IMPROV "OMOTION" REVIEW

I'll admit, when I heard Improv (allegedly) beat Yonnas in a beat battle last year, I thought to myself "Bullshit, Fluke, etc..."

But when I heard his beat I said "Damn this motherfucker might be like a lost member of The Procussions or some shit"

Not sure I still feel that way after listening to Omotion, but I'll get into that later.

I'm gonna review this shit backwards. Since that is how I listened to it, from finish to start.

The End:

Honestly, this shit is pretty hard. For all its faults, the energy on this is aggressive as hell, and I like that. Not bad at all. The production is of top notch sound quality, Harmonicas and Banjos aren't really my thing in Hip Hop, but it works here.

Improv somehow manages to stay in the pocket the whole time, I could have sworn he was gonna trainwreck, but it never happened.

Yollo:

This beat sounds like something Fergie would get her hands on, so, no...

But then the Bass Line comes in. I can't really dismiss this song for two reasons, that bass line is nasty, and Improv has some nice heartfelt lyricism going for him on this one.

Overall, not my thing, but not bad. I can see a different listener base than myself going nuts over this song.

Old World:

This song could have been a lot better. I feel like it was overdone. A little too much going on with the productions, a little too loud and noisy. There is this annoying hiss on it. And it could have used some chord changes. Improv is in the pocket though, I like his double time flow, its nice.

Demons:

I was hoping this song would be a little more, demonic. The intro would have made a dope beat. Again, maybe a little too much sound layered in there, maybe could have been stripped down a little. Just the piano at the beginning is all you need. And some better drums.

When the song switches up half way through though, it gets a lot better (and a lot more demonic). Again, Improv comes extremely aggressive on this shit, his anger is what carries the song.

Really Real:

If you are gonna use that much Synth you gotta have some practice first, the beat would have probably been really dope without the Synth, but with the Synth it is just noisy hot garbage. Improv raps are good on this shit though, and I like the Texas influence on the Hook.

I Call Your Bluff:

The hook is way too noisy. The rest of the beat is really nice though, props. I just wish Improv had written some more inspired lyrics for this one. On most of his other songs, that's not a problem, but on this one I feel like the poetry kinda missed the mark.

Bboysnchicas:

How boring, MC's should leave the BBoy music to James Brown. Rapping about breaking is, played out, and annoying. I'd rather just watch Break EFX and DJ Vajra anyday.

Down Girl:

I like this beat a lot, and Improv definitely found the proper path for this one. He is in the pocket, with well written rhymes, and overall this whole song is great. Surprisingly, this might be my favorite song on the album, because I feel like others had more potential, but were overdone. This one was just right, very cohesive. And he said "Bitch"! Yes!

Angel:

My favorite beat on the album, hands down. This is the type of beat I wish Improv would stick too, more simple, less noisy, sweeeet. I can't say I'm feeling what he did with it though, way too lovey dovie sentimental for me. But hey, the young girls probably go stiff-tits over this shit. But the FEEL of this song is nice, its radio ready, its Hip Hop, it gets props. But I feel like a different rapper could have done something much better to this beat.

A Beautiful Thing:

Sick Bass Line, another great beat. This is my other favorite beat on this album. Probably my favorite "pure Hip Hop song" on the album. Down Girl is on some other shit, but this the straight Boom Bap. I dig it. I can't really stand Improv's "swagger", :-) , but you can't knock the dude either, he is balls out with it.

A Balanced Life: 123-123-123-123=FAIL

Can't Give It To You:

Its missing something. Its like, I don't know, I should like this song, but I don't. The Drums knock, the rest of the beat isn't bad at all, I just don't like it for some reason. It comes from a different galaxy than I do, I guess. But those Drums are nice.

Miss Hedonist:

Improv's radio hit, the one KTCL made slightly famous. I don't like it. Too cute. Stop singing dude. Unless of course you want a career on Rock and Roll radio, which you just might.

The Beginning:

Not a good way to start the album, the beat is the epitome of what I don't like about Improv's production.

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The songs that weren't my style, had too much Techno sounding production infused with Rap, or too much Rock and Roll in my Hip Hop Cereal. When I say "Techno" I mean that a lot of the beats sound like something Fergie would go over, on some Black Eyed Peas "Where is the Love" production.

Also the spoken word pieces I could do without.

But i felt compelled to weigh in on each and every song, which must be a good sign. There were hardly any "I can't even listen to this" moments, where I didn't want to write anything.

The Mix/Mastering was great, very professional, but unfortunately that can also push the flaws of some of the beats to the fore front. So iffy beats, they just become louder, which is not good. But still, most people in Colorado don't have sound quality like this, for what it's worth.

Overall, this is a classic album, definitely I can tell he put a lot of work into it. Not really something I would bump, but for the right audience, this is a reallly good album.


BONUS:



Improv "A Down Girl" (Produced by Improv)



Improv "A Beautiful Thing" (Produced by Improv)