This review is one that I have been very excited to do, as this album was one of my most anticipated for 2014. This is California MC Evidence and famed producer The Alchemist getting together for a collaboration album, titled Lord Steppington. The Alchemist has been killing it for the past few years, producing albums for rappers such as Action Bronson, Domo Genesis, Boldy James, Prodigy, and more. Evidence is the latest MC to receive the Alchemist treatment. How will this ver anticipated album end up sounding.
Starting with the rapping, Lord Steppington actually features Alchemist rapping on almost every song, unlike his other projects. Alchemist holds his own on his verses, though, as he has a unique voice and his flow is pretty solid. Some verses are a lot better than others, but overall, he was pretty good rapping on this album. The highlight, though, is Evidence. He is a sharp MC, and I absolutely love everything about his style. He has a lazy voice and delivery, but he goes at a lot of different speeds and his flow is always changing. On songs like More Wins and Legendary Mesh, Evidence carries the tracks with some sick verses and great lyrics. Besides the great duo of Evidence and Alchemist, the other highlight of this album would be the features. They really elevate the project and bring variety to it. On the song Byron G, Domo Genesis and Mad Skillz put in great verses to really make an epic song. On Mums in the Garage and See the Rich Man Play, which feature Action Bronson and Roc Marciano, respectively, the guest verses make already great songs even better. On the other hand, some of the features make songs that were a bit forgettable and make them good. This happens on No Hesitation featuring Styles P, and also on Draw Something featuring Oh No. Finally, the song Tomorrow is a relaxing posse cut with Rakaa and Blu spitting great verses on it. Overall, Evidence was fantastic, Alchemist was pretty good, and the features were just awesome.
With the beats on this album, Alchemist simply continued his winning streak. The beats on this album are fantastic. In my opinion, his production on this album was some of his best in years. It was a lot more ambitious, varied, and unique than on the projects he produced for Boldy James and Prodigy. He brings out ridiculous samples and puts together some crazy sounds. My favorite instrumental on this album was the song Dr. Kimble. This one was just an infectious, grimy, sick synth riff that just flowed all over the place, and it sounded nasty. Combined with the signature Alchemist drums, this one was an absolute banger. The song Step Masters was pretty similar, as this one featured more sharp drums and unique sounds that just had my head bopping. Mums in the Garage was another beat that really stood out. It wasn't as unique as others, but it still stood it out for its catchiness. The only shaky part of the production was the sampling. On some songs it really worked, like See the Rich Man Play and Tomorrow. On some songs, though, it was just a little too weird and came off sounding corny, this definitely happened on Banging Sounds featuring Fashawn and Buzzing Away. Evidence even produced one track here, Byron G. He really killed it, as the drums sounded sick mixed in with some soft guitar sounds. It was a sick instrumental, definitely one of my favorites. The production on this album was awesome, had a lot of variety, and didn't sound anything I've heard before.
LORD STEPPINGTON WRAP UP
+sharp verses from Evidence all over the album
+Alchemist was very solid as a rapper
+Evidence and Alchemist's chemistry is great
+Terrific features
+Ambitious production from Alchemist
-Some corny moments in the production
Best: Byron G, Dr. Kimble, Tomorrow
Worst: Buzzing Away
Evidence & Alchemist- Lord Steppington
8.4/10
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