Artist Styles 1001 will put out a jazz hip-hop heavy album drop on the 17th of November, from his location in Sacramento, US, called ‘The M9 project’. The album is made up of 11 songs. Featuring a few other artists for rap and vocal segments, the main collaborator with producer styles is emcee/poet Rasar Amani. Their first album released together was way back in 2009 called ‘The solution.’ In 2013, Rasar approached Styles with the idea of making them a duo called M9.
This album is a combination of sweet and tragic and the balance between them is insanely good. So the ideas presented in the lyrics are stories and reflections of what seems to ve tragic stories of life’s experiences, struggles, and pain, with raw emotional baggage being thrown on very magical and chill soundscapes. The overall sound of the album is like a fantasy suspended in a cloud above, with the world slowly burning beneath you from disaster. It’s like you’re feeling so good about the horrible things in life because why not? Most of the tracks’ soundscapes are chill jazzy dream sounds, which are slow and satisfactory for a productive or slow day. They are also featuring a nostalgic old-school rap approach.
One of a kind, this album is so generous with the musical arrangement in creativity put in the vibe as a whole. The album is extremely melodic, with fine, rich tones of jazz influence. The jazz drum sets set the medium pace, and there are a lot of, cymbals, light piano, saxophone, and trumpet sound effects that create optimistic and gentle melodies. There is heavy use of harp and wind chime sounds in almost all the songs that give them a dreamy and magical lo-fi sound. Some of the notable sounds that are really fun and stand out in this album are distorted sound effects like a telephone line left hanging at the beginning of any song, glass clinking, and money cashier sounds. What also catches your attention easily is the many conversation snippets, or somebody talking to you, that start some of the songs, before the sudden change to the start of the songs. Also, a lot of female backing voices are used to either sing or hum the tunes, which adds more texture to the songs. The rapping vocals are so strong and the bar spitting games are intense and direct.
The album is a collection of unrelated events and feelings, but it’s definitely a smooth sailing experience listening to all the amazing output of these artists’ experiences. Sit back and enjoy some old-school rap paired with dreams and warm jazzy beats!