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Evil Ebenezer’s Halloween 2010 release “Evil Eye” opens up with in a away that would raise an eyebrow with an upbeat anthem-style track “Step To”. The album’s cover art is a decomposing Zombie Evil Ebenezer sporting a fresh Baltimore O’s fitted, which suggests a more rugged sound. This cd has many, many interesting and contradictory vibes, which Evil makes work. Every track seems to be completely different from the previous, or those of his previous releases. I am a huge fan of indie rappers, especially when they are this versatile and creative.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Evil Ebenezer is one of the most distinguishable voices in Canadian hip hop. It would be extremely difficult to confuse his voice with that of another rapper.

Back to track two, “Days of Our Lives” appeared on the bonus cd for Camobear Record’s 2007 DVD “Camobear Orange”. By the time I got the disc, I was already familiar with this track. I’m glad they included this cut, since the beat has that classic Evil Ebenezer sound, plus its the farthest thing from a throw-away track.

The third track on this album is “Ghostbusters”, whose video premiered just the other day and was directed by my personal favorite video director, Stuey Kubrick. This song really shocked me with the use of auto-tune. Presently, it would prove very difficult for any underground or independent artist to get away with the use of auto-tune, or so you would think. There is still room for auto-tune when it is not abused or taken advantage of. I would suggest checking this video out on Youtube to see what it sounds like when this feature is used effectively. Other emcees, take notes.

A track which leaked on his myspace a few weeks back, “Better You’ appears next on the record. This track is the unavoidable song that comes on any artists cds when they get a few releases deep. The coming of age track as I call it, this one sets an overall tone for the evolved artist, the thinking emcee. These songs are singer songwriter material infused with hip hop beats and promote the idea that the Evil Ebenezer is seasoned and wise, and by no means ready to be irrelevant.

“Green Goblin” just might be my favorite cut on the record. Clocking in at four minutes, twenty seconds, this is the smoker’s anthem. The beat is simply bad ass, and the ever swaggerific Evil murders every verse and hook on this joint. I look forward to catching this one in his next live set.

The first video from this album, also directed by Stuey Kubrick is “Take Me With You”. Evil has been singing his ass off all over this record. On the following track “Light the Night” contains some of the best flows on the album. “Scarecrow emanates the same sort of feeling I got from “Better You” right before they switch it up and Snak the Ripper appears for the first feature on the disc for the track “Top Guns”.

Anybody unaware of who Snak is, Snak is also on Camobear Records, hailing from Vancouver BC as well, and also a part of the SDK (Stompdown Killaz) which is one of Canada’s premier graffiti crews. Snak as usual, adds a gritty ruggedness to the tracks he appears on. He sounds like somebody you would find hanging out in front of a convenient mart in a bad neighborhood, rapping with a sort of animosity I am yet to hear from another artist. Enough about him, but I will leave this thought at saying this collaboration is two unique styles in one track and this duos collaborations are consistently dope.

“Spaceship” sounds like the type of track you would hear in Seattle. Synth charged bass-lines and clean kick drums make for an electronic beat Evil approaches from yet another angle. “Guns and Roses” is the kind of track I would say is fit for radio play. It has the kind of vibe, the catchy hooks, the top class production quality you expect from that level of professionalism. Not one to lack content though, this song is still very personal and thoughtful. Something about it makes it highly appealing.

“Gone Astray” opens up as a smooth banger. I’m glad this was a full length release, as it made room for so many different sounds and styles. I still don’t see why Evil Eye was the chosen album title, but maybe this is one of those scenarios that takes time to unfold. The lyricism on this track is top notch, and I would hate to spoil it for anybody so I won;t quote him here. This is a contender for Album of the Year in my book and I haven’t even made it all the way through yet. I love the songs like this, songs that you can emotionally connect to. The smooth beat fades out as we enter the next track, “Love You”.

Some old school sounding sample repeats over this track, featuring NaRai singing on the hooks. This has a very 90’s sound to it for some reason. Maybe its just me, but moving on to the track “Blown Out” which sounds melodic and vibrant, progressing to more auto-tuning and overall taking the artist to a place previously unfamiliar. These songs make me wish other artists who used auto-tune to top charts had the kind of lyrical content that Evil has.

“Waiting” comes next, which has a more distorted, hard hitting demeanor. This is the Evil sound I have heard before, with himself singing his own hook. Waiting shows us that Ebenezer has the same griminess as past releases. Snak holds down verse two on this alleged Brass Tackz feature. Brass Tacks is another Camobear group comprising of Evil Ebenezer, Snak the Ripper & Young Sin. Their album is up for free download somewhere on the internet. Google it. Sin’s verse is good, but he pretty much sounds the same on every track.

As the album wraps up, the track “Five-O” comes on, with an acoustic beat and fulfilling the destiny of the last track, being the one with the most raw emotion and slower beat on the record. All in all, I would say from the perspective of someone that has heard his past releases, I would say I enjoy this album simply because Evil Ebenezer has managed to maintain integrity and honor in his music while progressing, combining the old with the new. He gerw as an artist, and this album is just as good as any other album by him, but it has a totally different feel to it. My favorite track is a tie between Green Goblin and Guns and Roses. Don;t be afraid to check out Camobeardigital.com or seek Evil out on Youtube, Facebook or Myspace if you want to find tracks from the new album or the previous albums in their entirety.

Tracklisting

1. Step To
2. Days Of Our Lives
3. Ghostbusters
4. Better You
5. Greengoblin
6. Take Me With You
7. Light The Night
8. Scarecrow
9. Top Guns feat Snak The Ripper
10. Spaceship
11. Guns and Roses
12. Gone Astray
13. Love You feat NaRai
14. Blown Out
15. Waiting feat Brass Tackz
16. Five O

Websites

EvilEbenezer.com
MySpace.com/EvilDraftDodgers
CamoBearDigital.com

Record Label:

• Camo Bear Records

Release Date:

• 10/31/2010

Reviewer:

• Buckeye Fresh