Take four college friends from the 313 and throw them in a studio. A prompt from Royce Da 5’9″ and a critically acclaimed album later and Clear Soul Forces are revolutionizing not only hip hop groups but the genre itself. Earlier this year, we ranked the group as one of the top ten hip hop collectives most likely to succeed and they are really proving themselves, especially through the music heard on their latest, trend-challenging LP.
While the album is undoubtedly familiar sounding in regards to past projects by CSF, there’s a definite cultivation of new sounds and styles heard on Gold PP7s never heard before by the rap quartet. Most clearly is the production handled by Illajide that has found its roots not only in the oft-executed, amalgamous mixture of boom-bap and trunk-thumping, subwoofer sounds, but also slightly in the meagerly traversed world of electronica. By this it must be noted that past instrumentals by Illajide featuring a grungier, more classic “Detroit” sound than anything else, so this adventurous new route into the world of production supported by trance shots, harmonic ambiance and digitized background noises all add a new, modernized element to CSF’s previous, throwback sound.
What makes Clear Soul Forces so great is not only that they sound good, but the chemistry that makes them sound so good. These four emcees work together as if they were one entity spitting ferociously on the mic. Quick-paced verses stuffed with self-assertive rhymes, mental trickery and other lines that will have listeners smirking at the wit of these young rhymers all make this album an album that is non-stop and action packed.
To anyone recalling the days when Detroit Revolution(s) dropped and anticipate Clear Soul Forces to sound like Slum Village or old-school or like anything will be all but shell shocked by the fact that the Rock City group have practically shaken all comparisons and accomplished their goal of forming their own sound.
Another element of the songwriting that the individual members – E-Fav, L.A.Z., Noveliss and Illajide – have capitalized on is their undeniable act to craft some of the most driving hooks this side of hip hop. These refrains push the song ever forward and definitely make the tracks themselves more memorable. Take “Nuclear Reaction” which finds glory in simplicity as far as the hook goes:
“Got that hot shit/
It’s that nuclear reaction/
I think it’s time, time/
For nuclear reaction.”
It is ultimately in the delivery of the emcees that instills such a forceful swing that it gets you swinging to the round, barraging kicks that subtly, but quickly thump under the persistent cymbals.
Clear Soul Forces have a bravado unlike any other hip hop act out today. These talented emcees charge their tracks with such electricity and such confidence you have no chance in escaping the aura of their contagious energy. Although the content may not be the most provocative, it’s time rappers were reminded how to rap and how to make an album full of bars displaying top-notch lyricism, as well as remarkable penmanship and microphone presence in a day and time when expensive clothing and accessories dominate a large portion of rap’s subject matter.
9/10
Tracklisting:
1) Continue?
2) Ninja Rap
3) Beats, Rhymes & Life
4) Freq Freq (feat. Kooley High)
5) Sparring Session
6) War Drums
7) The Genie
8) We Be Runnin’ This
9) Ain’t Playin’
10) Nuclear Reaction
11) Eve
12) Unlimited Bounce
13) Fresh Ta Def
14) He Say She Say
15) Solar Heat
***Notable Mentions:
The Roots & Elvis Costello: Wise Up Ghost And Other Songs
