Customer Reviews

Evolution Flight

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

 

 

The production is unlike anything I have heard in a long while (reminiscent of older Krush - think Meiso remix - and MadLib tunings would be my closest point of reference, but that's still not close enough), and the introspective & empowering rhyming by the "they-could-be-twins" MCs Akin And Cise on point. The message struggles to be optimistic considering the mess we as humans continually put ourselves in, this is poetry about the human condition at its finest. Support these fine artists now!

For those who haven't heard of Cyne, Cyne is a very underrated and overlooked Experimental Hip-Hop group formed in Gainseville Florida. Combining lyrics based on the philosophy of Rousseau and other random subjects (Apocalypse Now and 2001 reference for the win!), an urban cool Trip Hop influences, a very rich, comforting, and warm sound, and interlocking rhythms that will lock into you're dancing tendencies for days, Cyne is one heck of a Hip-Hop group, and they are excellent at that. Dope stuff.

The production values here are ace, and the music in the back is warm, soulful, jazzy, and infectious. Cyne uses a wide array of sounds and instruments, and the album has an experimental sound that offers a fresh look on each track; you won't hear the same sounding song twice. Throbbing bass lines, jazzy instrumentation, beats that can be graceful, interlocking, deep, or hard hitting. I use the word warm a lot to describe this, and I think it's kind of app, given that the music is lively and . They also manage to pack a sound scape made up of exotic sounds and creative sampling, whether it's the golden shine of Running Water, the aura of a golden stream of Arrow of God, a melange of the ocean, moonlight, and city of Moonlight, or a type of dark spacey feeling on Earth of Haze. Overall, it will make you lock into the groove and won't let you go until the track is over.

The rapping here is dynamic and flowing, widely varied, fast when it needs to be, slower and more concentrated when it needs to be as well. These guys are definitely skilled MC's, and they possess variety to make the rhymes keep you on your toes. Sometimes liquid smooth, sometimes boastful, sometimes jazzy, and sometimes, a Cyne record has all of this, and they don't disappoint. Besides just rapping, they happen to throw at you some of those catchy harmonious vocals. The choruses for example, are sometimes sung, with a sort of warm harmonious (see Moonlight) feel that gives the songs great emotion. Dense, smooth, and fluid in intelligence, Cyne live and breath expressing themselves through rhyming and rapping, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

There are many highlights here. I like Moonlight for it's warm, urban-cool, and jazzy rhythms, perfect song for late night city drives. _____ America, despite the generic title, is one of the strongest songs here, with a almost menacing, booming slow burner that takes it slow while letting the rapping dominate with a fast, jazzy, and smooth lyrics a mile a minute. Automaton is a great catchy song that attacks sheepish people, short and to the point, fierce and assertive. Running Water is just golden each way, with an aesthetic that flows as gorgeous as a river filled with gold. Growing has a golden summer haze that is perfect for a quite Sunday walk through a college town. Overall, you won't be bored by any of the fifteen unique tracks, and each one of them will make you want to get down on the dance floor faster than a weasel with it's tail on fire.

I won't lie. This isn't quite a perfect album, as some of the songs aren't AS good as top tracks like Haze, Moonlight, Automaton, etc. It doesn't have the extremely consistent quality that a perfect album should. I'd give it a near five stars instead of a full five stars (it's too good for four stars). Despite this, this is an uncovered gem, a Hip-Hop album that deftly blends experimental and intoxicating rhythms, heavy, referenced-filled, and intelligent lyrics, and an able to blend both of them into an infectious and listenable whole. Highly, highly recommended if you like such artists like ATQC, Jurassic 5, De la Soul, Nas, Digable Planets, oh, just about any hip-hop fan (noting I'm not including people who think the pinnacle of rap is Soulja Boy, Webbie, Ying Yang Twins, or any other disposable ring tone rappers).

CYNE does hip-hop the way it's meant be done, I'd recommend any of their work and Evolution Fight is one of their best efforts. If you're reading this you probably have heard CYNE's music before, if you happen to be a hip-hop fan who stumbled upon this page by accident consider it a CYNE and cop it NOW.

what are you waiting for?

I am not even sure how I ended up with a copy of Cyne's Evolution Fight, but I put my Itunes on shuffle one day and paused when i heard the best lyrics since Blackstars self titled debut. If you are in the mood for intellegent, uplifting, and poetic lyrics, you have found the right album. Weaving through biblical allusions, spiritualism and the human struggle, the album is backed by haunting piano rifs (see Running Water) and clever sampling (Live Life). Hardly ever mentioned in the same breath as similar artists such as Blackstar, Mad Lib, The Roots, and other underground hip hop groups, this album deserves a shout out. One of the best hip hop albums to come out in the last 5 years that you have yet to hear.

Not what I had expected to hear. If you are looking for some of the more uplifting, earth melodies heard in Cyne other albums - beware! This album is way too "explicit" for my hip-hop ears.