I love music and BOY do I love music that seeks to elicit emotion from the listener. That’s the deep link that ties us together via soul through lyrics and raw skill in the industry. It also means it’s harder to reciprocate to the masses that widely purchase music in multiple mediums due to the general buyer not wanting that specific type of music generally given to them.
And that type of buyer isn’t me.
Everything I listen to has been detrimental to my development such as songs from Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Little Brother, Sade, Kanye West, MF DOOM, and even John Mayer. I can’t explain the song choices at times if you go through my phone’s list of music, but just know that I thank every last artist that’s been making their life’s work accessible for consumption via ears and soul. I love music to its very CORE!
The artist on today’s review feels exactly the same way, and that’s a link you’re going to want to see for yourself. Let’s talk about a legend in the making and one you’re gonna want to watch. This is Keith Phelps on his recent release: Primo Nemesis.
Keith Phelps has had humble beginnings from writing soulful R&B tracks to even lighthearted love songs on recent projects, but it looks like he’s finally ready to be taken seriously. A fantastic musician in his own right often found behind a keyboard producing beats or even playing for Patti Labelle on her tour! An artist with a great discography, but good luck finding any hint of his old work as the rebrand is a much more powerful portrayal of his work than his older work. Still, I wish we could be trusted to have access to his work without linking it to him now.
On this featured album, Keith is meaner, ruthless, and aggressive in his stances and it’s about time! Forever establishing himself as the most talented overlooked person in the industry, it’s time we gave him the props he deserves! The subject matter in this feature dances on attacking the family-trauma packed views on Christian theology, the self-reflection on how he’s battling the pressure to be as great as he is, and a thank you letter personally thanking his loyal supporters by name over a You’ve Got a Friend beat sample. It’s a glorious package I aim to give you some insight of some of the break-out songs on this project!
First song is Come True and this is one of the best flips of the My Song sample since Kanye West did it for I Wonder on Graduation. A deep song made to let you peep inside the heavy soul of Keith and see the depreciation one faces amidst adversity. I implore you to take this song in multiple times. You’re bound to coming away with a lot more understand the average unsigned artist faces.
The next one is The Last Super Saiyan and it’s a personal favorite. As the title suggests, it’s a direct reference to Akira Toriyama’s anime about a neglectful ass father a warrior who becomes the savior of earth from other world invaders in physical combat. The song pulls from the show with his own lyrics, offering punchlines that reference King Kai, Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu. Creativity breathes all into this song, especially with the sample hailing from the dub company that localized the show to the USA. A definite listen that needs no more introduction.
The last song I want to bring attention to is Testimony and honestly, this should’ve been the single. Keith here is breaking away from the religious ties he had in his earlier music and is instead providing free thought away from the slave tool that has kept us in a constant state of fear and docile behavior. A brave song here as he goes along to even brandish the thought of rather paying homage to Yeezuz over Jesus with the former having more of his appearance than the Jesus we’ve been sold. If you’re not comfortable with anti-religious anthems feel free to skip, but you will miss high production value in the song’s progression.
Overall, this project is not one to skip as it alludes to the attitude and skill going forward in Keith’s next work. A humble man in practice, but his work ethic is one to be rivaled on his level! His project is available on a myriad of sites to host music such as Youtube and Apple Music, but if you’d like to follow along with his exploits then feel free to follow him on Twitter and check out more of his upcoming song news and plans.
And if you have an artist you’d like me to review yourself, leave me a message or comment here and I’ll attempt to reply ASAP!