, entirely produced by one guy. This may seem like a fairly normal idea now, but in 2004, that was a pretty interesting direction, especially for a rapper like Murs appealing to the casual hip-hop heads at the time. It was at that point possibly the third boldest move he had made yet in his career (behind forcing you to write your own track titles in instead of providing them, and having his toy collection on full display on his album cover). Now, being that this was also going to be released through Def Jux, one may think he would enlist El-P for production duties, or if he was unavailable, maybe Blockhead or RJD2. And while the idea of these potential albums are probably enough to make underground rap fans orgasm on the spot, Murs instead headed for a producer he had never worked with before at all - 9th Wonder.

9th Wonder had made a bit of a name for himself in the early 2000s, providing instrumentals for Jay-Z, De La Soul, Masta Ace and his own group Little Brother, but Murs and the Def Jux scene was a whole new world to him, and some probably wondered if he would be able to live up to lofty expectations set by the excellent production work seen on ....The End Of the Beginning and other Def Jux releases of the time. But against all odds, 9th Wonder not only pulled this off, but went on to do it six more times in the future - that's right, Murs & 9th Wonder released 7 albums together as a rapper/producer duo, and are currently one of the most celebrated examples of that set up, next to the likes of Gang Starr and Nas & Hit-Boy. Therefore, Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition (a title which combines Murs' birth date with 9th's stage name) stands as the genesis of this fruitful relationship, but it's not only that. This is also arguably Murs' most popular album full stop, and has some of his most well-known songs ever on it. Him managing to get John Cena on the remix to one of these songs may have helped with that, of course, but still, tracks like "Bad Man!" and "Walk Like a Man" are considered legendary Murs tunes to this day. Going into this thing, I haven't heard a single song, but considering how well-received this is, and how great of a rapper Murs was at the time, I think I'm going to be in for a treat. Expectations are high, therefore, and I think that there's a good chance they'll be matched. Let's not get too hopeful though, now! Because we certainly don't want a repeat of when I listened to that new Ghostface Killah album...

Every song is produced by 9th Wonder.

1. Intro

Rather than go for the pretentious spoken word usually seen when a song is titled "Intro", Murs gets straight into the rapping on this one, and the song is not what I expected at all. After the now signature shout of "What up tho?", which I loved for old time's sake, we get what sounds to be a smooth and soulful instrumental that's what I would expect from a producer named 9th Wonder. Once the verse begun, however, the instrumental switched up into a weird, electronic beat that was mesmerising and energetic, and worked in all the right ways. Not only this, but Murs flowed perfectly over this beat, showing himself to be even wiser and more calculated than he was on his previous effort - the delivery of the line "9th got 'em fielding for the instrumental version of an album that ain't out yet" was dope as hell. This was truly a brilliant way to start proceedings. 

2. Bad Man!

One of Murs' most popular songs ever, and you can see why, as this song is pretty damn catchy. The little "Bad Man!" sample during this chorus is the sort of thing that should be ear-piercingly annoying, but instead it makes this chorus into a fun little ditty to break up the verses. 9th's instrumental for this one is quite slow paced and rich, and even though I thought it was a little monotonous at first, I actually got into the groove of it as we went through the track. This song almost comes across as a better, more sensitive version of "I Hate Your Boyfriend" - I mean, they're both about sex, and they both come across as a little self-important, but at least this one actually has nice music to it , and the storytelling in the verses is a hell of a lot easier to listen to. This isn't fantastic, but for the "popular single", it'll definitely do. 

3. 3:16

Fun Fact: Just as I finished writing the introductory paragraphs here, a package arrived for me, in which was two vinyls. One was the single for "24 Hrs w/a G", and the other was a generic sleeve for this track (which I bought since the seller had it for cheap). I guess I'll find out now if the purchase was worth it. And, hell, it was! This track is all caps GREAT, as Murs takes an intense and aggressive 9th Wonder instrumental, and slaughters it with some of the best wordplay I've heard from the man - I mean, the rapping on here is just fantastic. "I'm a verbal martial artist like I'm signed to Shady Records" - not that being signed to Shady Records ever got anyone anywhere, but the line still sounds great in the track. This was the best song so far, and a Murs classic.

4. The Pain

Somehow, this managed to end up being the most viewed song on this whole album (on Genius lyrics, that is), which is odd, as this song is pretty dull if I'm being honest. 9th Wonder's instrumental is merely alright, plodding along in the background without much to make it stand out, and Murs' flow really did not contain enough energy to keep me engaged. And oh my god, these lyrics... this shit makes Hopsin look like the coolest guy on the block. Murs spends most of this song talking about his lack of success with the ladies, and while I appreciate that that might cause one to feel depressed, it certainly doesn't make for good content, and especially not on a rap album. "It didn't get me girls, or the notes in class. The same girls who used to tell when I pinched they ass" - I mean, what did you expect them to do? Start sucking you off on the spot?? Jesus, man! This isn't terrible, but it most certainly is a blemish on what so far has been a brilliant album. 

5. Trevor An' Them

Redemption is a word that could be used in many contexts, and I think it applies here, as my opinion of Murs was immediately redeemed (from that last track) and put to an even higher place than it was before, and just from this minute-and-a-half track. On this one verse wonder, Murs kicks a tale about how he accidentally ran into one of his old homies robbing a shop, who then took his mask off to say "hi", and got into Murs' ride with him, only to run off and accidentally leave the bag of money in Murs' car, therefore burdening him with the criminal evidence. This hilarious storytelling is easily one of my favourite aspects of Murs, and is just part of what makes his music so fun. Also, 9th's intense beat really helped push this track forward. This song was truly great.

6. Freak These Tales

Murs seems to take inspiration from Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls" with this cut dedicated to the gals, and while I'm increasingly worried about the number of songs for the ladies on here so far, I concede that this beats "Bad Man!" and "The Pain" in a similar manner to how Arsenal would beat Forest Green FC. 9th Wonder's jazzy instrumental is absolutely beautiful, and Murs provides us with storytelling and heartfelt tales intertwined with a bit of humour, packaged together to form one of my favourite songs so far. Why the hell isn't this one more popular?

7. H-U-S-T-L-E

One of the singles if I'm not mistaken, and clearly intended as the street banger of the album - something Murs hasn't really attempted so far in his career. This is the sort of song to make muh'fuckers wild out at the live shows, and I think it does this very, very well. 9th Wonder's beat is loud and bangin' as hell, and Murs absolutely kills this one with an incredibly catchy hook, and some brilliant bars delivered during the verses. "I can make a dollar out a dime when I hollar out a rhyme, from the school of hard knocks, so a scholar of the grind" was one of my favourites, but there were definitely a few in there that really did impress me. No wonder they managed to get E-40, Chingo Bling and John Cena on the remix!

8. Walk Like A Man

Man, that was a wild ride. First of all, I really like how there were multiple beat switches within this song, as that was pretty out of the ordinary for the time, and quite forward thinking considering how popular that idea of having the beat change multiple times is today. I especially enjoyed the second instrumental - that shit nearly bought me to tears. The main thing to focus on here, however, is the lyrics. This is a storytelling song, and it tells a tale of how Murs and his best friend pulled up alongside another car that appeared to have four girls in it, only the back seats were tinted so they couldn't tell. They were tryna spit game, but then they realise that the people in the back were actually other guys, and rival gang members at that. They started talkin' shit, so Murs' friend jumped out to shut 'em up. Before Murs could intervene, however, his best friend was sadly shot and killed. A year later, shortly after the funeral, Murs sees the murderer, and since he's with a friend who's holding a gun, he decides to shoot and kill the guy. It's pretty tough stuff, and the premise of the song revolves around how you shouldn't walk with a gun, as you might make a decision you'll regret later on, but also having a gun could provide defence when you need it. As for whether "walk like a man" means with or without a gun, the listener is left to decide. No words, man - this is phenomenal, and possibly the best Murs song I have heard so far. It's an astonishing work of storytelling, and I cannot wait to seek out the short film he made based on this song.

9. And This Is For...

Well, that was an interesting cut. On this one, Murs begins by schooling his fellow rappers on how just because they have money and jewellery to flaunt, that doesn't impress him, as he knows very well that really these generic thuggish rappers don't have real talent, and this is a sentiment I very much appreciated. In the second verse, he speaks on how he doesn't like the fact that people were treating hip-hop as just a fad, and also how he hated the idea that just because he was black, he was automatically "cool" - he didn't want his race and culture seen as a trend. Again, I appreciate it. And then, in the third verse, he speaks on how he doesn't want white people becoming the faces of hip-hop, in the way they did for rock & roll, blues and jazz - other genres pioneered by black people. This one is a little harder to appreciate, as some of the best rappers of that time were white (Eminem, El-P, Aesop Rock), and dissing them for that is a bit ignorant (looking at you, Mos Def, specifically the song "Rock N Roll"), but still I definitely agree that if hip-hop had turned white that would have been difficult to see, especially for the young black men who wanted to pursue it, and would have been crushed and ignored had it turned out that way. Murs really makes you think with that verse, and even though the song feels cluttered attempting to tackle three topics at once, 9th's soulful instrumental helps to tie things together well. This was great. 

10. The Animal (feat. Phonte of Little Brother)

The final song of the evening also happens to include the only guest rapper, Phonte of 9th Wonder's own group Little Brother. Over one of the best and most powerful instrumentals across this entire LP, Phonte reflects on his life and his relationship with 9th Wonder, and Murs chills out, choosing to spit some braggadocios rhymes to contrast the heavier content on the previous two songs. We also get a hook on here from Joe Scudda which is catchy as hell - come to think of it, all the hooks on here have been great. Anyway, this was actually one of my favourite cuts on the album, and the reference to Busta Rhymes' "Call the Ambulance" was also a nice easter egg. Great stuff!

Overall, Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition is a fantastic record. Yes, there was one song on here which I wasn't crazy about, but even that one wasn't as bad as some of the stuff we heard on Murs Rules the World. And as for everything else, it's some of the dopest hip-hop I've heard from the mid-2000s. Starting off with 9th Wonder, the production on this album is really great providing fantastic backdrops that always fit the mood of whatever Murs is speaking on. The electronic beat on the intro was a nice surprise, as was the energetic title track, and then some of the more soulful instrumentals were also brilliant - especially those on the last three songs. I honestly can't say there was a single bad beat on here. And then, we get onto Murs, who has stepped his lyrical game even further on here. This is quite possibly his best rapped album yet. Some of the storytelling songs are incredibly engaging, not only the powerful and incredibly well-constructed "Walk Like a Man", but also the hilarious "Trevor An' Them", which got a laugh out of me on the final line. The braggadocios verses he spits on here are also very clever, with some great one-liners, and even the sex songs were well thought out - well, except for "The Pain", which had lyrics that made me want to take an iron to the face. "The Pain" is right - that shit hurts to listen to. Ain't it funny how the worst beat, lyrics and flows were all to be found on the same song? Other than that, however, the lyrics are brilliant, and Murs' flows are also cool and collected on here, with him sacrificing any double-time he had done on the last album for that calm and focussed delivery that allows you to take in everything he says with ease. Oh, and the hooks were also great on here, with not one that ruined a song. Shout-out to Phonte for a nice verse too. Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition may not be as diverse and entertaining as Murs' previous record, but if you're hunting for a concise, funny and at times beautiful listen, then look no further than this. Brilliant stuff, Murs. Just brilliant. 

Expectations: Matched (but only 'cause they were real high in the first place)

Best Track: "Walk Like a Man"

Worst Track: "The Pain"

Catch up on other Murs-athon episodes over here! And don't worry - I'll be sure to review some non-Murs 9th Wonder projects in the future.