Artist: The Narcicyst
Album: Leap Of Faith EP
Source: Artist
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Leap Of Faith
3. Blame the Label (Ghida Fakhry)
4. Color Blind (ft. Meryem Saci)
5. Larry David (Pretty Good)
6. Everywhere (ft. Sway)
7. Falling Down
Note:
I have been a huge fan of The Narcicyst since he was in the group Euphrates. I have dip and dived across the internet to accumulate his music for my collection. Since his days in Euphrates, he has emerged a more accomplished solo artist with every release. Through Leap Of Faith, The Narcicyst, seems takes a more personal and introspective approach to his music, moreso than his preceding releases.
One of the things that has always stood out to me about The Narcicyst(aside from his poignant lyricism) is his ability to do his own chorus’. Many artists flounder when they suppose they have the talent to sing their own chorus but he has proven to proficient at this in the past, and on the title track he shows you that capability. Leap Of Faith is a musical standout on this EP. The strings lead you right into The Narcicyst’s verses in which he explains (freshly) through personal examples that it is worth taking the risk to do what you love. It’s a beautiful cut in which the chorus bridges the two verses and has you singing (humming) along as if you too were a part of the song.
Blame The Label which I had featured here about a month ago is another track that is built upon the same formula. The chorus is like Ebola in Uganda…extremely contagious (sorry…I thought it was clever). The game is filling the artist’s heads with “dreams deferred” and labels are telling the artists exactly what to say and The Narcicyst is here to inject the game with some much needed originality and energy for that matter.
Color Blind establishes a more jazzy vibe with the horns and the piano over the drums. Meryem Saci joins our emcee on the chorus and she adds a richness to the cut. Her voice is sultry yet powerful enough to give distinction. I would be interested to hear the background for this song. There is certainly a component to the content that deals with greed, money, and deception. But to whom do we point the finger?
Falling Down starts off with some orchestral strings then guides you right into the chorus by The Narcicyst. It has a very surreal feel with the cascading chorus. The song deals with friendships that have gone sour with his rise to success. As the chorus goes:
If coming up can feel like falling down (down, down, down…) / I hope you miss me when I’m not around (round, round, round….)
and then leads into this lyricism…
Am I truly my brother’s keeper / If I let him puff on the reefer / Heaven love the believer / But devils run underneath him / Reaper cuffin’ the speakers / His head is clouding the ether / Let me light you a beacon to frighten the bottom feeders / How come I hardly see ya / He said no idea / As of recent…Ikea / It left me in pieces / Sea of streets with the grease of my tears…
I try to make a commitment to posting great music that is also hip hop and that’s exactly what this album is. It’s not just about dope rhymes and production, although it certainly is a component. Leap Of Faith talks about concepts and situations we can all relate to and does so in memorable fashion. It’s one of those projects, that although brief, creates a very connected experience for the listener. There is polish and attention to detail in this project that lets the messages and the really shine. And while The Narcicyst is certainly one to convey a message, let us not forget that he is also an emcee and a dope one at that.
(If you are interested…check out The Narcicyst discography here on HHD)
Hip Hop Dependency 