REVIEW: Noyeek’s “Eartertainment”

You may know him as being one part of the group The Package, and you may have known him for being, in part, a bit Grizzly but Noyeek has a brand new solo album on the way (his second) and this is a project that shows that hip-hop integrity is alive and well, and not a museum piece.

Eartertainment is music that comes off like the day in the life of Noyeek, where you can imagine him waking him, welcoming the brand new day, and as he leaves his front door, you get first hand experiences from the mind of a rap intellectual. Maybe in 2011, a “rap intellectual” may be considered an oxymoron, but Noyeek has never been dumb in his lyrical approach, plotting out stories and scenarios as if he had a mental blueprint and planned everything out with skill and precision. He raps with a bit of street savvy, where it’s every man for himself and no one is going to help you but you, but fortunately the album does feature appearances from Kokayi, Netta Pooh, Salaam Barrie, Princess Of Controversy, and Westbank Ronin among others.

The basis of this album and Noyeek’s vibe can be heard in “No I’m Not” where he tells everyone in the chorus that he’s not a fake gangster or hustler like others may make themselves out to be, nor is he obeying the “Sambo” mentality that exists out in the United States. It’s also nice to hear a hip-hop album in 2011 that sounds regional and territorial, not this make-believe Neverland that has plagued the music in the last few years.

Eartertainment is definitely entertainment for the ears, and one that I hope will bring him to the next level in 2012.

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1519227682/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=53783b/