Apollo Brown, Red Pill and Verbal Kent are... Ugly Heroes: Ugly Heroes LP Out Now!

RuffDraft
RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
edited June 2013 in The Essence
ugly_heroes-ugly_heroes-304x304.jpg

Most know my feelings with regards to Apollo Brown; ever since I listened to The Left's Gas Mask and heard beats such as 'The Melody' (YouTube below), I was taken with his soulful beats. He hasn't stopped since: Clouds, Trophies (with O.C.) and a number of other Mello Music Group releases has left him at the top of his class. This time joined by emcees Red Pill and Verbal Kent, the trio set out to uplift their audience through rhymes about the struggle in each of their respective cities.


After first listen, the beats are worthy of picking this album up alone. But the positives continued throughout, particularly on 'Long Drive Home', which sees Pill and Verbal reflecting on their career and lives. This was a rare experience for me, given that it's been a while since I identified with the feelings felt by the emcees, especially when they're delivered over Brown's harrowing, moving backdrop. This kinda falls off though on 'Hero's Theme', which was lost on me, with a droning hook that bored repeatedly. 'Graves' however, was a step back on the right track. And continued with, 'Heart and Soul', which starts with a hilarious intro and is followed up with a soulful backdrop that is slow and flipped nicely.


With this in mind, it's also worthy of mentioning the two emcees chemistry, which revive the album greatly from verse to verse. Whilst both are rugged, the tones are different and really bring out the best experience for the listener.

I have a few tracks left to go, but I'll update this page as I go...

Comments

  • satyrone
    satyrone Members Posts: 4,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    i saw this on itunes didnt know apollo brown was part of this now im gonna ? with this
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    satyrone wrote: »
    i saw this on itunes didnt know apollo brown was part of this now im gonna ? with this

    Holla back when you get a chance, I'm really enjoying it...
  • satyrone
    satyrone Members Posts: 4,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    just copped gonna bump this ? tomorrow at work.
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    satyrone wrote: »
    just copped gonna bump this ? tomorrow at work.

    Dope, enjoy and come back with your thoughts! :tu
  • Brayden206
    Brayden206 Members Posts: 90 ✭✭
    edited June 2013
    My review of the album.
    http://rap-essence.blogspot.com/2013/05/ugly-heroes-ugly-heroes-review.html
    RUFFDRAFT:
    **NOTE TO VIEWERS AND POSTERS OF THE I.C. THIS LINK REPORTS MALWARE, HOWEVER THE POSTER SEEMS TO BE POSTING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, NOT TO SPREAD MALWARE.**

    **THIS POST MAY BE DELETED PENDING @Brayden206 cooperation.**

    **Thanks for cooperation - see response two posts below...**
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    Brayden206 wrote: »
    My review of the album.
    http://rap-essence.blogspot.com/2013/05/ugly-heroes-ugly-heroes-review.html
    RUFFDRAFT:
    **NOTE TO VIEWERS AND POSTERS OF THE I.C. THIS LINK REPORTS MALWARE, HOWEVER THE POSTER SEEMS TO BE POSTING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, NOT TO SPREAD MALWARE.**

    **THIS POST MAY BE DELETED PENDING @Brayden206 cooperation.**

    Would like to view your review, however we do suggest that reviews are posted here, with a link to the site, rather than a link without any post, as that is concluded as being spam.

    Despite this and upon selecting to copy and paste the link into my Chrome browser, your site is reported to contain malware. Can you please inform us as to why this is, otherwise I will have to delete your posts, which is a shame if you're legit into Indie Hip Hop.
  • Brayden206
    Brayden206 Members Posts: 90 ✭✭
    edited June 2013
    Hmm. Not sure why its reporting Malware. Google Webmasters says its fine and it flags nothing for me on Firefox or IE, so who knows. Anyways, here is the review. Sorry for the issues.

    1) The Feeling - Skit.

    2) Desperate - The first song on the album has a dope, laid back vocal sample instrumental which immediately sets the mellow tone present throughout the rest of the LP. Verbal Kent and Red Pill spit about their struggles in life, desperation and even suicidal thoughts (during Verbal Kents verse). They both come correct lyrically, but they seem to be lacking a bit of charisma on the mic. Maybe it's just since I am not familiar with any of their prior work. We shall see. Still, the song is dope.

    3) Good Things Die - The beat on here is classic Apollo Brown - a chopped up vocal sample and boom-bap drums. Verbal Kent and Red Pill rap about their mic skills and how they deserve respect for spitting that real ? .

    "See, any day could be your last, quit living in the past kid
    You want drama? Take the class. Get your PHD
    See, any moment I could pop out and leave you seeing asterisks
    Cuz when it comes to spitting raps I got my PHD"

    Dope song.

    4) Long Drive Home - Now THIS beat is ill and got my nodding my head like crazy. Apollo Brown is a beast. Both emcees gets a bit introspective on this track, rapping about their stresses and anxieties, which is something pretty much everyone can relate to. This is my favorite song on here so far.

    5) Hero's Theme - While the prior song had a very "classic Apollo Brown" feel to it, this track feels totally different than anything else I've ever heard from him. That being said, I haven't heard his entire catalog so I may be way off here. Anyways, the beat is a very mellow piano instrumental with rolling drums and its beautiful. Both emcees come correct, as they should on their own theme song. Very dope track.

    6) Graves - This was the first song released from the album and its banging. The beat is classic Apollo Brown and both emcees spit bars about poverty and how everyone works until the day they die:

    "Now I was sitting in my car, chain smoking on my break
    Windows open start to notice that I'm hopeless every day
    Between the hard drinking and the smoking
    Start thinking about the folks who gotta do this to they graves
    You can't afford to walk up off the job
    Cause you gotta get your money and your money is your ?
    So now at least seven days a week
    You see me trading in my soul for somebody to keep"

    Another banger.

    7) Heart & Soul - I know the sample on this track from some other song, I just can't place it. Of course, Apollo chops it up differently and makes it his own, but it's still very familiar to me for some reason. Both emcees spit about their relationships. Dope song.

    8) Take It Or Leave It - Apollo Brown comes through with another banger and both Verbal Kent and Red Pill spit about being themselves and that they wont change for anything. I'm not really feelin the chorus on this track. Still, the song as a whole is nice.

    9) Never Go - The guitar and vocal samples on this song give it a depressed, melancholy feeling, but its still very dope. Once again, both emcees come correct and spit about the people in their lives that lend them strength through the hard times. Very nice.

    10) Sweet Love - The beats on this album are just crazy, which is not surprising for an album fully produced by Apollo Brown. This one has some cinematic strings with Apollo's signature chopped up brass samples and hard drums. At the beginning of this review I wasn't entirely sure that Verbal Kent and Red Pill had the charisma or mic presence to hold down an entire album. I was wrong. This ? is dope.

    11) ? 's Day Off - This song has a bit more energetic feel than the previous few. The vocal sample is ill and both emcees come correct. There isn't much more to say. The album has been consistently dope and this track is no exception.

    12) Just Relax - Another laid-back banger. This is the "feel good" song on the album, despite still having a slightly depressing feel to it.

    "Throw a beat on and freestyle, the words just fall into place
    The trebles sitting right on top of the bass
    Everything is love, hoping my buzz just don't quit
    Got to hang on long enough just to watch the sun set"

    Dope.

    13) This Is Life - The vocal sample on this song is crazy. Once again, both Verbal Kent and Red Pill spit about the hardships and trials of life. I must admit the subject matter is getting a bit repetitive, but the beat and lyrics are dope so I can't really complain too much. Also, the whole point of the album is to express the trials and tribulations of the blue collar worker so the repetitiveness of the subject matter is intended. Regardless, this is another good song.

    14) Impaired Judgement - Both emcees spit verses about getting ? /high to escape the reality of the world. The verses on this song are really descriptive and you can visualize exactly what they are spitting about. The beat is beautiful and everyone comes correct. Dope.

    15) Push - The album closes out with Verbal Kent and Red Pill spitting fire over a CRAZY instrumental. The beat is definitely signature Apollo Brown and the drums hit really hard. This song is a banger, no doubt. Great way to close out the LP.

    I'm going to rate the album a

    4 / 5

    because the album is consistently dope the whole way through. Apollo Brown is a beast when it comes to production and his work on here is no exception. This is my first experience with emcees Verbal Kent and Red Pill and I'm impressed. I could tell right from the beginning that their lyrics were dope, but I was worried about their charisma and mic presence. Well, they won me over throughout the course of the album. The only bad thing about the LP is the lack of standout tracks. This is really just me being nit-picky though since the entire album is consistently ill. Make sure you support real hip-hop and pick up the album via the groups Bandcamp page, via Amazon or off iTunes. Don't sleep on this album.
    http://rap-essence.blogspot.com/2013/05/ugly-heroes-ugly-heroes-review.html
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    Props on the review, currently busy but I'll check it soon!! :tu

    Thanks for your response regarding malware - maybe check with your webmaster? Otherwise, thanks a lot for the review, hopefully see you around these parts more! :tu
  • achewon87
    achewon87 Members Posts: 5,464 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just copped it, have been anticipating this one...Red Pill is an honest emcee and Apollo always brings it on the boards.

    Don't know much about Verbal...

    I will check back in once I hear it
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    achewon87 wrote: »
    Just copped it, have been anticipating this one...Red Pill is an honest emcee and Apollo always brings it on the boards.

    Don't know much about Verbal...

    I will check back in once I hear it

    Yeah, my evaluation is that if you're in a rough and depressed neighbourhood, you would feel it hard. Even if you're going through struggle of any type, economically, this could be your ? .

    My problem, as others have had with it, is that it's a bit OTT depressive. There's not much there that's uplifting to the people. It becomes a bit too much after a while. That said, I've listened to it quite a lot and the beats, as always, are nice from Apollo.

    Currently bumpin' Blame One's Days Chasing Days…flashbacks.
  • achewon87
    achewon87 Members Posts: 5,464 ✭✭✭✭✭
    RuffDraft wrote: »
    achewon87 wrote: »
    Just copped it, have been anticipating this one...Red Pill is an honest emcee and Apollo always brings it on the boards.

    Don't know much about Verbal...

    I will check back in once I hear it

    Yeah, my evaluation is that if you're in a rough and depressed neighbourhood, you would feel it hard. Even if you're going through struggle of any type, economically, this could be your ? .

    My problem, as others have had with it, is that it's a bit OTT depressive. There's not much there that's uplifting to the people. It becomes a bit too much after a while. That said, I've listened to it quite a lot and the beats, as always, are nice from Apollo.

    Currently bumpin' Blame One's Days Chasing Days…flashbacks.

    I enjoyed it quite a bit, made the last hr or so of work go by quickly.

    I agree on that it mostly a downer to listen to though. Won't bump it everyday but good for those kinds of days when ? is not going your way...

    I felt the same way about the last Red Pill album...dude is honest but could be a downer.

    This would have been my ? in my early 20's when I was just starting my life...

    Still, it's dope and would give it 3.5/5, getting the extra .5 due to Apollo's production.
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    achewon87 wrote: »
    Just copped it, have been anticipating this one...Red Pill is an honest emcee and Apollo always brings it on the boards.

    Don't know much about Verbal...

    I will check back in once I hear it

    I ? with Verbal Kent!
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'll check this album myself