El-P is at his best on Cancer for Cure
If you have any respect for groundbreaking hip-hop, do yourself a favor and grap a copy of El-P’s Cancer for Cure as soon as it drops May 22.
The legendary underground hip-hop producer/MC’s first full-length album since 2007 is by far one of the sickest albums to drop in a long time. El-P’s dark and eclectic synth-heavy beats are denser than ever, his dizzying rhymes are the best they’ve ever been and not one moment on this album feels stale.
Four minutes into Cancer for Cure‘s viscous leadoff track, “Request Denied,” I experienced an out-loud “Holy Shit” moment that stuck with me throughout the course of the album. Tracks like “The Full Retard” and “Drones Over BKLYN” feature some of the darkest and heaviest production that’s ever fucked my ears, and without focusing in on the NYC-based artist’s lyrics, it’s still easy to tell he’s got a few things to get off his chest. This 20-year veteran’s edge is sharper enough to make you bleed-out, and it’s getting more dangerous as he goes.
Guest features are limited on Cancer for Cure, but I’ve always felt El-P shines brightest when he keeps his paranoid thoughts to himself rather than share the spotlight.
I’d babble on, but Tim Baker of Shut Your Fucking Face and Listen has said it better than any Cancer for Cure review will:
El-P has really fucking outdone himself this time. I don’t think I am telling tales out of school when I say that El-P albums traditionally aren’t the easiest listens. Packed with dense samples, jarring emotional highs and lows, and raps that are as equally damaging as they are glorious; it is the kind of shit that you need to strip down to your boxers and throw on a terry cloth robe to listen. He is a heavy muthafucker and he makes heavy music.
I highly recommend reading his full review.
Get ready Cleveland: El-P is finally hitting the road again and you can catch him live at the Grog Shop Aug. 7.
Killer Mike joins the tour in support of his upcoming album, R.A.P. Music, also produced 100-percent by El-P, which drops May 15.
