Lexicon
“It’s The L!!”
(Spy Tech)
It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a hip-hop album as much as I enjoyed “It’s The L!!,” the first full-length from Cali MCs Nick Fury and Big Oak, better known as Lexicon. Does that make it the best album I’ve heard recently? Well, probably not, but “It’s the L!!” grows on you regardless. It’s a strong album from two rappers who are largely free from pretense and unabashedly admit their love for the art form–see “Charismatic Rapper,” a nostalgic look back at their formative days as hip-hop marks. They’re not afraid to poke fun at themselves, either. Take “Makin’ Music,” where Nick Fury bites Jay-Z’s “Money Ain’t a Thang” and rhymes, “In my ninety-nine Saturn/ Switchin’ four lanes/ Hollerin’ out the window /’Can I borrow some change?'” Nick Fury and Big Oak are not only partners in rhyme, but are also brothers, which helps to explain the outstanding chemistry that’s especially evident on back-and-forth tracks like “You Gotta Stop,” which finds Nick and Oak nagging each other about their respective bad habits. Other highlights include the smash “Nikehead,” Nick Fury’s shoe fetish confessional, and “The Official,” which features Ryu of SOB, and is a banger based around jerky vocal cadences. Lexicon’s unofficial third member DJ Cheapshot holds it down on the production end, providing beats for ten of the album’s thirteen tracks, and even rapping for extra credit on the hilarious track, “Last Night My DJ Stole My Girl.” Lexicon’s approach is often light-hearted, but their skills are real. All in all, “It’s The L!!” marks the emergence of a group with a bright future.
C-Train
