Posted on: June 8, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Eyedea (the late Michael Larsen) was one of the first celebrities that I met. Back in the early 2000s, he (along with Brother Ali and Musab) freestyled for a crowd that was not informed that they were too young to attend their concert next year. He absolutely laid down some sick freestyles over RJD2 instrumentals, and we gave him some NeuFutur love. However, we were able to get a hold of his last recording – a free-jazz, rap meets funk, soul, and anything else that came to his (and Kristoff Krane’s) mind at the time.

What results is an act called Face Candy, and a fifteen-track release called “Waste Age Teen Land”. I have little doubt in my mind that this album will be nothing less than a cult sensation – the spastic, spontaneous sounds that issue forth with each track is nothing less than genre-expanding. “Three” destroys time signatures and what rap could and should be – the bars spat here move effortlessly between providing narrative and adding to the shambling creature that is crafted by the instrumental side of things. In the same way, “Six” is a track that destroys what listeners expect from a live or a studio track. The album may now be pressed onto CD and the sessions that ultimately lead to the creation of the album happened a number of months ago, but Face Candy will imbue any listeners with a sense of being a part of something greater.

This is truly a magnum opus, rising in action with each and every track. Fifteen, the disc’s final track, is perfect evidence of this. The deliberate bass line provides the perfect structure for the vocal side of things, gradually gaining speed until music and mouth are nothing more than blurs. With a grindy, sludgy drapery, Fifteen ends the album with a bold exclamation point. “Waste Age Teen Land” is revolutionary, and I have no doubt that rap (and music as a whole) will benefit from this album.

Top Tracks: Two, Eight

Rating: 9.1/10

Face Candy – Waste Age Teen Land (CD) / 2011 Rhymesayers / 15 Tracks / http://www.rhymesayers.com

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