By Odeisel

2009 has proven to be one of the most prolific years in Hip-Hop’s history, with good albums coming from all sectors.  We’ve seen the ascendancy of new groups carving out space in the landscape, with decreasing sales expectations creating more avenues, and technology allowing for more artist control over the mass dissemination of their music. While many new groups leave much to be desired musically, an increasing amount of them are bringing different elements to the table. The Internationalz is one such group.

The Internationalz consists of three members: the classically trained, music theory-educated producer Magneedo7, and two poets turned MCs Real 4 Real and Know 1, both veterans of the North Carolina music scene and possessed of many flows due to their backgrounds in the spoken word arena.  The marriage of theory and application brings us to their release International Feel.  Is it a marriage made in heaven or a shotgun marriage headed to divorce?

The album opens with the thumping “International Pride,” which features a Bilal-like singer on the hook and a robust drum, driven by winding keys that weave you in and out of every break.  The  intro is very effective at grabbing a new listener’s attention with the production long enough for the rappers to establish themselves, which is important for new groups.

The song ends abruptly, however and could have used a more definitive ending. It does however snap you into the next track, the pulsating “Wait A Minute,” which is high-powered and has a head nodding, snare-full rhythm.  The one blemish on the song is that there is a cadence similar to a younger Kanye.  That may be due to the Carolina accent, and it’s not piracy, but the similarity is evident.

The album continues with “Turn Me Up” which goes a different direction musically but maintains the same relative high-paced flow.  “Turn” contains a nods to Root’s classic “Distortion To Static” with a similar ha-ha-ha interspersed with a tribal drum on top of a normal drum pattern and a smooth bassline.  The Internationalz quickly do what many groups, including more established veterans, fail to do: they establish their own sound musically, rather than depend on the MCs to set them apart.

They change pace with the appropriately titled “Slow It Down,” which mimics DJ Toomp’s “Say Hello,” but the song appears to be a parody as the double time southern flow is aped and lyrically it refers to dubs, clubs, cars, and chains and specifically admonishes radio for killing the minds of listeners with repetition and mind-numbing 808s. It’s the kind of parody like Masta Ace’s Slaughterhouse that is so close to what it parodies that if you aren’t paying attention, or are uninformed you’ll miss the entire joke. Nice song, a bit snarky for newcomers, but truth nonetheless.

“On Our Hustle” takes them back to their own sound with good results.  Magneedo7’s multi-layered production, with the organs and pianos warring for supremacy with the drums, pushes this song at breakneck pace.  The Kanye thing is back on this song but it only appears on the hook.  There’s also the annoying Jadakiss  “ahaa” and a Loon-ish delivery on it, but inspirational elements aside, this song bumps heavily.

Arrangement helps the Internationalz out a great deal, as no song is too long, there aren’t many wasted measures, all filled either with verse or hook.  Magneedo7’s production is clearly the star of the album.  The rappers hold their own and don’t do anything to harm the final product.  Other highlights include the very smooth “That Good Shhh” and the relationship ode “Situation pt. 1.”

“Just Chill,” the obligatory slow song, stands as filler against the quality of the other songs and a bit meh. The intro to “Let It Go” initially resembles Nas’ “Hero” but then segues into a very Pharellian “I’m Good” -ish medley. It’s a bit too close for a group who has their own sound, in fact.  It sounds good in a vacuum, but too derivative in light of how recent those two songs appeared.

With more experience and a bit of polish on the delivery side, this could certainly be the beginning of a very long run. International Feel is a superior album, especially when you consider they came from nowhere, so they have surprise and the absence of expectation on their side. They presently lack that verbal knockout factor that’s necessary for any real group.  They need a closer. If the rappers get more comfortable in this medium and continue to sharpen already apparent skills, it would be hard for everyone not to feel the Internationalz. Let no fan tear them asunder.

Out of 5

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