Rating:
  Review Date: November 24, 2008
  Website: Serge Severe Website
  Label: Focused Noise

Serge Severe “Concrete Techniques” Album Review
Serge Severe was the first underground emcee ever featured on HHL. I remember receiving his debut album, “Walk In My Shoes,” almost four years ago – and the way it helped strengthen my belief that real hip-hop could still be found in the underground. Since then, I’ve eagerly anticipated his follow-up solo project, and “Concrete Techniques” has definitely lived up to my long-standing expectations. Serge Severe’s “Concrete Techniques” was definitely worth the wait.

Why I Like This Album:

1. The production is ridiculous son! Now I hate to draw immediate attention to beats when discussing an emcee that is as lyrically-gifted as Serge Severe, but the music on this album, created by Universal DJ Sect, really stands out. Sect uses an amazing combination of old school turtablism and futuristic synthesized instrumentation to create twelve tracks of groovy, jazzy, funky hip-hop beats that create multiple canvases for Serge’s vocals. Tracks like Here We Come, Concrete Techniques, It’s On Mine, Ain’t It Funky, and Bring The Horns feature horns, keys and occasional strings, while tracks like Break Dream, Classic Ish, Keep It Goin’, and Operatin’ Correctly feature heavier baselines, break beats, samples and scratches.

2. Serge has a unique flow. Something about Serge Severe’s laid back rhyme style has always just hit home with me. Whether he’s incorporating conscious subject matter into his rhymes, or simply demonstrating the art of rapping gracefully over a beat, Serge’s flow continually impressed me on this album. The following verse, from the album’s title track shows an unorthodox rhyme style in which Serge spit a bunch of short phrases meticulously placed together over a beat to create a verse:

Mic check, hype yes/
High step end zone/
Headphones, red zone/
Yes no man can match me/
Stand to catch me/
Actually plan to pass me/
Nasty nouns that’s catchy/
Added on the adjectives/
Spat it in the labyrinth/
Kicking it with Lazarus/
Spitting it thats hazardous/
Toxic chemical thoughts of generals/
Locked in intervals plot’s incredible/
Knock the pedestal/
Hip-Hop’s original/
Autographs, slaughter rap/
Bring it back, let it blast/
Boom it in your systems/
Feel it in an instant/
Realer with a sentence/
Point blank period/
This joint banks serious/

3. This album makes you think. Part of what I like about Serge’s rhyme style is that it’s very wordy, utilizing similes, metaphors and abstract language. This approach makes it really interesting when attempting to decipher the lyrical content of “Concrete Techniques” as a whole. Most verses on this album are worth multiple listens, and many of them will take multiple listens to understand correctly. One of my favorite verses is from Ain’t It Funky, in which Serge demonstrates a combination of conscious lyricism and masterful wordplay:

Way out west in the city of bridges/
In a day out stressed by conditions we livin’/
Where the payout’s less than the effort that’s givin’/
So I play like chess and attack with a vision/
I’m back with a vengeance, die hard, rap as a weapon/
When the flow click-clack, the kick back is tremendous/
Got a show, I rip that, then it’s back to the trenches/
Gotta go quick fast. Can I catch your attention?/
Please just let me see if you can catch what I’m pitchin’/
I’m smashing the rhythm, actually I’ve mastered the rhythm/
Subtraction, addition, multiply capitalism/
Math and division, full of lies trapped in the system/
Tell me why I seen so many guys packed in the prison/
Fact from the fiction, please let the pastor forgive ‘em/
Like how they declare war and still practice religion/
I just gotta prepare more so it’s back to the kitchen/

4. This is real hip-hop, kids! I know the term “real hip-hop” is a little cliché nowadays, and I can’t stand most motherfuckers who still make reference to this thing they call “real hip-hop,” but Serge Serve’s “Concrete Techniques” does a great job of both paying respect to the elements, and of moving forward with a new direction. And that’s the really real yo.

From the lyrics to the beats to the four years it took Serge to drop this sophomore solo release, it is clear that everyone involved in this project put their hearts into it – and you can just feel that when you listen. Serge drops a dope verse in It’s On Mine talking about this hip-hop mentality of staying true to the art form and remaining independent:

It’s the DIY, gotta do it yourself/
So just say bye-bye to the corporate help/
Watch the culture get preserved with the portions it’s dealt/
Man take a look around, it’s supporting itself/
‘Cause it’s importance is felt/
Expressed through the elements/
The fresh mixed with eloquence/
Yes push the pendulum/
Swing towards the relevant/
Bring forth the excellence/
Relax, they pressurin’/
But easy does it/
Try to write what I live but I see he doesn’t/
My advice to the kids is just be no frontin’/
Put your lilfe into this and just see who want it/
Do it right, do it big, so they seen who done it/

Overall: Pick it up fo’ sho’. “Concrete Techniques” is a very entertaining, head nodding, thought provoking album from one of my favorite underground hip-hop artists. Favorite tracks include Here We Come, It’s On Mine, Ain’t It Funky, Bring The Horns, Break Dream, Classic Ish. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Here We Come
2. Concrete Techniques
3. It’s On Mine
4. Ain’t It Funky
5. Bring the Horns
6. Break Dream
7. Classic Ish feat. Reyna Mallare
8. Keep It Goin’
9. Operatin’ Correctly feat. Santotzin
10. Slow Down Baby feat. Mic Crenshaw
11. Take Ya Back (Like Before)
12. This Path