With his first full-length album, preHISTORIC Till Death, Azizi Gibson shows once again that he’s one of the most unique rappers in the game right now. The 18 track LP—his follow-up to 2014’s Backward Books—spans multiple levels of tempo, intensity, and subject matter right from the get-go.
Starting with the intro track, Azizi summons a nostalgic, back-in-the-day feel—and seemingly puts forth a powerful mantra before the beat even kicks in, as we hear: “A word can change everything.” Things keep flowing with “Slave Ship” and “The Grim Reaper”, and then we take a slight left turn with “Explosive” (which, despite its name, is one of the album’s more subdued tracks). The tempo picks back up with track 6, “Grim Guide”—which starts off with Gibson asking a Siri-esque beep: “How do I keep it gangster til I die?”—and keeps going through track 8, “Unstoppable”.
Gibson also summons his inner Dr. Octagon on the album with a number of skits peppered throughout. One such bit happens on track 9, “Marriage Skit”, as we listen in on some nuptials being presided over by a demonic presence (voiced by Christopher Sabat of Dragon Ball Z fame). Things pick right back up again with the 70s-inspired vibe of “Feels Like Sunday” and the haunting female vocals of “Party Man.” Speaking of females, Azizi slows things down with track 12, as he pays tribute to one of his favorite features of the female anatomy. Which one? Well, the song is called “Ass”, so we’ll let you figure that one out for yourself.
While the album is called preHISTORIC Till Death, it’s actually both incredibly modern and chock full of life, all the way up through its reflective final track, “Goodbye”. The LP drops on October 5, so be sure to reserve your copy on iTtunes.
