The Future Is Now (studio album) by Non Phixion

Before commenting on anything else regarding Non Phixion - The Future Is Now, I have to point out what a lovely album cover that is, one of my favorites so far (and I do pay a lot of attention to the album covers, even though I don't take them into account when evaluating an album). Production wise it goes for a futuristic sound - I mean, the album is called The Future is Now, what did you expect? - , but it's not your typical futuristic, it is at the same time tied to the past, providing some aggressive and hard-hitting beats. I wonder how it sounded back in 2002. Rapping was direct and definitely effective, but felt kinda monotonous for an almost hour long album, plus there were moments where I struggled to make the distinction between the rappers - ok, that was probably just me, I guess if you are more familiar with them, you wouldn't face such difficulties. The lyrics may be a bit off puting ("Jesus Christ was a gangsta rapper They killed him then he came back and made a platinum album The path I travel's like the dragon shadow Invisible to CIA camera angles They got a file on every rap group They killed the last man who had proof They're after me for information that I have too") and I would suggest either looking at them from a "fun" angle and not taking them too seriously or just ignoring them completely, the production is good enough to carry the album - though it has to be said that they do fit with the overall sound/theme of the album. On that note, however, probably you don't care but I have to add how surprising it was to hear a Megadeth reference ("Peace sells but who’s buying?"), this came out of nowhere. Anyway, if I had to pick a highlight, I would go with the opening track, Futurama, as it sets the tone for the rest of the album.

From Larcx13 06/22/2020 13:11

90s hip hop is highly regarded, however I find the 2000s to be the best, not for the pop rappers but for the underground artists. This album is a real classic.