Album Review
R.E.B.I.R.T.H. by OneBeLo
By Rob Smith
R.E.B.I.R.T.H. stands for Real Emcees Bring Intelligent Rhymes To Hip hop. There is no doubt that OneBeLo, also known as OneManArmy from the group Binary Star, is bringing intelligent rhymes to hip hop with this and every other album he’s created. He’s the best in the world at it. However, I feel that he didn’t bring as many of these intelligent rhymes that he’s known for to this long-awaited second album. I might also argue that he brought a little extra baggage to the project. So I have a few complaints to go with my high praise for Lo’s music. In this review, I’ll also be bringing some extra baggage as I follow up each statement I make with the psychological basis for it. I think it will add something positive to the review.
Actually, this is more likely an example if intellectual masturbation coupled with my desperation to apply the thousands of hours I have spent reading psychology research to something outside of the classroom. Everyone wants to believe they have something unique to say and that they are living for a coherent reason. These needs increase during mortality salience.
It’s a solid album, but it’s unfortunately short with only 12 tracks. In the song Hip Hop Heaven, one of the best on the album, Lo talks about a day spent entirely devoted to making music. He uses lines like “I guess it’s just another day in the life of OneBeLo, 5 hours of work, an album worth of material.” We lovers of his music wish this were our reality, but this album is only the second “official” release of his nearly 10-year solo career. Yet he does seem capable of this kind of prolific production. Multiple albums have been created entirely of his tracks that weren’t intended for release, and each of these collections (F.E.T.U.S., S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N, and the Virus Mixtape) contain tracks of incredible quality. Brilliant rhymes show up on his Myspace page like he wrote them while he was taking a shit and thought them of similar quality. I’m wishing those songs were thrown on the end of an album, and I’m writing this in the hope that maybe I can increase the chances of that happening.
Actually, A major reason I wrote this was to establish myself as an authority by citing his lesser known works. Any advertiser will tell you that its worthwhile to establish a spokesperson as an expert before he makes his statement, and any psychologist or blog reader will tell you that anybody who is an expert of anything will actively seek out avenues to express his expertise.
So after years of waiting, listening to his previous albums in awe, even the unreleased ones, I was in a frenzy of anticipation. I thought it somehow would be even better than the incredible S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. album. I imagined more time spent in a studio, a better studio, without any detrimental influence from A&Rs or average rappers from his Subterraneous record label. Yet when the album release tour came through and I finally heard the songs live and got my ears on the album, I felt disappointed. Almost cheated. I gave it a few listens, and then took it off the regular rotation and dreaded writing this article.
Here we see the incredible power that expectations hold over satisfaction. A great experience is not enjoyed if engrained expectations are even greater. The expected enjoyment becomes the references point, and anything short of that feels like a loss.
A major source of these expectations were the incredible quality of his other albums. S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. and Binary Star: Masters of the Universe are two of the best five hip hop albums ever recorded (along with Black on Both Sides, Blazing Arrow, and … Midnight Marauders?). If you’re into undergroup hip hop and you haven’t savored these albums, you need to fix that with a quickness.
This paragraph is a result of an effect known as cognitive dissonance. I love Lo and Lo’s music. I want Lo to succeed; to receive some adequate fragment of the respect and resources that he deserves as a brilliant artist. However, I find myself writing a neutral or negative review of his latest offering. This gives me a mental discomfort known as cognitive dissonance, which I attempt to alleviate by a) affirming my self-concept and b) emphasizing my great respect for his other albums and him as an artist.
One final complaint of the album is the over-use of movie sound-bites. There are over twenty (20) of them, many are long, annoying, and at the front of songs where they are not easily skipped. Most of Lo’s listeners are in the habit of really listening to every word on an album, and by now we’re all probably pretty sick of Rocky III sound-bites that we unfortunately know by heart.
Actually, this complaint is more an example of me exercising the universal need for self-expression. The sound-bites do not ruin the album. They do however provide me with an opportunity to express a self-signaling pet-peeve.
This album might just be another unfortunate case of an artist pushing the boundaries of his art form at the cost of alienating some of his fans.
Actually, that previous sentence is an unfortunate case of stereotyping. Other long-time members of my “brilliant rhymers” mental category such as Andre Benjamin and Mos Def seem to have left me with a thinking shortcut that has all lyrical geniuses releasing some strange shit once they hit their 30s. This album is not an example of Lo exploring an experimental side of the art of rhyming, it’s much more likely an example of creativity and passion fading with age. There’s another stereotype for ya.
Even given these powerful psychological effects, not all fans found this album to be disappointing. A friend of mine who also considers Lo the best rapper in the world and therefore had similarly impossible expectations recently told me that “R.E.B.I.R.T.H. is what hip-hop was meant to be since Erik. B.” I must agree.
Actually that last line is testimony to the power of subconscious social influence. I feel like I agree with the statement because I know the person so well and have so many opinions in common with him that my first reaction is to agree. However, upon rare further review, I now must admit that I’m not quite sure what his quote means. It is true that this is good hip-hop, which should certainly be what hip-hop was meant to be. But why are we beginning with Erik B., a DJ and producer, when this album is marked by its lyrics?
The last statement I’d like to make is that this is an album that requires many listenings. Many of Lo’s lines require a little thought before they can be understood, and many of his songs seem to get better with every listen. As I listen to the album right now, probably my 20th listen, I am absolutely loving it. Every song has great rhymes and energy and the last two songs on the album (Gray and Hip Hop Heaven) are two of the best I’ve ever heard. Get this album.
Here we see the power of emotional context. Researchers have found that a person who has had positive emotional boost, even when its as small as finding a quarter, will rate everything more positively, even if its unrelated and as large as their life satisfaction. They’ve also found that there’s not much better for subjective well-being than creative expression.
Ratings
Beats: 4
Rhymes: 4 1/2
Life: 4
R.E.B.I.R.T.H. by OneBeLo
By Rob Smith
R.E.B.I.R.T.H. stands for Real Emcees Bring Intelligent Rhymes To Hip hop. There is no doubt that OneBeLo, also known as OneManArmy from the group Binary Star, is bringing intelligent rhymes to hip hop with this and every other album he’s created. He’s the best in the world at it. However, I feel that he didn’t bring as many of these intelligent rhymes that he’s known for to this long-awaited second album. I might also argue that he brought a little extra baggage to the project. So I have a few complaints to go with my high praise for Lo’s music. In this review, I’ll also be bringing some extra baggage as I follow up each statement I make with the psychological basis for it. I think it will add something positive to the review.
Actually, this is more likely an example if intellectual masturbation coupled with my desperation to apply the thousands of hours I have spent reading psychology research to something outside of the classroom. Everyone wants to believe they have something unique to say and that they are living for a coherent reason. These needs increase during mortality salience.
It’s a solid album, but it’s unfortunately short with only 12 tracks. In the song Hip Hop Heaven, one of the best on the album, Lo talks about a day spent entirely devoted to making music. He uses lines like “I guess it’s just another day in the life of OneBeLo, 5 hours of work, an album worth of material.” We lovers of his music wish this were our reality, but this album is only the second “official” release of his nearly 10-year solo career. Yet he does seem capable of this kind of prolific production. Multiple albums have been created entirely of his tracks that weren’t intended for release, and each of these collections (F.E.T.U.S., S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N, and the Virus Mixtape) contain tracks of incredible quality. Brilliant rhymes show up on his Myspace page like he wrote them while he was taking a shit and thought them of similar quality. I’m wishing those songs were thrown on the end of an album, and I’m writing this in the hope that maybe I can increase the chances of that happening.
Actually, A major reason I wrote this was to establish myself as an authority by citing his lesser known works. Any advertiser will tell you that its worthwhile to establish a spokesperson as an expert before he makes his statement, and any psychologist or blog reader will tell you that anybody who is an expert of anything will actively seek out avenues to express his expertise.
So after years of waiting, listening to his previous albums in awe, even the unreleased ones, I was in a frenzy of anticipation. I thought it somehow would be even better than the incredible S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. album. I imagined more time spent in a studio, a better studio, without any detrimental influence from A&Rs or average rappers from his Subterraneous record label. Yet when the album release tour came through and I finally heard the songs live and got my ears on the album, I felt disappointed. Almost cheated. I gave it a few listens, and then took it off the regular rotation and dreaded writing this article.
Here we see the incredible power that expectations hold over satisfaction. A great experience is not enjoyed if engrained expectations are even greater. The expected enjoyment becomes the references point, and anything short of that feels like a loss.
A major source of these expectations were the incredible quality of his other albums. S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. and Binary Star: Masters of the Universe are two of the best five hip hop albums ever recorded (along with Black on Both Sides, Blazing Arrow, and … Midnight Marauders?). If you’re into undergroup hip hop and you haven’t savored these albums, you need to fix that with a quickness.
This paragraph is a result of an effect known as cognitive dissonance. I love Lo and Lo’s music. I want Lo to succeed; to receive some adequate fragment of the respect and resources that he deserves as a brilliant artist. However, I find myself writing a neutral or negative review of his latest offering. This gives me a mental discomfort known as cognitive dissonance, which I attempt to alleviate by a) affirming my self-concept and b) emphasizing my great respect for his other albums and him as an artist.
One final complaint of the album is the over-use of movie sound-bites. There are over twenty (20) of them, many are long, annoying, and at the front of songs where they are not easily skipped. Most of Lo’s listeners are in the habit of really listening to every word on an album, and by now we’re all probably pretty sick of Rocky III sound-bites that we unfortunately know by heart.
Actually, this complaint is more an example of me exercising the universal need for self-expression. The sound-bites do not ruin the album. They do however provide me with an opportunity to express a self-signaling pet-peeve.
This album might just be another unfortunate case of an artist pushing the boundaries of his art form at the cost of alienating some of his fans.
Actually, that previous sentence is an unfortunate case of stereotyping. Other long-time members of my “brilliant rhymers” mental category such as Andre Benjamin and Mos Def seem to have left me with a thinking shortcut that has all lyrical geniuses releasing some strange shit once they hit their 30s. This album is not an example of Lo exploring an experimental side of the art of rhyming, it’s much more likely an example of creativity and passion fading with age. There’s another stereotype for ya.
Even given these powerful psychological effects, not all fans found this album to be disappointing. A friend of mine who also considers Lo the best rapper in the world and therefore had similarly impossible expectations recently told me that “R.E.B.I.R.T.H. is what hip-hop was meant to be since Erik. B.” I must agree.
Actually that last line is testimony to the power of subconscious social influence. I feel like I agree with the statement because I know the person so well and have so many opinions in common with him that my first reaction is to agree. However, upon rare further review, I now must admit that I’m not quite sure what his quote means. It is true that this is good hip-hop, which should certainly be what hip-hop was meant to be. But why are we beginning with Erik B., a DJ and producer, when this album is marked by its lyrics?
The last statement I’d like to make is that this is an album that requires many listenings. Many of Lo’s lines require a little thought before they can be understood, and many of his songs seem to get better with every listen. As I listen to the album right now, probably my 20th listen, I am absolutely loving it. Every song has great rhymes and energy and the last two songs on the album (Gray and Hip Hop Heaven) are two of the best I’ve ever heard. Get this album.
Here we see the power of emotional context. Researchers have found that a person who has had positive emotional boost, even when its as small as finding a quarter, will rate everything more positively, even if its unrelated and as large as their life satisfaction. They’ve also found that there’s not much better for subjective well-being than creative expression.
Ratings
Beats: 4
Rhymes: 4 1/2
Life: 4
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