*Click here to go back to the beginning of the countdown*
*Click here to go back to #25*
*Click here to go back to #20*

Ces Cru, a duo made up of Godemis and Ubiquitous,  should be getting nominations for best new artist with this debut album.  This is just a really good example of doing hip-hop the right way; hard beats, hard rhymes, and a wide range of flows and feels (that’s some new internet slang I’ve been seeing these days).  There’s no consistent cookie-cutter formula used to craft these songs as the style and energy is constantly changing throughout the album.  Just in the first three songs we go from two long ass verses on “Lotus”, to an old-school vibe with three 16-bar verses separated by a scratched hook on “Juice” (loving the Eric B & Rakim sample), to Godemis and Ubiquitous constantly on some back-and-forth raps on “When Worlds Collide”.

Things continue to change as the album goes on, as we get a couple solo songs by each group member, and the subject matter gets deeper.  While the album starts off with some fun braggadocios rapping and party tracks, Ces Cru eventually gets into a self-reflecting and more serious vibe towards the second half of the album.  There’s not much being said here that we haven’t heard before, but the execution is great with the sharp rhymes and energetic production.  One track that stands out however is “Wall E”, where they rap about environmental issues with the large scale pollution and damage humans cause to the planet.  Overall this is a great hip-hop album that sounds complete on all fronts.  Godemis and Ubiquitous complement each other well on the mic and they delivered a little something for everyone with this album.

My Joint:

My Grade (based on how well I connected with it, no disrespect if your experience was different): A-

Come back to my blog tomorrow to see which album or mixtape came in at #13 on the countdown!