In May of this year, Edinburgh based MC Silvertongue released his eagerly anticipated debut album, “The Chronsoon Season”, under the record label, Paraletic Universe. With production from local heads such as Micky Blue, DJ Sonny, Damo, Nostal and Nasty P (known for working with hip hop legends such as Skinnyman, and Akil from Jurassic 5) and features from UK greats such as Mystro, this makes for one Scotland’s best hip hop releases, coming direct from the capital.
“The Chronsoon Season” begins with an introductory tune, produced by local DJ/beatmaker, Nasty P. As is the case with many great albums, it starts off slow, lacing your speakers with relaxed vibes, perfect for those days when you just don’t want to leave the house. Silvertongue paints the beat with a short sample of his trademark, “no lies”, style, which we can all relate to in some way. This is followed by steady, rhythmic scratching from DJ Sokol, giving us a taste of what’s in store. Following this is the title track, “The Chronsoon Season”, kicked off by further scratching from Sokol, working to bridge together the opening two tunes. The production from “Damo” works to create a “big band” sound, guaranteed to create a lively atmosphere wherever it’s played. Silver’s effortless flow and wordplay is prominent throughout both verses, separated by a hook from local musician Adam Holmes, fusing together both folk music and old school hip hop, working to create a chorus which stands in a league of its own.
The album thunders on with the self-explanatory entitled, “Toke & Pass”, featuring local MC, One Oz. Within the first five seconds of the track, Cypress Hill-esque vibes are present, before a beat, which wouldn’t look out of place on an early Pharcyde album. Both MC’s pay homage to Mary Jane with perfectly delivered punchlines, spaced out by a bullet like hook, likely to stay in your head for hours after listening. This is then followed by a similarly based concept tune, called “Peter Parker”. This three minute long metaphor conveys the lifestyle that many of our society live, through Silvertongue’s highly executed punchline rap, gliding across the solid production of DJ Sonny and Nostal. Mellow piano chords echo throughout the song, the likes of which could easily be seen playing in a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan. Silver’s confidence in the booth is then highlighted in the interlude of the album, demonstrating a quick display of big hitting punchlines, combined with an untouchable flow. Nasty P’s production combines trumpet samples and a firm bassline, which instantly gets heads nodding, until the point where the song fades out to further, top tier scratching from Sokol.
The next track, “Mellow Fellow”, takes us back to the laid back, chilled out vibes seen at the start of the album. Yet again, Silver takes us through real life issues, laid out in a simple and direct format, making this an easy tune to follow, whilst still being able to appreciate the high grade of lyricism that is present. Micky Blue fuses together female vocal samples and mellow chords in order to create a beat which is all too easy to get lost in, aided by Silver’s catchy, two part hook. Induced by an atmospheric bassline, the next song, “Nightriders” features yet another banger from Micky Blue, with a verse from Glasgow rapper Kayce One. Silver’s style evokes further direct, solid bars, demonstrating sheer presence on the track, followed by Kayce’s fast flowing ocean of multi’s and intricate wordplay. Yet another heavily concept based tune, this works to create a straight up nocturnal vibe, depicting a vivid, night time scene.
Featuring well-known UK hip-hop head, Mystro, “Right Here” is an upbeat, celebratory styled track, which instantly portrays the essence of the boom bap. Mystro’s thumping tones work alongside Silver’s all and out confidence to create a head nodding, bottle poppin’ piece to begin to round off the album, aided by a catchy, party styled hook. The 9th and final track, “Outro” features more finely tuned production from DJ Sonny and Nostal, working lazy trumpet samples and a steady drumbeat to emulate easy going, old school summer vibes. Silver lays down watertight punchlines in a clear and unique tone, separated by the dialled scratching of DJ Sokol, easing us out of the album. These nine tracks finely fuse together to create a strong release, with songs that can be played over and over for many different occasions.
Review By Max Meres.
