Venomous2000 x Trilian – Sounds Of The Great Ones (2017)

Artist: Venomous2000 & Trilian

Album: Sounds Of The Great Ones

Tracklisting:

1. Introduction
2. Know Things (ft. DJ TMB)
3. Hot Damn (ft. The Artifacts, Tiye Phoenix, and DJ Trickalone
4. Homecoming
5. Rock The Bells (ft. Reks, C-Rayz Walz, and DJ TMB)
6. My Grandma Used To Say
7. Products Of The Environment (ft. Shabaam Sahdeeq and Cella Dwellas)
8. Marvelous (Planet-ill)
9. Make Ya Speakers Pop (ft. 9th Prince, Inspectah Deck, NLZ, and DJ TMB)
10. Psalms 76
11. It’s Over (ft. DJ TMB)

Note:

I am not going to start off this review by telling you how much I have been a fan of Venomous2000 over the years. That would be disingenuous. As a matter of fact, you won’t see too much music from him posted on this site since it’s inception. Honesty being the best policy, while I respected the man’s talent, I was never really “wowed” by his previous bodies of work, and I had purchased more than just a couple of projects.

I thought I would give this album a chance because I enjoyed the production of Trilian and there were more than a few guests that I respected. But what I got from Venomous2000 was a a complete re-rendering of what I thought the man was capable of. Sounds Of The Great Ones delivers on so many levels that I had to make a mends for selling this artist short by writing a review.

To start off with, Rock The Bells features a couple of my favorite emcees in Reks and C-Rayz Walz. The collaboration with Venomous2000 does not disappoint. They have distinctly different styles but the mesh is real over this Trillion production. But check this fire sample of lyricism from Venomous2000 as it is the song’s show stopper.

What is this? You couldn’t write it with a publicist / Need to start it over like the world’s corrupt governments / Last man standing when the bombs dropped over us / No remains of the lames blown into dust / It’s the like the streets be steady talking like a dry snitch / My brother’s hoping I open it like a wide ditch / Do it on a rhyme tip / Use steel for the constructs /It ain’t my fault or my thoughts if your rhymes suck / I just design such power like the letter P / Anybody biting the style charge them a mega fee / I let it be I can only change what the hand grasp / Don’t need Stacey or Dame to make a man dash

When we speak on creativity, I am absolutely compelled to speak on the track, Marvelous. Not since The Last Emperor did a track called Secret Wars, Part 1, has someone done such a rendering of the comic book universe. Venomous takes characters from the Marvel comic book universe and intricately utilizes their names verse after verse. It’s some of the most in-depth writing that has occured over the course of last couple of years and highly entertaining.

What I haven’t touched on thus far is the production from Trilian that drew me into the project in the first place. This producer has been grinding hard with some very talented individuals over the years but doesn’t get the credit he deserves for making these songs into bangers. There is no weakness in the beats you will find on this project. You will only find neck-snapping drums, slick samples, and perfectly woven instrumentation that weaves it’s way around Venomous2000’s verses.

The perfect example of this symmetry from producer and emcee can be found on Psalm 76. On this track you hear Venomous2000 forgo the use of a hook or chorus and go straight to your mental with 76 bars of straight fire. His pace can only be matched with Trilian’s high octane, high BPM, production. The clashing symbols and the use of the keyboard work give this song the feel of a message being relayed urgently from beyond.

This was the first release I copped in 2017 and it is an extremely inspiring start to the year. I can not pay a higher compliment to an artist than to say that his latest work of art has changed my perception of their talents and capabilites. With the Sounds Of The Great Ones he has emerged from the masses as elite emcee and potent rhyme writer. Meanwhile, Trilian has once again been a part of project that should establish him as one of the pre-eminent producers worldwide. These two items make the title of this album, incredibly poignant.