Since it's World AIDS day, id like to dedicate this review to those stricken with the HIV virus. We're all praying for you.



A few times in hip-hop history, an album will come out that will rock the world with little or no hype. A lot of times, the best records put out (more in the underground than in the mainstream), actually turn out to be superb, near-classic LPs. When something like this happens to an artist, i truly believe that they are blessed. Even though the sales won't skyrocket as they would for a Jay-Z, 50 Cent, or Nelly... their albums will soon become priceless antiques to hip-hop heads via word-of-mouth. The Last Emperor was one of the lucky ones. However, dont think that it was given to him, because its obvious he worked his a** off for it, as you can tell by listening to his new album Music, Magic, Myth, packed with a dope Bonus Disc. Being one of the original members of the now-famous and rich Aftermath Entertainment, CEO Dr. Dre placed incredibly talented Last Emperor on the back-burner to make-way for a certain also-talented and relatively fresh new face in rap, known as Eminem. After dumping the 'Math wisely, he signed a deal with Raptivism Records (thanks MadTheory) and dropped this album. Backed by some incredibly talented producers such as Ayatolla and Prince Paul, im hoping this wont be his "Last" album.



Track List & Rating (Main Disk)

1. Intro (NOT RATED)
2. Who’s That? (5 Stars)
3. Some Love, Some Hate (5 Stars)
4. Tiger Trail (5 Stars)
5. Prisoner (5 Stars)
6. Karma (5 Stars)
7. One Life f/ Poetic & Esthero (5 Stars (50 if i could))
8. Meditation (4 Stars)
9. Animalistics (4 Stars)
10. The Underground (4 Stars)
11. The Block Party f/ Cocoa Brovas (4 1/2 Stars)
12. Do You Care? (5 Stars)
13. Shine (5 Stars)
14. The Incredible Man (4 Stars)
15. Let’s Ride (4 Stars)
16. Hold On (5 Stars)
17. Single Mother (5 Stars)
18. The Great Pretender (5 Stars)



Music, Magic, Myth is a surprising treat of an album. From the onset we're given a very dope showcase of Last Emperor's skills. I happen to be one of the lucky few who has indeed listened to some of Last Emperor's older tracks, such as his collaboration with legendary hip-hop teacher KRS-One. For those of you who have never heard Last Emperor rap, i assure you that you are in for a treat. Right from the start with "Who's That", you can easily tell that Last Emperor is not here to bullsh*t around and that he wants to make a name for himself. Immediately, the pulsating strings in the beat pound on the headphones like a heartbeat. The strings and violins come together to give the song a classical, sort of powerful feel. The inventive production is enough to make this song an incredible listen, but its Last Emperor that makes it a classic. Basically, this is only a jump-off track, but don't make the mistake of seeing it in that way. Last Emperor goes all out with witty similes like: "So Underground, i feel like i'm Subhuman" and a handful of others (but none stick out as much as that one). Last Emperor is indeed a dope battle rapper, but of course, there is more to this man than just venom...

"Some Love, Some Hate" finds Last Emperor ducking into the territory of street poetry.

The overall sound of the song isn't exactly something that would be fitting for street poetry, but Last Emperor adjusts the soundscapes with his own lyrics, which is something only the best rappers can do. The deepness of the subject matter finds Last Emperor going back to his past, retrospecting on his teachings as a kid and how he learned to rap and eventually became the man he is today. Besides the retrospective nature of the song, the witty, confident lines like "My rightful place is heir to the Throne" is stuff that would even alarm Jay-Z.

Last Emperor returns to braggadiocio as he pens his third classic. "Tiger Trail" can instantly make you nod your head thanks to its production and hook. The piano loop and violins offer a soothing, atmospheric backdrop, reminiscent of the production-work of beat-makers like 9th Wonder and Stoupe. Lyrically, Last Emperor excells with battle rhymes galore, but of course, there is more to this song than just bragging about skills. Throughout the song, Last Emperor uses a variety of raw metaphors comparing himself to tigers and other fierce jungle animals, inserting them into the braggadiocio and battle rhymes. These are the types of special moments that make this song a classic, and the creativity level reaches a new-high.

Opening with a loud soul sample, "Prisoner" soon invades the speakers. With its raunchy, sort of dark piano-loops and thumping bass, this song's beat is a classic in its own right. Listening to this song gives me a humongous nostalgic feeling, as I feel that the song sounds a lot like older work from groups such as A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. The jazzy, sort of minimalistic and bouncy production is in there, as well as the on-beat, rigorous delivery and lyrical creativity. Last Emperor really shines on this one as his street poetic skills are pushed through the track. Last Emperor uses intelligent street poetic lines and some social commentary to speak about the mental and physical prisons that he feels, speaking for his people. The perfect mix of commentary and awareness reminds us of a faster Cormega. The metaphors on the song are definitely rewindable and worthy of several listens to interpret.

Last Emperor's state of mind for street poetry doesn't change on "Karma". The production work by Ayatolla is superb, but the message by Last Emperor is definitely as clear as ever. The only slight twist on this song is that he refers to himself in the third person (as well as others, obviously), and uses a lot more retrospection and vivid lyrics, as well as graphic storytelling reminiscent that artists like Killah Priest put down on wax. Going back to the past, the street poetry and creativity is at its magnitude as Emperor narrates various ghetto tales, each one more and more pleasing to the listener.

Last Emperor's guest appearances are equally as good as his own skills on Music, Magic, Myth. The most poetically tear-jerking song on the whole album comes in the form of "One Life". This song is without-a-doubt, an untouchable classic in hip-hop history and reason enough to purchase this album. The moving production is among the LP's best, with a mixture of sombre piano keys, soft string plucks, and melancholy violins give the song a melodic feel which even fans of non-hip-hop music like Evanescence would enjoy. The true darkness of the production is a true pleasure, but its the lyrics and subject matter that completely takes the cake for this one and makes it a classic. Poetic from Gravediggaz drops what is said to be his final verse recorded before succumbing to cancer. The true tear-jerking part of this is that Poetic's lyrics on the song revolve around his discovery of cancer and his diagnosis. Its sort of incredible that one of rap music's most underrated stars bows out in this form, and it couldn't be better. The song is heartbreaking, and listening to Poetic's true fears and bravery honestly forces the "repeat" button on.

However, besides just that, Last Emperor keeps on the subject matter, bringing up the age old question about what happens after we die. He drops a superb, thought-provoking verse, giving us something to think about, while at the same time adding hope: "Is it like purgatory, the story described by the catholics? or diviner than Buddists saw in both theory and practice? like i studied in College, philosophy classes, or do my molecules and atoms travel back to the gases? i mean, what id like to know is where's my spirit goes? after the curtains close on my final show? is there a pain it brings? enjoy my favorite things? visit ancient kings, hear the angels sing?" Canadian Vocalist Esthero adds an R&B twist as well as complete new levels and textures in the music. This simply the stuff dreams are made of and this song is perfection... at ITS finest.

Music, Magic, Myth continue on a great pace with absolutely no bad songs and quite a few highlights. The two battle rap tracks "Meditation" and "Animalistics" are both genuinely creative, dope tracks. The only bad part about these are the unfitting production pieces, which i typically ignore, but couldn't here. The second of the two comes VERY close to hitting near-classic due to its creative battle raps, but doesn't quite cross the finish line. Later, The second guest appearance comes on when Cocoa Brovas team with Last Emperor on the up-tempo party joint "The Block Party". This is definitely not commercial, but a more-than-decent light-hearted joint to balance the album out.

The Last Emperor enters the love territory on "Do You Care?". This song is VERY reminiscent of the classic "Lots of Lovin" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth, with its old-school production and well-written, charismatic lyrics. The song is typically rapping, while Last Emperor stretches his pipes a bit and uses his singing voice, and is quite good at it (no Ja Rule here). The subject matter revolves around Last Emperor's infactuation with a female who he finds beautiful and gives her a view of the future with him. The song has some nice retrospective lines, as the man beefs up his charisma with seductive lyrics which apparently commonly work on some girls. Coming off as a nice combination between LL Cool J and Carl Thomas, Last Emperor truly shows his range of talent on here. Backed by a minimalistic, jazzy beat featuring old-school drums and snares, this song shows that Last Emperor can indeed do it all, and is well on his way to crafting a classic in rap. The seductive lyrics continue on the more sensual song called "Shine". Last Emperor basically moves the relationship to a new level, showing his true character and ambitions for a true relationship. The vocals are perfectly on-point and his flow is among the best found on the album. The melodic tone of the beat with its pounding drums and whistles, makes this song a truly genuine showing of heart by Last Emperor. Honestly, i simply cannot stress how much of a classic this album is.

As he has proven throughout Music, Magic, and Myth, Last Emperor is more than assured to delivery some thought-provoking, socially conscious music which hip-hop truly needs at this moment. Last Emperor is relentless when it comes to giving us compositions loaded with emotion, crafting yet another pure classic on "Single Mother". The unique background keyboard and minimalistic violin effects add a perfect melody and tempo for Last Emperor to rap over. Last Emperor comes off sounding like a young Common Sense, retaining his eye-opening poetic lines, thought-provoking messages, and just plain out dope lyrics. Emperor dedicates the song to all of the single mothers around the world, rounding out the song with a mix of personal experience and overall welcomeness.

Rounding out the album, Last Emperor closes everything up on "The Great Pretender". Opening with a movie sample which fits the song's subject matter, Last Emperor raps a weird band of playful braggadiocio filled with witty similes, funny metaphors, and intelligent wordplay. His flow is sort of uniquely changed to perfectly fit the beat, and he does a great job. Last Emperor refers to himself as the "Great Pretender" on the microphone, and raps about his skills at an incredible rapper and artist. This is the perfect way to close the album, as well as the obligatory pirate sample at the end.



Track List & Rating (Bonus Disc)

1. Secret Wars I (5 Stars)
2. Secret Wars II (4 1/2 Stars)
3. Here We Are (4 Stars)



On the Bonus Disc, Last Emperor adds a couple of extra songs which couldn't fit on the album. The coolest part has to be the "Secret Wars" track where he puts his favorite Marvel Comics heroes against his favorite emcees. He does some of his best rapper impressions here, and it is a fun track to listen to and one of the most creative concepts thought up in a long, long time. A few of the featured battles are KRS-One vs. Professor X, Dr. Strange vs. Gza the Genius, The Hulk vs. Redman (perfect Redman impression by the way), Ras Kass vs. Magneto, and so on and so forth (if you have no clue what i'm talking about, i suggest researching it before listening to the song if you care).


I simply cannot stress exactly how much i enjoyed this album from start to finish. Music, Magic, Myth is one of 2002's absolute best albums and an untouchable classic in every sense of the word... even by today's standards. Combining great production, well-written lyrics, and uniquely creative song concepts, I'm willing to bet that this is the second time that Dr. Dre is kicking himself in the rear-end for letting go of such a capable artist (Rakim was first, of course). This album is nothing less than superb and should be heard by all, and even owned by all. Music, Magic, Myth: a fitting title as it appears that Last Emperor gives us all three wrapped up into a small, low-priced package.


5 Stars





SIMILAR ALBUMS:

J-Live - All of the Above

Viktor Vaughn AKA MF Doom - Vaudeville Villain

Common - One Day It'll All Make Sense

Capital D and the Mole Men - Writer's Block (The Movie)






Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening