E=MC, ummmmmm no this ain't a physics lesson and I ain't chattin' bout Albert Einstein, but I am chattin' bout a genius of a different genre. E=MC perhaps the illest and sickest rapper in the bhangra industry today has released his debut album entitled "Call It What You Want." The thing that distinguishes E=MC from other MC's is quite simply he ain't a MC! He is a rapper, you wont find him spitting lyrics like GI Jatt or Rhythm Ryder as they are garage MC's……nah he is in a league of his own. Another interesting thing is on the front cover of his album it states he is a musician and a producer and on the back cover it say's he produced and engineered all the tracks on the album…hmmmmmm well we all know the man can rap but can he produce as well??? Let's find out!
As standard with any Untouchable record we have the Intro! Normally they are kinda bull sh** and you will skip straight past them, but this one is very innovative. He has got loads of heavy singers biggin him up in Punjabi, sounds basic I know but it is done very well as each message from is nicely blended together. It's a nice intro to the album.
The first track " Mahi Veh Mahi" features Lembhar Hussainpuri/Manjeet Rupowalia and Angrej Ali, ain't heard of the last 2 but oh well! Anyways the track starts of with a proper heavy B Line and I'm thinking "yeah this is gonna be a sick up track" then E=MC starts rapping a heavy verse, and I'm loving it even more but……(Yeah there is always a but!) when the chorus starts I realise this is just an old track given a face lift…Hmmmmm where I have heard that idea before (?). The song ain't got a bad beat and E=MC's rapping is good but if your gonna flex your debut album you gotta drop your best track and this aint it! The production is ok, but again the beat ain't nothing fresh or new which is so important these days. A reasonable first track but perhaps this track should have been number 11 not number 1.
The one the only Manak E lays his talents on the next track "Gal Sun Ja." Whatever track Manak E sings on you know you gonna get quite simply a fantastic voice and it's no different on this track. This track has a cleaner beat and just feels better produced " Mahi Veh Mahi" , but again its one of those song's you can listen to and forget in 10 mins, nothing inspiring or grabbing. E=MC's rapping is of his usual high standard dropping some heavy lines like "Where's Manak E? Sipping On Some Yak!"
"Tere Mere" is the third track on the album and is damn good "B"! No messing about with intros within 15 seconds your into the track. Excellent beat, a nice fusion of old and new school, Gurtej Gill drops some sick lyrics as does the feature MC, MC JD. But this is one of E=MC's weaker tracks in terms of his rapping, he seems to drop back into that typical shit bhangra mc role…you guys know what I'm saying! But other than that this is a really good song which has grown on me bares, especially if your driving or chilling this is the joint to blaze!
Sabar Koti provides the lyrics for "Pareshaan" the fourth track. At the start Sabar does a little solo flex showing of his amazing vocals, but when the beat drops his voice just sounds odd against the beat……..I dunno, I ain't a big fan of slow ballad style bhangra tracks…..it just don't work as far as I'm concerned. E=MC rapping is reasonable, but to call this album a filler is a bit harsh cos the singer has an amazing voice. Hmmmm I'm undecided about this track to be honest! You guys decide! Hehe! Nah I better something or I can kiss this job goodbye (innit Irfan?!) A fairly standard bhangra track really, nothing special!
As we swiftly move on to track 6, a certain Mr J Kwon and a song Tipsy comes into mind! Yeah you got it, a sample! I mean it wouldn't be a bhangra album if we didn't have a sample! This track is called "club" and in fact uses the Tipsy beat quite poorly. I mean come on E=MC if your sample a track at least do it well bruv! In saying that the lyrics and rapping is quite decent and certainly lifts the track from being shit to reasonable!
When I read the title of this track I thought a comedy track and that's exactly what it is! "Freshie Mc" is funny man, it will have you stitches! Basically it's aimed at Metz and Trix and compares them to a hardcore Desi Mc! This will give you bare jokes the first couple of times you hear it. It gets a bit old after a while and I think they try a bit too hard to be funny but generally its fantastic!
Another Lembhar Hussainpuri track and one of the best tracks on the album! "Nachana Tereaya" is for all you Desi Heads out there (Kam, Jassi, Rando!). A sick track to dance to on whatever occasion, excellent beat, excellent lyrics but oddly no E=MC…..? Perhaps it was a good idea he didn't feature on this track as it would have lost that authenticity but if he produced I hold my hat off to him. Definitely the best track on the album so far, you guys will be hearing this a lot!
"Payal" is the next track on this album, sang by Herbie Sahara from Sahara. Oddly enough I saw the whole of Sahara in India at Eagle Star Café on the way to Agra! Plus they from Leeds like me so big up Sahara. Good punchy beat to this song, heavy rapping by E=MC and decent lyrics by Herbie, classic combo! Definitely gonna be a club banger, you ain't gotta be able to dance to enjoy this song either you can just bop along! Yeah the best track on the album, the standard Untouchables formula works once again!
My man Manak E is back on the scene with track 10 "Tera Naa Nee" and yeah this a good song! Can Mr Manak E do no wrong! Again an old skool vibe, and again E=MC smashes it on this track, superb rapping which compliments the track very well. But the star is Manak E no question there. This is the kinda song, which should be standard on Bhangra albums; we get too much bollocks for my liking! But yeah a really good solid song, which you won't get tired of!
"Jind Yaardhe" is a deep and touching tribute to E=MC's grandfather, the late Amar Singh Dhaliwal and the true legends of Bhangra music, Surjit Bindhrakia, Amar Singh Chamkila and Lal Chand Yamala Jatt. I think it's a really responsible of E=MC to do something like this as its so easy to forget the true people behind Bhangra and what they did to make it what it is today. In terms of the production side it's very simple, just a tabla beat, but the singer…heard of Surinder Shinda?? I don't think I need to say anymore. Big up E=MC.
"Da struggle" is a track in which E=MC spits how he has become what he is today. Its just him rapping, no Punjabi lyrics. Beat is good, lyrics are meaningful I guess! To be honest I really dunno what this is doing on a Bhangra album. It's a waste of a song, the album has enough on it as it is and I think this is just one too many, but its probably meaningful to the boy E=MC so…..I'll allow rinsing it too bad!
The Outro is the best Outro I have ever ever heard from a Bhangra album! This should have been a main track! E=MC does a freestyle on Terror Squads "Lean Back". Everyone knows that "Lean Back" is like the sickest track around at the mo, but the way this boy spits on it is incredible, this shows what a quality rapper this guy he is, pure quality. If this is freestyle like we are led to believe than it really took my breath away. If anything makes sure you listen to this outro then you will know what I'm chatting about.
There can be no doubt that this album has 4 good tracks (including the outro) and if we allow the tribute song, Freshie Mc and the Intro we are left with 6 quite average if not poor songs, that's just over half the album. Is that worth your 10 quid? No question the some tracks are good but they are few and far between. E=MC is an immensely talented rapper as I have pointed out on many an occasion but as far as producing goes….I ain't sure. Best to excel at one thing than be ordinary at many! It's surprising that RDB haven't contributed more to the album when you consider that E=MC has featured on some anthems on various Untouchables releases. Overall I'm going to give this album 6.2 out of 10. Call It What You Want? Well I'll call it average! |
