Customer Reviews

Full Circle

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

No way does this album deserve some of the hate that it's been getting, although people are finally showing it some love with the last few posts. Okay, so Del's not all over the album. So what? We've heard from Del for 12 years up to "Full Circle," it's time to let the other members get their time to shine. We need to thank Pep Love love for his work on this album. Almost every verse he drops is memorable, and he saved a few songs that would have been mediocre otherwise. Pep Love is arguably the strongest Hiero member RIGHT NOW (sorry Del) and proves it on "Full Circle." Opio is all over the album too, and shows how valuable he is.
The album starts out on an excellent roll that lasts until midway where the momentum dies somewhere in the arguably mediocre songs "Chicago" and "Heatish." "Halo" follows and is a standout, it touches on a lot of spiritual themes, and the till the end of the cd, the following songs are hit-or-miss (more "hitting" than "missing" in my book). "Jingle Jangle" seems to be the only track that I can't get into, it's a little too much. The beat on "Love Flowin'" might be a little overdone. Otherwise, the last two tracks are definitely winners.
I believe that "Powers That Be" is the album's best cut, with a lively, upbeat sound and outstanding lyrics and a chorus with humming in the background. Plus, Del and Pep Love grace that track. The single "Make Your Move" is actually quite good compared to the cold reception it's getting. Goapele's vocal's are so soulful, and actually enhance the track instead of feeling recycled. If there's any doubt, just listen to Pep Love's lyrics and you should like the song. "Classic" has one of the best beats on the album, although the lyrics aren't the tighest they have to offer, it's still a standout. "Let It Roll" is a faster song, and one of the best, but the preceeding "100,000 Indi" is lacking energy, and somewhat wastes the talents of guest Abstract Rude. "Maggie May" revolves around a rather cliched story, but they end up making it worthwhile. The title track has some of the strongest lyrics through-and-through. Although I was feelin' Goapele's vocals more on "Make Your Move," the title track is still probably my second favorite off "Full Circle." The last one, "7 Sixes," all the members join in and just flex their skills (especially Del.) The best songs on the album??? I think they are: "Powers That Be," "Halo," "Let It Roll," and "Full Circle." "Fantasy Island," "Make Your Move," "Classic," "Maggie May" and "7 Sixes" are the other notables.
I don't see this album as being inferior to "Third Eye Vision." "Third Eye" wasn't as untouchable as some are claiming it to be, anyway. This has got some memorable tracks, and the whole album flows quite smoothly, song-to-song. The production, overall, was much, much better, which is where "Third Eye Vision" dissappointed. Jay-Biz is not to be found on "Full Circle," so just eight of the members are involved. I can see people complaining that this is too much 'business as usual.' That feeling arises at points, but Hieroglypics are too strong to have that notion be a deterrant. They do need to work on their hooks, though, some of them being the low-points of the songs. If you can't think of a good hook, just lay low and let the DJ do some scratching or something! Anyways, this album still clocks in at 4 to 4.5 stars, which is quite impressive given the mediocrity and disposability of Rap these last few years.

The Hieroglyphics crew have been a major force in the West Coast hip-hop underground scene since the early 90's. They are somewhat of a West Coast version of the Wu-Tang Clan, most obviously in size but in a few other aspects as well. First off their style before them there weren't many other rapper on the West Coast that weren't all about bustin' caps and pimpin', they brought a fresh jazzy original sound that was heavy on the lyrical tip that has since influenced many on the alternative & underground west coast rap crowd. But like the Wu tehy have had their set backs and pit falls. Instead of releasing a group album and then solo joints they opted to go the other route releasing their individual albums and the releasing their first crew album in `98. Like the Wu-Tang all of their debut albums carried with them artistic and sometimes commercial success but after that they had some slight creative short comings and more commercial ones after leaving their major labels. Also they had several talented members leave their ranks such as Saafir who went on to join Hobo Junction and the group Extra Prolific who was headed by Snoupe who left because of musical differences. The Hieroglyphics crew is a 9 man strong group consisting of Domino, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Pep Love, Jay Biz (not featured on album), Casual, & Souls Of Mischief (A-Plus, Opio, Phesto & Tajai) coming with individual styles, intricate rhymes, and dope self contained production coming from Domino, Casual, A-Plus, Opio although there is one outside production by some kat named Space Boy Boogie (who?). Although some odd sampled Del production would have been great the beats on this disc for the most part are top notch, sounding great in your car or you headphones, they are underground but the production is polished and totally accessible even for the most mainstream of heads. The rhymes through out are dope as hell, mostly dealing with battling but I it's hard to find better lyrics than these on this disc for me Pep Love & Opio really shine through, although like others might comment there isn't nearly enough Del on this bizzatch. So now I'm going to touch on some songs that stood out to me...

Prelude (Pep Love) ~ The album opener has a some shouting over with vocal samples of all the members and other things, then it goes into a short verse by Pep Love basically stating where Hiero is from and where they are going, a nice key board laced beat featuring Amp Fiddler on the keys produced by Domino.

Powers That Be (Opio, Pep Love, Del, Tajai) ~ This is a low tempo beat produced by Domino again. It's made up of deep drums & short synth sounding horn snaps and what sounds like some guitar strumming in the back. The lyrics attack whack rappers, mysterious powers that be and has an alright hook. I like this track because it pairs Ope, Pep & Del on the track my three fav's as well as Tajai who comes correct too. Although they all drop dope verses Opio drops the best one ripping the track wide open including my favourite ish part on the album with his opening lines:

"/they say I'm like Bruce Willis unbreakable, diehard/
true sickness with this mic on the tripod, but I'm not/
chow yung fat, still a pillar of stone/
flows enter your skull, mash on your whole militia/"

Although I love hearing Del and his lyrics are still pretty strong his flow is lazy (think Tha Doggfather era Snoop) which is sad from one of the best rappers ever.

Classic (Pep Love, Tajai & Del) ~ Now things really get interesting, with a koolass beat by Domino based around a classical violin and flute loop with some distant horns as well. This is the first beat on the album that really jumps right out to make this track the first real glimpses into Hiero's greatness. Pep Love really holds this album together and he's the opening MC on the track, he makes one of the best showings on the album here as well as his best in my opinion, Next comes Del on the hook which is somewhat of a repeated verse rather than a hook because it's so long. Del sounds surprisingly energized, which is welcomed making the song stick out as well, and Tajai drops one of his best verses on the album as well getting me geared up for his solo album. This joint really shows what the crew can do when they rally around superb production.

Chicago (Souls Of Mischief) ~ Great Souls song. High energy beat based around a fluid string arrangement courtesy of A-Plus. It's a short track clocking under three minutes, all MC's come good with Ope & A-Plus doing it the best for me around the concept of a show in Chicago, it's basically a life on the road song.

Halo (Opio, Phesto, A-Plus, Tajai, Casual & Phesto) ~ My favourite track on the album. A nice beat primarily based around a flutelike groove that gives it an island feel then some stings and electric guitar to flesh it out brought to you by Opio. All the rapper on this joint step up with some really thoughtful yet raw lyrics that are battle but cover some wide range. Once again Del rises to the occasion dropping a especially bombass verse although short, gets me thinking that on his first track he might just been sleepy or too high.

Maggie May (A-Plus, Opio, Del & Phesto) ~ This is a good kid took a wrong turn type message track. It's produced by A-Plus and has a nice laidback vibe, with clopish percussion and distant trumpet that give it a spooky vibe. I think the girl in the story is a metaphors for Hip-Hop but I'm not 100% sure, either way all the MC's drop thoughtful & heartfelt lyrics about this girl in view points from different times in her life..

This album is a great addition to the Hiero legend and will be a great addition to anyone's hip hop collection. It wasn't with out it's problem's Jingle Jangle was horribly whack on beat & hook but the rest of the album is all fantastic even though it could have used more Del and maybe a nice production from Tha Funkee Homosapien. Also Jay Biz was absent from this release for some reason that I do not know his production & cuts would have been a welcomed addition. If This album had a couple of more cuts like Classic & Halo this would have been worthy of a five star rating but just dopeness doesn't gain this essential classic status. 4 stars worth every penny check it out!

Ive been a fan of the whole Hiero camp since back in the day and was dying for them to record a full length album together for ages. So when "3rd eye vision" arrived a couple of years ago i was amped from the jump. It just like this new album "full circle" had it all....tight flows from ALL members of the crew, (with OPIO, PEP LOVE and DEL being the best for me), great messages in the tracks and solid all-round production from start to finish. (so rare these days). "Full circle" rarely disapoints the listener. There's a total of 15 tracks on here and most are brilliant to perfect. The album starts off strong as hell with "fantasy island", "powers that be", "make your move", "shift shape", "classic" and "chicago". Then unfortunately it drops down a notch with "heatish", "halo" and "100,00 indi" but with "love flowin'" in the middle of those tracks, its bareble. Then it picks up again with "let it roll" but quickly drops again for "maggie may", "jingle jangle" with the album finishing as it started...strong, solid, skilled, and funky with "full circle" and the amazing "7 sixes". All in all its a great buy for any HIERO fan or hiphop fan period. Overall a strong album laced with jazzy and funky beats with gifted and masterful flows from ALL the m.c.'s involved. A few weak cuts but mostly brilliant. Another solid effort from the HIERO camp. GO cop this a.s.a.p. well worth the money.

Expectations were high. The Hiero crew pondered and pondered: how could we live up to the mass anticipation? Could Domino produce a beat that could live up to their masterwork's, "3d Eye Vision", power? Could A+ really prove that he is as good at lyrical flows as he was at school (kid got straight 4.0 GPAs)? Was Del still `The Mastermind' that could flummox with tracks like "At the Helm"? Pep Love's solo efforts were greeted with moderate success - is he really better when working with his crew?
Lots of questions, lots of contemplation..."The Full Circle" comes out. Fans rush to the stores, teeth clenched, sweaty palms - I myself stood in line, grasping the CD, after having seen the Hieros live in Boston the night before. And guess what? The album rocks.
First of all, "The Full Circle" does not contain any unnecessary interludes. It starts off with a two-minute introduction, that serves as a distinct premonition of the album's overall balancing act of subtlety and experimentation. Hieroglyphics have also ventured into new territories with astonishing success - the beats essentially sound more complex than in "3d Eyes Vision", which altogether depended on the lyrical content, yet they sustain the vital accessibility that make Hieroglyphics one of the most agreeably genial underground hip-hop acts, along the likes of Blackalicious and J5. Goapele makes feature appearances on songs "Make Your Move", and the hallucinatory "Full Circle", which, in a weird way, is reminiscent of Eminem's hit collaboration with Dido "Stan", and thus displays the inclusive sense of the album - slightly commercialized.
"Fantasy Island" is a wonderful blend of sweeping melody, restrained beats and lines that establish the unrelenting personalities of the crew: "sipping brew in a peer", "God knows my mottos, I follow universal laws", "I bring back game, when I'm on the mike I be tha king that reigns". The song demonstrates Hieroglyphics' strive to be real in a world of illusion, where everything is fake. A+ astonishes with a reggae-ish "Powers That Be" ("They say I'm like Bruce Willis, Unbreakable, Die Hard, true sickness - put this mike on the tripod") where the theme of illusion is apparent once again - Hiero's basically making fun of societal popularity endeavors. Del returns in full form on this track, spitting rhymes like "hate to diss you hoe, but you fictional". Other highlights include the prompt "Classic", mesmerizing with its simplicity and rousing tune, the trippy "100,000 Indi" with Abstract Rude making a guest appearance, and the touching "Maggie May" that demonstrates Hieros' capability to relate with serious subject matters like death without sounding cheezy.
"The Full Circle" in general belongs to A+ and Pep Love, who truly substantiate their prolific status. Their rhymes are complex, unusual, and what I like to call `punny' - they're not hilarious, but the puns are witty, sometimes even allegorical. There is bound to be future deliberation over a novel approach, come the time for Hieroglyphics to release their third addition to underground hip-hop. A+, Pep Love, Opio, Del, Phesto, Domino and Casual will gather around the table and ponder. I'll tell you this much, "Full Circle" will be REALLY hard to beat!

HIGHLIGHTS: "Fantasy Island", "Powers That Be", "Shift Shape", "Classic", "100,000 Indi".
LOWPOINTS: "Make Your Move", "Jingle Jangle"

i love this album! a friend of mine let me hear his copy, and as soon as i finished listening to it, i knew i had to have it. this is real chill, laid-back hip-hop. there are a few bangers in here, but overall, its refreshingly unabrasive. i absolutely love "make your move" with its beautiful and relaxing background vocals. only other cd that i could compare to this one as far as the "feel" of the music would be "talib kweli and hi-tek: reflection eternal" which is another brilliant classic for me. anyway, if you like thoughtful lyrics and funky/laid-back beats, cop this.

I just bought this cd ealier today after hearing the 5 sample cuts here on Amazon. MAN! You can't truly appreciate what it will sound like till you hear it in-person on a nice system. There is not 1 wack track on this album, not 1. I don't dig jingle-jangle much, but it still isn't bad. There are so many great cuts on this cd. I love the overall sound. As for not enough bangers, UM, ya right. This cd has tons of bass heavy songs with lots of original bass lines. This is 1 of the best cd's I have bought lately and 1 of the best I own overall. I put it up there with Shadows on The Sun, and ya know that joint is HOT. Enjoy this, this is real hip-hop!

I bought this album just because it's Hiero and I always want to see how they're doing now that they're fully established as "Indy" movers. The different approach they took here is plain sick and should be appreciated as a showcase of 7 of the best emcees out there. I remember reading Del sayin that they gotta come tighter than 3rd Eye from now on. 3rd Eye was dope, but this is what he meant. They seem to be feeding off each other as far as sick rhyme flows.

I have listened to it for about 3 weeks now and highly recommend it. I agree with another review i read, and hate to hate on Goapele, but I'm just not feelin her hooks. Fortunately, I still don't skip those tracks because I might miss some sick ass rhyme. But I can only guess that the girls love Goapele, so it's all good.

Other than that, my only complaint is more like a request that they all drop another ridiculous lesson in breath control (like 7 Sixes) but finish off that crazy ill Prelude that Pep starts goin off on. In spite of people mentioning Del being too low-key for their liking, he shows up just enough to remind us that he can do whatever the hell he wants with the mic and it'll be simply complex, and better than most. Casual kills a couple tracks like he tends to do. Souls' storytelling skills are as vivid as ever on Chicago.

It'll grow on you. It's very different from other Hiero releases. Rap cats (f*cking parrots) should study it.

If I could give this CD anything above 5 stars I would. This CD is that good. I have been A true Hieroglyphics fan since 98 and they just keep getting better. I had the honor of seeing a show of theirs at the Roseland Theatre in Portland and let me tell you, they put on the best live show I have ever seen. The best track on this CD is "Classic" but dont get me wrong there are plenty of other tracks that are right up there with it. For example: "Halo, Fantasy Island, Chicago, Powers That Be, Shift Shape." If your still listening to that played out 50 Cent album, do yuorself and the rest of your block a favor, give this CD a play and trust me, once you do your going to make at least 3 copies. One for your car, one for your room, and one for you home system.

hieroglyphics circa '03 is as strong & diverse as ever. did you dig '3rd eye vision' as one of the best group efforts of the late '90's? they take off on 'full circle' from where they were 5 years ago. screw mtv. screw clear channel. screw what the masses are listening to. if you're looking up hiero on a site like this, hopefully you're down with real hip-hop. well, here it is...

Hip hop has always been one of my favorite types of music, but as many people think and have expressed, a lot of modern hip hop has lost the soul it used to have. Sure, most of it may be fine for clubbing, but what happened to content AND skill, it seems like its become an either/or situation. Either you've got integrity, or you've got skill, choose. And then along comes Hieroglyphics, proving that skill and integrity can work together.
Full Circle is the perfect example of what hip hop can really be. This album is like a sampler tray of the Hiero crew. Everyone on the CD is incredible, as well as most of the songs, but there were a few specific songs that stood out to me.
The song that first caught my attention was track 2, Fantasy Island. That's the purpose of the song, to catch your attention. The melody and beat are the first things you notice, a creative, addictive sound loop with a head nodding beat. Then the lyrics. The flow on this song is near perfect. Everyone keeps perfect time with their usual genius wordplay. OK, now that your hooked, get ready for the REAL talent of Hiero, uncontained hip hop genius. The next outstanding song is track 4, Make Your Move. The song puts you in a sort of enchanted/sombre space. Del definitely stands out on this song with a strong flow and message of perserverance.
Track 6, Classic. What more is there to say? The title is self explanatory. This is without a doubt the best rap song I've ever heard, ever. Both Pep Love and Tajai give their best appearances on the album over a classical melody sound loop. The production on this song was genius, and the lyrics nothing short of stunning.
Tajai: "We put in the work, to make your body jerk, we won't shirk the duty, of makin you shake your gluteus maximus, yeah that's wussup, the music is movin, you need to be catchin up."
Every song from here on is outstanding, I really can't criticize any of them, but Track 10 and Track 13 are the best of the rest. Love Flowin' (track 10) is another example of Hieroglyphics' unrivaled lyrical talent. They show their full lyrical potential here, all of them.
Maggie May is the last GREAT song on the album, but it is a GREAT song. This song focuses on the life of a girl-gone-wrong named Maggie May. Some people say that like Common's old school joint "I Used To Love Her", Maggie May is a metaphor for hip hop. I really don't know, it's possible, but either way, the song's melody is penetrating, the perfect background for the most effecting song on the album. The powerful lyrics seem to bore into your head and stay there, especially the ending, which is simply haunting. You have to give Hieroglyphics their props for this one. It really shows their integrity, which is why I admire them so much.
Whether you're a hip hop fan or not, this CD is more than worth your time. There's a little here for everyone. The CD offers plenty of head nodding songs and dance joints, while communicating a messages that should be put out there more often. I'm not a bleeding heart, but that doesn't mean that I think all hip hop should focus on drugs, sex and murder. Yeah, that's a part of life, a big part of a lot of people's life, but it's not something you should brag about. These things ruin people's lives, but no one focuses on that side of the story, all today's hip hop artist's talk about are how many people they've killed, how many blunts they've smoked and how many women they've slept with. That's fine in moderate measure, but the fact that it's become such a big part of hip hop these days is sad. Hieroglyphics embodies the real soul of hip hop. They prove that they're hard but they don't flaunt it, and whether you care about message or not, there's enough raw lyrical and musical talent here to equal any other hip hop artist on the market.