The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

    Hip-hop music without the derogatory slang

    E Reece is an MC backed-up by Core Elements, a band with seven members who have various positions ranging from musician to hype man.

    With the knowledge that E Reece and Core Elements’ album, “L.I.S. n 2 this Live in Studio” is hip-hop, some listeners may become apprehensive about it. Listeners can count on being in for an interesting music revelation of a ride, so have no fear and take a seat.

    The production and arrangement of this album is exceptional, including the performances of each artist in the group. Listeners will be impressed from track 1 to 14, but like in life, they will also go through highs and lows while flipping through these tracks.

    The album opens with a masculine voice saying, “The music is all around us, all you have to do is listen.” Along with the sounds of the live band, E Reece repeats, “Listen to this, just listen to this.” From this phrase alone, listeners’ ears will be engulfed with the sounds of E Reece and Core Elements.

    Akin to the intro, everyone will vibe toward the song, “In Love.” It’s a song that professes the love of a boy for a girl by telling the story of how he approaches her.

    E Reece’s lyrics can come off elementary at times; nonetheless, listeners can feel relieved that he’s not speaking about cars, “the streets,” or using derogatory language toward women.

    He actually has something to say, which is more than what we can say for some of today’s rappers. In fact, at the end of the second track Reece is asked why he doesn’t rap about the typical things rap is known for.

    He simply replied, ” It’s not me.”

    The low of the album starts presenting itself with the song, “Well, Well, Well.” Listeners will be turned off with its repetitiveness. “Life Changes,” also suffers from the same repetition problem; however, it’s tolerable because of its catchy melody.

    “In Love” and “Mic Check” appear twice in the album. Once in a digitally produced form and again in a live form.

    Some listeners may take E Reece and Core Elements’ union of jazz and hip-hop and compare it with The Roots, a famous rapper and band group. Even with the similarities, E Reece and Core Elements still maintain their own identity,

    This album will appeal to young music lovers that can appreciate reminiscent beats from the 90s with a lively flavor. E Reece and Core Elements is a great example of artists that are only going to get better with growth.

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