Eseye/Scribbling Idiots (March 1, 2010)
Review by SSRC
Analog Amazon is a duo made up of Sphere of Hip-Hop podcast host Cas Metah and his fellow Scribbling Idiots crew member Mouth Warren. This EP is part 1 of 2, in The Book Of Five Rings series and it was part of the SI monthly subscription service. The title of this EP is borrowed from a book written on Kenjutsu and martial arts in general. The book was written by the Samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645. It is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, much like Sun Tzu’s, The Art of War and Chanakya’s Arthashastra.
This EP comes together on the strength of the chemistry between Mouth Warren and Cas Metah. They have different flows but they complement one another and keep your attention over the EP’s 5 tracks. As with any EP, you have a short body of music and consistency is really the key. With The Book Of Five Rings, you have 5 good tracks that will bang in your iPod for years to come.
Along with the EP’s consistency you also have some variety in regards to production. In the realm of head nodding beats you have some bounce on “Armor Dagers” and dark strings on “Border Line“. The tone runs through but they switch things up enough so that you don’t get bored. It’s a tricky rope to walk on but as a veteran crew they show us how it’s done. They only have one guest appearance and they picked the underrated Griffin to bless the EP’s best track “Border Line”. Griffin grabs the beat and holds it in the palm of his hands as you hang off his every word. Cas and Mouth get a little more personal on the final track “One Times One”. They talk about the importance of relationship and putting your hope in God. The backdrop puts you in a retrospective mood and to top it off, you have EF Cuttin, scratching it up at the end of the track.
On a 5 song EP that has consistent production and quality emcee’s you don’t find much to complain about. If you like the Scribbling Idiot crew you will enjoy this EP like most of their other releases. The only issue I have with the EP is that it doesn’t grab you like some music does. There isn’t anything wrong with this EP but there isn’t anything that really makes it stick out either. After you finish listening you know you have listened to some quality Hip Hop but you won’t find yourself going back to it like you would a Shad CD.
The SI crew have been very consistent in putting out quality music each month and this EP follows suit. If you are a fan of this crew at all, you should pick it up. It will be a good addition to your collection and you will hear some quality rhymes and beats from the crew. If you haven’t heard Cas or Mouth before this would also be a good introduction to the skill set these 2 emcee’s possess. If you are looking for some game changing material, then you might want to keep looking. In a year that has seen an overabundance of EP’s The Book Of Rings is another strong entry from the SI crew.
For fans of: Scribbling Idiots, Griffin, Cas Metah, Mouth Warren
Purchase CD – download – ScribblingIdiots.com