If you're even semi-familiar with New York underground hip-hop, you'll immediately recognize a few of the beats eXquire uses here. He recycles a number of old El-P beats, notably "Vein" and "Pigeon" off of The Cold Vein on "Chicken Spot Rock" and "Build-a-Bitch," respectively. Esoteric, Jake One, and Necro beats also make appearances. Some of the mixing, specifically early in the album, sounds pretty muddy. I can't tell if it's intentional, or not. It would fit the whole mystique that eXquire seems to be aiming for, but the production values are noticeably better on tracks towards the end. I can't really give eXquire too much credit for the beats, though. It was a very good selection, but most of them were almost directly ripped from other tracks.
Using classic, recognizable beats can be a double-edged sword. Yeah, you get to ensure that your tape is going to have great beats, but you're also going to inevitably draw comparisons to the original track, as Fashawn learned when he released Ode to Illmatic a few years back. eXquire manages to separate himself from the original tracks by dramatically shifting the tone and subject matter. For example, as I mentioned above, "Chicken Spot Rock" uses a beat originally from Cannibal Ox's "Vein." "Vein," is a track about how stereotypical portrayals of blacks can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and how people need to embrace what makes them unique and transcend those stereotypes before they are destroyed by them. eXquire transformed it into an ode to fried chicken and liquor (I'm going to go ahead and assume/hope the irony there is intentional). The result is that you have two tracks with the same beat, but the intent is so different that it's impossible to really compare them against one another.
Seeing a guy throw a nod to the underground scene with his beats is refreshing, and was a definite treat for an El-P fan, such as myself, but what really makes Lost in Translation is eXquire, himself. I can't tell how much of eXquire is real, and how much is just stage persona, but I really don't care. Even if it's all an act, it's believable. He doesn't have any delusions of being a thug, he's just a struggling guy from the hood with an affinity for chicken, malt liquor, and good head. The general unimpressiveness of his life makes it seem that much more real. If it wasn't so funny, it might even be depressing. What does he have to gain by writing a track about urinating in public? It doesn't make him seem any more hardcore, it certainly doesn't make his life seem glamorous. It's the same type of uncomfortable honesty that propelled Danny Brown to fame.
Most of the tracks that will end up being remembered from Lost in Translation will be the ones with eXquire flaunting his over the top hood ruggedness. Spread throughout, though are tracks with a very different tone; a softer, more introspective tone. Tracks like "I Should Be Sleeping," "Weight of Water," and "Nuthin Even Matters (Regrets)" show a level of desperation and guilt not even hinted at in the other tracks. I feel like "Build-a-Bitch" was supposed to have a similarly serious tone. The track ultimately falls flat, though. He is clearly uncomfortable on it, and it ends up being one of the funnier tracks on a tape fully of chuckle-worthy tracks, as a result.
As a whole, the first half of the tape far outclasses the second half. Much of the energy found at the beginning of the album disappears after "Lou Ferigno's Mad." Both of the skits are barely smirk-worthy the first time you hear them, and become something you'll find yourself skipping on subsequent listens. "Lovesponge" represents the low point, though. It's a track that was supposed to be jokingly misogynistic, but ends up just being uncomfortable. "Galactus Redux" provides a much needed injection of energy, but has eXquire adopting a harder tone, which is unbecoming for him.
The final track, however, makes waiting through the previous six well worth it. Like many of you reading this, it's the track that first brought Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire to my attention. "The Last Huzzah!" is an inarguably great track. eXquire's affinity for El-P beats paid off for him in spectacular fashion. He score an El-P feature, and with El-P comes fellow underground notables, Das Racist, Danny Brown, and Despot. El-P drops what might be the best verse of 2011 and Danny Brown sounds as good as he ever has. While eXquire's verse doesn't necessarily stand out among the crowd, he didn't exactly feel like he didn't fit among such company. I can only hope that more collaborations between this group will come in the future.
Ultimately, the highs of Lost in Translation, far overshadow the lows. It's a tape that could have done with having a few tracks left of the floor, but you can't really fault a guy for experimenting a bit on a free mixtape. Were this a studio album, I might be a little less inclined to give tracks like "Lovesponge" a pass, but for free? I'm glad to see a guy with a burgeoning career step out of his comfort zone a bit. It gives me faith that he's going to keep expanding his repertoire and not get stale like so many rappers do after their first handful of releases.
Best Tracks: "Huzzah!", "Chicken Spot Rock", "I Should Be Sleepin", "Nuthin Really Matters (Regrets)", "The Last Huzzah"
Overall: 82/100
great review sir, i give you daps on your unbiased view and fair appraisal, bout to cop the tape right now thanks to your eloquent write up.
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