This album has been out for a minute, but that doesn’t make it’s sound and quality any less potent. HHSE frequent feature Gone Wallace has made his presence known through previous posts. Last winter (yeah, I’ve been sleepin’), Gone Wallace dropped his full-length project Cult Classic. Dressed up with a mix of eclectic beats from those embodying an air of jazz to those pounding with undeniable soul, Cult Classic presents a lyrical emcee brandishing his vocal weapon of choice to run the show on this sixteen-track LP.
While at times Wallace seems like he’s forcing his style (see “The Sega Dreamcast Era”), there are many moments on this record that the Philadelphian lyricist displays a breath of comfort over some interesting instrumentals. The first stand-out track is the album’s single “Real” produced by CMR Beatz. The track features a honey-like horn softly humming over a steady-knocking drum pattern while “I always keep it real ‘cuz people love the real me” cuts over the hook. Gone Wallace goes in with rhyme after rhyme meshing together in a fit of “verbal murder.”
The entire project plays off the concept of a cult classic, hence the name. The reference here is that a cult classic, like Gone Wallace’s album of the same name, is under appreciated during its time of release; however, down the line, the piece is regarded as a classic and heralded for being way ahead of its time. A bold statement, indeed, Gone Wallace describes his sound as a mix of old school and new school. Where it feels like those sounds are best made apparent are through the beats (old school) and the rapper’s delivery (new school).
On this project, Gone Wallace gets on instrumentals very much like those of the late 90’s New York boom-bap as well as those like the soul revival sound of the last decade. At the same time, many new-age trap-like beats are featured which give Gone Wallace a definite likeness to Ab-Soul. Not as conscious, Gone Wallace handles his lyrics a little more deft in regards to rhyme schemes. Gone Wallace makes his lyricism a display of tongue-twisting wit many times as he blends many similar rhymes into one bar. It is apparent that the young rapper has taken the time to bring down walls with his slick lyricism.
Overall, this album gives a bit more rawness than I can recall from Wallace’s past records. Gone Wallace finds his niche in an exotic blend of old-new-and-futuristic sounds and styles, all while speaking on many personal topics (stories, troubles and the like). Cult Classic is arguably his best project and Gone Wallace shows a lot of flexibility on this record; in that regard, the project can fluctuate a lot and come off as more of a compilation of songs rather than a cohesive album. Nevertheless, Gone Wallace delivers some pretty brawny skill and skates around a smorgasbord of production that is sure to have at least one beat for everybody.
With this album, Gone Wallace’s potential is screaming for solidarity. The emcee is still undeniably working out his sound and exploring new and exciting sounds, but with the vibe of a hungry emcee ever-present on this record, I’d like to see Gone Wallace nail down his most consistent sound and create an entire album of those sounds.
