Termanology

The latest album from East Coast rapper Termanology finds him in solid—if unspectacular—form, continuing to re-vitalize some extremely familiar territory with rhymes that combine visceral imagery with head-scratching cleverness. AKs and Uzis, dirty undercover cops, "mad rocks," and most of the disenfranchised major cities in the U.S. are referenced on the album. Many of the track titles themselves seem to be treading water, including "In the Streets," "Hood Shit," and "Respect My Walk." But "In the Streets" is a good example of how Termanology manages to gradually distinguish himself from hip hop's many chroniclers of urban decay, progressing from lazy rhymes like "In the streets you got crazy drama/Baby mamas, baby fathas" to the questionable but impressively streamlined analysis of "In the streets you got welfare, healthcare/That's never there/And that's the reason why we do drugs, shoot slugs, drew clubs/'Cause we're stressed."

Meanwhile, "Watch It Go Down" includes gems like "licking the side of their brains" and a reference to the way "they bagged Michael," after which he goes on a mad associative spree from Michael Jackson and Action Jackson, to Michael Jordan (who, exactly, "bagged" him is a good question, though). The production is nothing special, DJ Premier handling a lot of it, although "The Alchemist" contributes one manic arepeggiated stomp that manages to sound good and sound like it's in a Rocky movie at the same time, and Havoc comes up with a RZA-styled rhythm that's haunted, tough, and minimal all at once to close out the record on at its strongest note, musically. Termanology may want to work with those two more in the future, as well as trying to find some different kinds of stories to tell, but his basic creativity and skill are still beyond question.

—Nate Cunningham
10.07.08