'Think Outside The Block' by K-Kendle
Tuesday, 16 June 2009 , 13 Comments
K-Kendle is an artist with quite a bit of talent, I was recommended this album by a friend of a friend and it is one of the better albums I've had randomly fall into my lap. After reading the review get your free download of "Think Outside The Block."
Lyrics K-Kendle has phenomenal lyrics. Not only does he use complex rhymes but his flow is a perfect complement to what he’s saying. He has the ability to rap with incredible speed at times but still manages to use his flow to clearly spit every word. You’ve heard fast rappers like Twista who rap fast for the sake of being a fast rapper and end up just sounding like a bad muffler on a car. It’s hard for me to narrow it down to just one or two tracks but I think Smooth Poet and Anytime are the best examples of K-Kendle’s lyrical ability and flow but you’ll find his talent displayed in every song on the album.
Production This album is produced by C.I.V. and Tracks, two very talented producers. The beats are not only great standing alone but they fit perfectly with K-Kendle’s style. The album starts with a somewhat humble beat, it’s not an “in your face” type of beat but it gives K-Kendle a chance to show off his ability from the beginning. As the album progresses you begin to hear more intricate beats using a variety of samples, catchy bass lines and beats that set a tempo for K-Kendle to flow over. At times a few of the beats are reminiscent of some Black Star tracks and I personally loved every second of it. The album ends on a more energetic beat which I feel is a perfect close to the album. K-Kendle gets one last chance to showcase his ability and the beat sets the stage to end the album on a very high note. Overall, the production is contributes to K-Kendle’s style perfectly.
Songs The content of the album isn’t particularly formulaic. You see a lot of emerging artists following typical formulas for creating albums. Songs to attract the ladies, songs to attract the fellas, a song for the club, and an R&B song. K-Kendle’s content, on the other hand, seems more natural, it seems more so like he’s just being himself and it’s more so a conversation with the listener then it is him forcing a story or trying to pull a certain reaction from the listener. The first track after the intro seems to be about K-Kendle’s position in the rap game and gives you the feeling that he’s leveling with you and he’s just a humble emcee. Here are two excerpts from verses off of “Just You & Me”:
“With every time I’m in the booth I get better,
I guess that’s just foreshadowing all of my future endeavors,
That’s not surprising that I spit hot breath,
When really I’m hypothesizing about hip hop’s death”
“It might take you a minute to notice I’m real,
Without seeing a car riding on oversized wheels,
But you’ll hear it in every word I said so strong,
You’ll start to get this feeling with your headphones on,
Instead of hearing me exaggerate my plans,
You hear an artist who only collaborates with fans”
The content throughout the rest of the album doesn’t jump out at you as particularly heavy-hitting (he does touch on problems with hip hop, marijuana, and personal struggles), but that’s not a bad thing. K-Kendle is the type of rapper who uses his lyrics, flow and delivery to his advantage and doesn’t leverage himself by touching on heavy topics. He keeps a light-hearted feel throughout the album matching the upbeat production. Conclusion Overall, K-Kendle, C.I.V. and Tracks have put together an incredible album. I was very impressed by the composition of the songs as a whole; everything seems to fit together perfectly. There wasn’t a single song on the album that I didn’t listen to all the way through. I see a lot of potential in K-Kendle and I’m looking forward to see where he goes from here.
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