Customer Reviews

Black Magic

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Black Magic is amazing.
I first heard Swollen at a concert in Vancouver, while driving through on a snowboard road trip from Alaska to Tahoe in '99, and have been a fan ever since. Black Magic brings me back to that day, jumping in a crowd, completely blown away by a group I'd never heard of. The album captures the energy and spirit of Swollen Members' live shows (among the best you'll ever see) and some how translates that vibe and spits it out from car speakers, home stereos, and mp3 players.
So far ever single person I've played a couple of tracks for has gone out and bought the album; from the guys that say "Swollen who? Man that sounds awesome," to the ones that say "I had no idea there was a new SM album out," Black Magic is turning heads. By far the tightest production values of any of SM release, Prev and Mad are on point the entire album, and Rob has put together his finest beats yet. While the guest appearances are great, they don't take the spotlight away from the boys - a hard to accomplish feat when you've got the likes of Ghostface, and Ev onboard.
I find myself taking the long way to work, just to get a couple extra beats in my car stereo before I have to switch to the iPod for work, all while grinning like an idiot because I've got the new Swollen, and it's everything I'd hoped it would be; two days later and it's still giving me goosebumps.

In my opinion this is one of the best hip hop albums of the year, and Swollen's best work to date. 21 tracks of pure genius, all full tracks except for the intro, unlike these other hip hop albums today with 13 tracks and 7 interludes. The production on this album is phenomonal, beats like no other group out there, Rob the Viking is one of the best producers in all of Hip Hop. Dark, gritty beats with a unique sound. Lyrically Prevail and Mad Child are two of the best! Tottaly different and uniques styles that complement each other. Lyrics with real meaning, not just about the bling, the women, etc. I can listen to the whole album straight through over and over, but my favorites are:
-Pressure
-Grind
-So Deadly
-Prisoner of Doom
-Too Hot
-Dark Clouds
-Go to Sleep
-Put me On
-Black Magic
-Brothers

Did I mention, Swollen Members put on the best live show out there. I have been to 2 shows, and have not been dissapointed. I met all three of the Members, and they are really cool down to earth guys, and their performance was sick! Go check them out this fall/winter, you won't regret it!!

This CD has among the best sets of beats I've ever heard. They're consistently infectious and the lyrics they're paired with complement them to make a fantastic collection of songs. In my experience, the best beats were those in 'Pressure,' 'Grind,' 'Too Hot,' 'Sinister,' and 'Black Magic.'

If you're looking for a rap CD that employs heavy lyrics and themes along with incredible beats, this is an album that will in no way disappoint.

I first got into Swollen Members (Canada's illest hip hop export, all due respect to Canibus, Choclair & Kardinall Offishall) when I picked up 2003's Heavy. I enjoyed the album, thought there a few stand out tracks, but they were just missing the proverbial "something".

My first time through their newest release, Black Magic, I noticed three things: (1) Moka Only is no longer a member of the crew, although he is one two tracks (2) This album has a much higher quality of guests: Phil Da Agony, Planet Asia, Ghostface Killah, Evidence, Mr. Vegas & Everlast and (3) The Swollen Members have found that "something".

I really enjoyed this album. The production is great. Prevail is on point as always and Mad Child has some nice verses (once you get past his B-Real meets Cage voice). There is a great mix of songs on here, some serious, some commercial, some dark, some hype, some nerd rap. This variety keeps the album flowing and makes it a great listen start to finish.

I highly recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of non-commercial hip hop. It's by no means a perfect album, but it is one of the best CDs that I've purchased in a while. If you like commercial, mainstream hip hop, you might like a few of the songs like "Pressure", "Go To Sleep" & "Put Me On", but that's probably it.

The good:

Great beats; Strong album top to bottom; Most of the guests bring a lot to the able, especially Ghostface & Evidence; Some hot tracks like "Torture", "Weight", "Dark Clouds", "Black Magic" & "Brothers"; "Heart" is a great song; Even the commercial tracks are hot, especially "Pressure".

The bad:

Could have been a few tracks shorter; I don't like how the intros are part of the previous track.

The rating:

4.0/5.0

I love this album, possibly there best one. They went back to their roots for these songs. Mad and Prev bring in new artists which shake thigs up too. I think Pressure is the odd song out on this album. I listen to it all the time. Swollen Members are great on cd, but even better live.

Overall a great disc. Definately reminiscent of the "darker" Swollen....production is spot on by Rob and lyric content is top notch. For those that disliked the last studio album, this may hook you back. Only an owner of the iTunes download..I'm unsure if there's some uncredited sample / beat credit...the "word is bond" sample on "Grind" sounds a bit like Black Thought...and "Too Hot" (track 12) and "Red Hot" by Jurassic 5 are essentially the same instrumental and lyric structure. (DJ Babu..?) At any rate, solid spin.

Update: According to the Swollen website, both Red Hot and Too Hot are sampled from a Dap Kings song -- still a hairy coincidence

This album is fantastic, One of their best, I have all their albums and this one has so many standout tracks its sick. bottom line...Get this album

I appreciate Rob the Vikings production, it's creative, dark, and lasting. Unfortunately, I have always thought of SM as lyrically stale and suffering bad delivery. I agree with Constant's comments. I'd rather listen to the other S&M, Slug and Murs, that is. Both of their Tribute albums are fresh. Or Deep Puddle Dynamics for the dark sound and ultra intellectual lyrics (infused with a pretentious aire of grandeur, if you will - sorry I had to, I heard Bob Novak say it). Or Cannibal Ox, futuristic yet timeless production, lyrics from the streets. Or Deltron 3030, produced by Dan the Automator. Need more classic albums, talented producers need to team with talented MCs.