(P)REVIEW: "A Smart Black Boy: The Sonic Inception" by Blctxt Contxt

It's my anniversary today (yeah, I'm married. sorry yamps!), so maybe it's an appropriate time to be so impressed by a sweetheart rap song about a budding romance that never quite got a chance to take root, and maybe it's not. But dammit, this song Goodbye off Blctxt Contxt's (his artsy way to spell "Black Text Context") new EP A Smart Black Boy: The Sonic Inception is my new shit...



A friend asked me to check this record out yesterday, but Blctxt actually added me on Facebook earlier in the day, so I would have gotten around to it eventually... probably. A Smart Black Boy: The Sonic Inception is nice, but I really didn't get into it until I got to Goodbye, which is track seven. It's not that the first songs are not good. Track two, A Smart Black Boy is particularly jamming too, as is track three Cooking Up. I dunno, maybe the record wasn't what I expected, and I needed a song to really capture me before I could dive deeper... Anyways, I listened to the record several times, and I definitely enjoyed the early songs more after hearing track seven.

I definitely didn't like Blue Collar Anthem (track 5) the first listen, but after hearing the whole record once, I think I just understood where he was coming from better. There is a growing demographic of rappers that in my opinion is so heavily influenced by Kanye to the point that they are lost in his sound and not really themselves yet (despite how much they claim to be "original" or "trend-setters"), and I was pleased that Blctxt wasn't in that rut. His rhymes are loaded with challenging ideas, yet remain pleasant and comfortable.

A Smart Black Boy: The Sonic Inception is twelve tracks long, with at least four repeaters. It has really nice airy production by Illustrate, King I Divine, NAMELESS BEATS, Siraaj Encore, Swiff D and J Haze, who crafted the track for Goodbye, which also features vocals by Dipp. The production is as strong as the rhyming, which is pretty good. It's not really an all-purpose record: If you're not in the mood for spiritual sincerity, honesty and optimism, you might long for something more gritty, which is fine. I'd say this record is worth buying if you are not above paying for music. If not, stream that...

holla!

-samax. 

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