AKA Album review

I don’t normally do album reviews but when the homey AKA asked me to write one for his new project “The Array” which recently dropped on Itchy Metal Enertainment I said to myself ‘this will be interesting’. AKA is a friend of mine and I admire his hustle and have always observed it from a distance but honestly, I never really got deep into his catalog of music outside of the occasional song he’d shoot my way.

So after my first real listen to a complete body of work from the dude they call AKA (A King Also) I’ll say this. Without really knowing too much of what to expect – I was surprised and for the most part pleased.

The highlights of The Array are those syrupy, off-count-but-on-beat head knocker tracks like “Fat Booty” , “Slappin”, “Backin it up” and “Pour em up” amongst others, that were scattered throughout the playlist I have a sneaky suspicion come from the influence of his uncle, the great George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic fame. If nothing else – AKA knows how to Executive Produce an album and pick the right tracks from the right producers, coupled with the right features that help set him apart from others in his lane of no-gimmicks MCs with a soft spot for making female centered, to-the-point hip hop.

High energy hooks and honest rhymes are a constant on The Array, which make for a pretty consistent listen. In fact, the only song that feels a little more than out of place on this album is “Drop It” which was preceded by a pretty funny albeit staged voicemail intro from AKAs manager urging him to make a ‘club track’.  That song even making the album, much like the voicemail seems like it was urged and not naturally placed like the rest of the tracks. Truth is, AKA is the type of artist that doesn’t need to make a “club track” when tracks like “Backin it up” would serve that purpose in the right setting. In fact if there is a song on The Array I wish I had made it’d be “Backin it up”. The beat is clowin, the hook is catchy and on second thought I’m gonna make sure I find the studio where he recorded this and take this song from him LOL!! Sorry AKA! ((no really, i need to be on the remix.)

All in all, The Array is a very solid listen. I could do without the intros outros and interludes and get strait to the music, which is the best part of the CD.  I recommend you check it out!

On a scale from 0-4 (0 = WACK, 1 = eh, it’s ok, 2 = I can f*cks wit it, 3, Ok, this is kinda knockin’,  4 = DOPENESS)

Beats: 3.5

Originality: 2.5

Listenability: 3

Overall: 3