Supastition – The Blackboard EP (2013)

Artist: Supastition

Album: The Blackboard EP

Source: You Could See This Coming A Mile Away

Tracklisting:

1. The Blackboard (ft Faust & Shortee) (Prod. by Rik Marvel)
2. Daydream (Prod. by Veterans)
3. Indestructible (ft Faust & Shortee) (Prod. by M-phazes)
4. Rejoice (Prod. by Veterano)
5. Best Worst Day (Prod. by Dirty Art Club)
6. Yada Yada (Prod. by Marco Polo)
7. Expectations (Prod. by The Mighty DR; Scratches by Shylow)
8. Perfect World (ft Dominique) (Prod. by Croup)

Note:

I remember when I was told that Supastition was retiring as an emcee.  I was demoralized.  I thought to myself that he was a casualty of an unsupportive audience got tired of not being paid for the quality of his work.  I was fed up with “fans” of hip hop.    It was at that point that I started working more vigilantly on getting this blog started.  I wanted to promote dope hip hop artists and push the fan base to contribute to the art they so love and enjoy.  In essence Supastition is literally a major factor as to why I am typing this now.

A few months ago there was a whisper in the wind that Supa was re-entering the arena.  I scoured the internet for verification and sure enough the rumors were true.  Now, in January 2013 we are greeted with the first fruits of this man’s labor in his return to hip hop and let me say, he returns with a thunderous boom of The Blackboard EP.

This EP begins with fervor as the title track exposes Supastitions’ hunger for this hip hop music once again over some Rik Marvel production. This beat is just what Supa needed to announce his return.  The drums are knocking and the samples are impeccably chosen and applied.  The emphasis of this track is there is a regime change that is occurring.  Supastition utilizes all the tools at his disposal to educate and eliminate all those exploiting the game with weak prose, facades, and sub par skills.

Indestructible reunites producer M-Phazes with Supastition.  The two have shown great chemistry in the past and they demonstrate that they have not lost a single step.  The two have a “hot-and-cold” thing working here.  M-Phazes has a beat that strikes me to be more soulful and low-key but Supastition is unrelenting with that boom-bap delivery.   He tells the labels that he’s more like “Grey Goose” while they are more after “wine coolers”.  But here’s yet a better sampling of Supa’s lyrical abilities:

…all I need is a metronome click to get started / then I transition from a writer to a sketch artist / Before I beg for stardom, I’d rather just Brett Favre it / Hang up the jersey and cleats / I stick to murdering beats / And scribble down to a skeleton like a dead carcass…

On Best Worst Day, Supatition flexes his storytelling skills.  He weaves a tale that has many twists and turns, and I would turn on the spoiler alert, but hell, this is a review so…the story starts with Supa waking up finding his girl sobbing in tears and packing up her things.  He thinks that he has messed up again and forced her hand in leaving. He leaves the crib only to get ignored at both his local convenient store and record store.  He then realizes that he has been killed and walking around Charlotte, NC as a ghost.  It’s an incredibly dope narrative performed over a haunting beat from the Dirty Art Club. It’s just music that will make you say…”Wow.”

Supastition is back and on his terms.  The Blackboard EP is the unrelenting hip hop flavor that I have been missing since he went on sabbatical three years ago.  It’s not that there hasn’t been hundreds of artists making great music since he left, but no one has ever done it quite like him.  He brings insight that I can appreciate.  He has an integrity that I look up to as a fan and a writer.  And lastly he never puts on airs and pretends to be something he’s not.  This project is as authentic as the man who created it.

(Note) This project is FREE.  You don’t need to drop a cent, but chances are that if you are reading this blog you love hip hop as much as I and want to see it flourish.  Please drop at least $5 in the man’s bank account for all his effort.