Prez - The End Of Privacy (reverbnation.com/ThePrezadent)
Prez is a local MC who has just hit the scene, but he caught my attention in a big way with the video for his first single, "Free Me." Featuring Naomi Rose singing a melodic hook and Prez dropping solid rhymes on the verses, with a heart-tugging string/piano sample riding a nice boom-bap beat, this song had everything necessary to win me over. The rhyming gives it a tough heart, but the combination of classical, jazz, and R&B sounds to create a multilayered melody adds an entirely new layer that is only accented by Naomi Rose's excellent vocal on the chorus. Since first hearing "Free Me" two months ago, I've been playing the video on youtube regularly. And with "Free Me" opening up Prez's debut mixtape, The End Of Privacy, it certainly starts on a high note as well.
The End Of Privacy, which is a phrase that has cropped up as the title to quite a few magazine articles about the internet over the last few years, has a loose theme running throughout. Though Prez works the mixtape's title into the lyrics a few times, the concept seemingly doesn't have all that much to do with the internet or any other encroaching futuristic technology--at least, not that I can tell. Instead, the purpose of this album is to introduce the listener to Prez, letting them in on the experiences that have shaped him as an MC and a man. "Free Me" gives a brief synopsis of his life from birth to right now, making clear that Prez's entire life thus far has been a search for a higher purpose, a true direction which he seems to have found in hip hop. From there, he proceeds through the double-shot "Where I'm Coming From" and "What I'm Looking For," both of which have a much darker sound than "Free Me." The floating, ominous synth samples running through "What I'm Looking For" create a mood with their minor-key hum. "All Black Chuckz" follows this song with a nice early-90s New York-sounding beat, which seems like the perfect background for a dark crime story of the sort that Mobb Deep and Gang Starr used to drop 15 years ago. There are definitely some tough-sounding lyrics on this track, too.
"I'm Hip" trades the 90s East Coast sound of the previous song for a beat that would have been right at home on Dr. Dre's The Chronic. However, the vocals on this song present a recurring problem that pops up at several points on this album. Prez can certainly rap in a straightforward, tough style, as he does on "Free Me" and "All Black Chuckz," among other songs, but his vocal sound on "I'm Hip" are more of a rap/sing hybrid, and the problem is that he regularly drifts on and off key. It's the kind of thing that would never be audible in a live environment, but on record stands out quite clearly. And it's unfortunate, because on an otherwise-quite-good track, the wavery vocal lines make it tough for you to lose yourself in the music, so to speak. It's not a problem on all or even most of the songs here--in fact, on "All This Smoking," which follows "I'm Hip," the slightly melodic rapping parts that show up work without a hitch. Despite the sexist attitudes on display in the lyrics (which, to his credit, Prez seems to be looking back on with regret), "All This Smoking" is one of my favorite tracks on this album. But then on "Am I Crazy?" the chorus reproduces the same problem that showed up on "I'm Hip"--off-key melodic vocals. I guess the part that makes me saddest about these sections on The End Of Privacy is that, on the vast majority of the album, Prez proves that he can make great hip hop tracks without even fooling with melodic vocals--or, if he is going to use a melodic vocal, knows plenty of people who can sing them quite well (Naomi Rose being the most obvious example). Rather than try to push himself to do something he's not that great at, I'd like to see him focus more on his strengths.
Having said all of that, The End Of Privacy is a great listen for the most part, and even the occasional off-key vocal is not enough to hurt the flow of this album. Its relatively brief length (11 songs in around 35 minutes) and solid tracklist that's not cluttered up at all by pointless skits or drawn-out endings is a definite strength, and every song on The End Of Privacy offers its fair share of great lyrics and dope beats. It's a shame that not every song here is as excellent as "Free Me," but "All Black Chuckz,""All This Smoking,""Who Do You See" and a couple of others here hold up to the standard set by the opening track. The End Of Privacy isn't perfect, but as a debut mixtape by a relatively new MC, it's quite the introduction to the local hip hop scene--and plenty of MCs will go their whole career without having even one song as good as the half-dozen best tracks here. Download The End Of Privacy, and keep an eye on Prez--if he's this good now, I can't imagine how good he'll be in a year.
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Prez performs this Friday, November 9, at Strange Matter (929 W. Grace St), along with way too many other artists to list, as part of Face Melt Friday XII, presented by The New Juice Crew and OMG (Onassis Music Group). Doors open at 7 PM, show starts at 8. For more information, click here.