C-Rayz' latest rhymes an overcooked effort

by John Bear

Daily Lobo

The opening hook on Year of the Beast, the latest offering from rapper C-Rayz Walz, promises cheap sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. But it soon becomes apparent that this will not be the main theme of the album.

He is being sarcastic and proclaims that proudly. The song, "R'Thentic," appears to be an indictment of that hedonistic lifestyle that exists solely within the confines of a BET rap video.

And that is about as clear-cut as anything gets. He is unhappy with the seething case of bad taste that is most rap music, as are most emcees operating below the mainstream.

Though clearly talented, C-Rayz comes with a flow that is sometimes so esoteric in its delivery, one would need a team of professional linguists working 18-hour shifts to figure out just what he is talking about. Such is often the case with hip-hop artists. You can love listening to them even though you haven't the slightest clue what they are talking about.

C-Rayz Walz' style is somewhat reminiscent of early Redman and he hails from the Definitive Jux dynasty which is steadily making a name for itself as one of the more progressive record labels in hip-hop. Company Flow alumnus and Def Jux proprietor El-P produces the beat on one track and flows on another.

And that is all for consistency. The album contains 15 tracks and almost every beat is produced by someone different. This adds to the inconsistent feeling of the album with beats alternating back and forth between standard hip-hop fare and the arrhythmic electronic bleepiness that has become a trademark of Def Jux. One can't help but feel like there may have been too many cooks in the kitchen.

The album contains two tracks which manage to stand out from the others. "Paradise" is produced by El-P and offers a critique of contemporary American politics albeit in a manner that is hard to nail down what exactly what is being said. But it has a fresh beat and C-Rayz' flow, though often not exactly clear, has a sonically pleasing tone to it. "Blackout," the most direct track on the album, discusses the fundamental drag that is being relegated to the black and white racial groups and the expected behavior that comes with it. The beat is conducive to banging one's head against a wall and the lyrics possess a clear message that the lyrics on the rest of the album tend to lack.

Despite its lack of a consistent sound, Year of the Beast is an overall good listen. C-Rayz may be a little hard to understand at times, but he is a talented emcee and manages to shine amid a musical genre crowded with a large amount of stagnant unoriginality.