According to me this album consists of some of the best story-telling I've ever heard in a rap record. Topp klasse, fo real. Good enough to be compared to records tales by say Masta Ace or Nas (altough Murs flow isn't as perfected, but hey it's still amazing). I'm not sure if it's really fair to call this an album since it's only six tracks on it, but whatever really. Finally an artist was smart enough to skip some of those fill out bullshit tracks you only listen to once or twice anyway.
Because there really isn't any tracks to skip here. All tracks have killer verses and on this album has the absolute best lyrics I've heard from Murs so far. The whole album has the same feeling of realness and honesty as that GREAT Morocco Mike track from his first LP F'Real. If you heard and liked that you're goning to love this as much as I do. The diffrence between Morocco Mike and this record is here he don't rap about another person, it strictyl about the man Murs. Not the rapper persona or the kid acting tough on the block. It's like he took a long look in the mirror and understood he wasn't a hardcore gangbanger or killer, and came to terms with that. Then decided to write a very personal and introspective record about it. Murs deals with everyday problems of being black in America, the struggles of a hip hop artist and simply being a young man. The highlights are Belief's Blues were Murs really lets his anger out. The producer samples some blues song which creates the for this track perfect chorus saying "Why, they just won't, let me be? Why, you and you and you and you and you, just won't let me be?". This followed by a Murs rhyming about his underlying towards any man who's acting tough to prove his manhood, pulling out guns because their scared to fight and such. He paints the picture of an everyday situation pulling up next to antoher man car at a red light and that other dude unprovoced decides to act tough (I'm not from LA so I'm not sure how likely an incident like this really is, but whatever). Check this out:
"You don't really want to kill me, you want to act like a real G / But living out your rap fantasies don't thrill me / But hey, whatever floats your boat / Go ahead and pull it out and I'll give you a quote / Like 'Oh, big homey, please give me a pass' / But ain't it sad you need another man to kiss your ass? / But my manhood is secure, so I'll bow and play the role / By the way your light turned green like thirty seconds ago."
A few words about the production. From what I figure after some google search each track has diffrent producers - according to undergroundhiphop.com: Mum's The Word; Belief; Ant; Bones; Justin Martin; Black Panther. I'm not sure if they produced the tracks in that order or who produced each track. Still it's a very cohesive album altogether. The sound is pretty much the same as any of the pre-9th wonder Murs records. A mix between the Rhyme Sayers sound (Ant) and the profilic Living Legends LA underground laid back sound, as on the tracks which features The Underbosses (whom I don't know anything about).
Well then.. Enjoy!/hugo
Murs - Varsity Blues (2002)
Tracklist:
1. Varsity Blues
2. Belief's Blues
3. County Blues
4. Writer's Blues feat. The Underbosses
5. A Friend's Blues
6. The Deepest Blues
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