Posted on: June 17, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Saiah has been in the rap game in one form or another for about a decade. It has been in the last few years that Saiah’s star has rapidly started to rise, growing from a Richmond attraction to an East Coast phenomenon seemingly overnight. It is on this wave of success that Saiah comes forth with his “Evolution”, a fourteen track tour-de-force that accurately describes the effect that Saiah’s album will have on the rap genre. “Nobody Remix” is the first track on the album, and Saiah’s flow is what will immediately get listeners to focus in on the track.

While Saiah can achieve a speed to his flow that rivals the work of a Twista or Bizzy Bone, Saiah goes beyond the work of each rapper by having a cohesion to each line he spits that rapidly weaves a dense, compelling narrative that is lucky enough to be listening in. “Break It Down” takes a different direction, keeping some of the speed of “Nobody” but converting Saiah’s energy into a club-banging hit that will appeal to club-savvy people as much as it does to the hard-line of rap aficionados. The arrangements, while oriented in a typical track-by-track way, show cohesion through the common thread of the clap/snap track that manifests throughout “Evolution”.

“H8” draws listeners in yet another way; the track has Saiah going forth and creating the harmony of the track through his flow. While there is a synthesizer line present, Saiah is doing double duty in the sense that the instrumentation is relegated to a distant second in volume. “Big Brother (Eyes on You)” is the strongest track on the entirety of “Evolution”, as it provides fans with each unique facet of Saiah’s style in the space of a track. The serious, issue-based rap is here; the dance-worthy hook is here, and the speed in which the lines come out of Saiah’s mouth would get any other rapper a serious set of troubles. As Saiah continues to create this new and exciting brand of rap music, I can foresee shows supporting rap luminaries like DJ Unk becoming a much more common occurrence, until that time when Saiah can hit up all the hot hiphop cities on his own. I believe that time is soon, so make sure to pick up a copy of “Evolution” and be the first on your block to peep out what will be the next big thing.

Top Tracks: I Don’t Want It, Big Brother (Eyes on You)

Rating: 8.1/10

Saiah – Evolution / 2008 Self / 14 Tracks / http://www.aprilfoolrecords.com /

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