By T. Love

The Jay-Z versus Nas beef was one of the more memorable head-to-head matchups Hip-Hop has ever had.  Words were exchanged, feelings were caught, and people rallied behind their pick of choice like Republicans and Democrats.  Jay-Z fired the first salvo with “Takeover”.  Nas responded with the titanium-melting “Ether”.  Regardless of which side you chose, both cuts were Hip-Hop at its finest and reminded heads that you can’t just claim to be the illest rapper, you have to prove it.

Imagine if, after Kobe had dropped 81 on the Raptors, he changed his jersey number to 81 or insisted on being referred to as “Mr. 81?” What if Kanye West decided to be called “Takeover Man?”  Ron Browz, aka “Ether Boy” has taken the proverbial dead horse and beaten it into a gelatinous pulp.  So much so that he has named his new debut album Etherlibrium .

His track record outside of that song is stellar and he should feel secure enough to not concoct an alias so connected to past glory.  More recently, Browz has produced hits for 50 Cent, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, and Busta Rhymes, including Busta’s gleefully ignorant “Arab Money.”

Ron Browz doesn’t bring this hit-making power to Etherlibrium, choosing instead to prove that he can hold his own as a rapper, similar to Kanye West.  He indulges in his own aesthetic sensibilities and crafts an album that falls far short of his previous work.   While he jumped on the autotune bandwagon with everybody else, it’s conspicuously absent from Etherlibrium, forcing Browz to stand alone, often to disastrous effect.

As with most producers who have put down the MPC and picked up a mic, Browz is far from a beast and barely serviceable with a pen and pad.  The “Etherlibrium Intro” featuring Oshy is indicative of what type of lyrical journey he’s going to take you on.  The beat snatches keyboard synths from what sounds like the end credits of an 80s action movie with alternating bass kicks and snares.

“Rap niggas is poison/ promise when I got on I’ma  bring my boys in/ Harlem in garage, I’m bringing the toys in/ it’s music now, parents hold the noise in/ dope fiends used to shoot up by my/ ya’ll niggas flows is sloppy/it’s my block, you land on monopoly/used to meet papi at beef and broccoli’s”

Most real rappers can freestyle better than that on their worst day. The only thing that might decent about Etherlibrium is the beats and stating that is a stretch.

“Don’t Breathe It” is far and away the best song on the album. First, the lyrics are halfway decent and don’t ruin the song.  Secondly, the beat knocks powerfully and the only way your head won’t be nodding is if you suffer from a Stephen Hawking-type malady. Off kilter, barely on beat, thumping drums form the foundation, complemented by high hats and horns that come on strong but decrease through some kind of fader effect.  This is the closest Ron Browz gets to blacking out on a track.

“N****s used to be hot/ now I’m in the game and I’m taking they spot/if they like it or not/that every song I’m on, 50 grand a pop/came a long way from moving tan a lot/n****s never need you/you life unbalanced like an orthopedic shoe/sucks to be you”

You can’t help but think Jada or Cam would have murdered that joint.

In a strange twist, Ron Browz lifts Nas’ beat for halftime completely and decides to spit his own street knowledge.  He tries out the same kind of alternate personality gimmick to help the dialogue along that DMX did for “Damien” and Eminem did for “Guilty Conscience.”  It doesn’t work.

“I Swear” and “Wanna Be You” are horrible songs, namely because Ron Browz sings his own hooks.  The result is almost laughable.

What most producers do when they release albums is assemble high-powered guests to rhyme on their albums, allowing them to focus on what they do best. Even Kanye West has enough guests on his album so that he doesn’t have to do all of the heavy lifting.  If Browz went that route instead of trying to prove how legitimate he is as an artist, maybe Etherlibrium would have turned out better.

out of 5

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