Artist: Stu Dent
Album: Altered State
Label: Deepspace5 Recordings
Year: 2001
Independent music is the wave of the future for artists, no doubt. Besides being able
to tour off of the sales from product on the Net and at shows artists can now live off of their music.
Artists undoubtedly lack the promotions the big lables have to offer, but atleast the artist doesn't
have those creative boundaries lables often put down when making music. If every emcee had to live under
a cracking whip when writing lyrics Hip-Hop would be very one sided and dull. All sorts of flavors come
from the freedom of independent music and that's the way it should be.
Speaking of independent music, holding it down from Albany, N.Y. Stu Dent 'the messenger' comes forth with
his debut CD "Altered State". I bet you're saying "who the heck is Stu Dent?"... well, this cat
appears on the scene to give all of us a piece of independent Hip-Hop music.
His full length debut comes via our good ol' peeps at Sphere Records www.sphereofhiphop.com.
Interestingly enough, Stu Dent sounds very similar to another MC from Albany, N.Y. who is also bringing
some "Statik" to the rap game. Hmmmm... is this an undercover alias operation, I wonder?
Whatever the case, Stu Dent makes his mark as a versatile well rounded emcee.
Honoring the code of the boom bap, Stu Dent 'the messenger' hits us with 20 tracks (17 full songs) you're gonna be
inspired and beat down by the end of this 74 minute release. In normal east coast fashion, 'the messenger' takes
us thru the contentions as well as the victories in thought provoking narratives of everyday life.
On "Dead Decay Shun" f. Dezignator, Stu Dent spits "360 cypher complete / leasing poverty in this profession of indie cassettes, wax and cd's /
see these lines come alive / ink dried up on scraps / scribbles and scratches / deepspace 5 be the faction".
To complement his mic persona, Stu Dent scoops up some of Hip-Hop's hidden talents to collaborate on tracks.
Macho from the Tunnel Rat fam steps up to deliver the heat on the crowd rocking "Coliseum" with full gladiator gear.
Sage & Capture One, collectively know as Soleseekers represent to the fullest (seperately) on cuts "Alone" & "Fast
Lane" to serve us that underground West Coast food for thought we all love to consume.
On the show rockin' ditty "We Don't Want That" featuring JB and Mars ILL frontman, Soulheir,
all represent with style as Stu Dent ends his verse with "...so who's the fool / and don't deny it /
the ones who be writing the trash / or the ones who be buying it?". With every bar, Stu Dent builds
his case quite well for each concept.
With songs like "Phyzical Mental " and "Skitzofriendamine" both having a split personality theme
it brings me back to the question, is this an emcee under an alias?
With bars like "I hear all sorts of voices when I write / but which one I delegate to move the pen in itself is a fight"
adds to the curiosity and wonder of who Stu Dent really is and if he's missed any prescribed medications.
Future Shock jouneryman, Ajax a.k.a. The Ordinary Oddball, lends his spoken word oddities on " Skitzofriendamine "
to make the track even more peculiar. On "Simply Put" he collaborates with Drastic from Remnant Militia along with
Capture One to claim braggin' writes on paying dues over a bangin' JB track, strictly for snappin' necks and to show the
genesis of respect.
Stu Dent has lyrics all day and shines on gems such as "Born Invisible", "Warrior's Existence" the head cracker "Banger" and one of the nicest tracks, the ingenious Tomb Raider sampled "Time's Process" I still can't get that melodic chorus out of my head.
"We gonna run outta time sooner or later / betta get things straight before we meet the maker / no second chance when dying
without forgiveness / it all comes around in time's process". He hits you with lyrics that are common at one point and then he
switches it up and leaves some lyrics to be interpreted by the listener. Besides the verses displaying versatilty, the hooks
are also very intricate and should entice any backpacker to listen and validate Stu Dent as an emcee up to par from every
lyrical angle. On the production front, Stu Dent gets the beats crackin' compliments of JB a.k.a. Dirty Moses, Cyclone, and
Mr. Rictor. DJ Nate the Great blesses the 1's and 2's with precise cuts & scratches on "Assisted Suicide" f. Soulheir and
"Banger" f. Ajax.
With a grip of solid collabos and every aspect of Hip-Hop being represented, "Altered State" is easily a project all true heads should represent and add to their collection. Conceptually, lyrically and beat wise "Altered State" is a very strong debut.
True heads will be overly satisfied for the most part. However, with the majority of the album having beats by the same producer,
sounds get recycled and a couple of the beats don't measure up to the intensity of the lyrics. Stu Dent's deepspace 5 bretheren,
DJ Dust, of Mars ILL should have been brought in to replace the few 'not so strong' beats on "Altered State". The shine on this album definitely is too bright for any brunette moments to prevail. Definitely a classic independent Hip-Hop album, dope beats and flows... just what we've been asking for.
Rumor has it this might be the only Stu Dent full length project to be released so, kop this project and be among the few who'll have this dope indepenDENT rarity. May be the first, may be the last. I kopped mine. What you waitin' on??? Rock on......
www.sphereofhiphop.com/cdorders.htm
Reviewed by: OPTIXS.
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Track Listing:
01. Intro
02. Missing Time
03. We Don't Want That ft. JB and Soulheir
04. Dead Decay Shun ft. Dezignator
05. Phyzical Mental
06. The Coliseum ft. Macho
07. Assisted Suicide ft. Soulheir
08. Ds5 News (skit)
09. Say Again
10. Alone ft. Sage
11. Fast Lave ft. Capture One
12. M.O.G. (skit)
13. The Messenger
14. A Warrior's Existence ft. Kaboose
15. Born Invisible
16. Skitzofriendamine ft. The Ordinary Oddball
17. Simply Put ft. Drastic and Capture One
18. Symphonic Precision ft. JB
19. Time's Process
20. Banger ft. Ajax
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