Afaar – Art of Word

Independent (November 23, 2010)
Review by LaRosa J.

It’s always a pleasure to listen to quality hip-hop, but it’s even better when that music is coming from the up & coming class of emcees that I’ve yet to become familiar with. Although not entirely new to the scene, Afaar is one of those emcees; he’s an up & coming emcee that is yet to garner the recognition that he deserves for his wicked lyrical delivery. His latest offering Art of Word serves as a great platform to introduce himself to the hip-hop community at large.

If there’s one thing that really shines on Art of Word it has to be Afaar’s lyricism, hands down. Afaar kicks off the album right with “Intro – Resistanza,” as he delivers a barrage of rhymes that set the tone for the remainder of the album. Like he says in his outro when talking about how he gave some advice to a young kid who was trying to rhyme, Afaar hits hard with his lyricism, but then wows the listener with his literacy. In other words, not only does he spit rhymes that show he’s “Qualified” to rock the mic, but he does so in a manner that also show that he’s a man of learning & a depth of wisdom that only comes from knowing Christ.

The production on Art of Word is solid too, but admittedly it’s probably the only real weak point in this album. On the plus side, Afaar brings in a wide variety of producers on this album including: Jruckers, Ruslan, Sound Doctrine, Diaz, and Teddy P., to name a few. No matter the beat that he picked, Afaar was able to rip it to shreds with his lyricism, so much so that it simply leaves you shaking your head. “Boom Boom” and “Audience” are great examples of this. Probably the most standout track on this album had to be “King Konga” which is a Teddy P. beat with cuts from L.A. Symphony’s “King Kong.” That being said, the only part that left me feeling a little down is that I’d heard many of these beats before, particularly those from Teddy P., which all came from his My Life Complete Instrumentals project. I knew I had heard the beats before, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until I gave that album a spin. Nevertheless, it’s only a minor issue because Afaar did the beats justice.

Looking at this album as a whole, there’s really not much that I can knock. From start to finish, Art of Word is a complete album that should not be slept on it. All Afaar ever wanted to do was “Make Music,” and this is proof that this is exactly what he should be doing. This man has intelligent lyrics for days and a passionate delivery that will grab any listener’s attention. This album is a winner for sure and one that should make Afaar a household name.

For fans of: theBREAX, Forgotten Heroes, NomiS

Purchase CD – download