Intellekt – Intellektual Property

Artist: Intellekt Album: Intellektual Property Rating: 4/5

Somewhere in-between a vegetable chopping Japanese chef and a bookworm resides the left handed, pen draggin’ assassin, MC Intellekt, who has managed to conjure up some witty lyrics, innovative concepts, and a crisp rhyme delivery on his debut album: Intellektual Property.
Intellekt’s co-star, DJ Dirty Digits supplies the album with a scratch nympho’s wet dream. Right in the intro Intellekt explains how Digits has nasty fingers, and then the barrage of scratching hits your eardrums.

Digits’ cuts aren’t the only sounds coming through the speakers. Intellekt shows his comedic spirit on tracks like Phenom Mental, which is magnificently glitch scratched by DiViNCi, and cut up by Dirty Digits. He does what many emcees have tried but never quite pulled off. He put his Mom on the track. She provides sampled interludes that blend nicely with the track without taking away from the raw hip hop nature of the track. Throughout the upbeat single “Livin the Life,” Intellekt talks about his daily life as a Japanese chef and college student, while at the same time showing and proving his lyrical skills and song writing ability. You couldn’t keep this MC on a leash/ I propagate my prophecy to subjugate my speech/ pushin’ my pencil to the paper with precision/ certified slang drops to show you how I’m livin’.

The tracks vary in themes. He also speaks on his experiences abroad in “A Tale of 2 Cities.” He mixes elements from Slick Rick’s story telling days and a Hardy Boys Mystery book, and weaves a captivating story. By adding this song to the mix, Intellekt brings something to the table that is lacking in hip hop: Variety. There is a hood song or a city track on damn near every hip hop album nowadays, but Intellekt switches it up and tells story’s about the streets of London and Amsterdam. And instead of the cops chasing him for being in possession of the stereotypical crack rock or loaded glock, they are Tryin’ to find crooks with rhyme books. Intellekt pushes the envelope and dares his listeners, and other emcees, to follow him on a journey through European streets that’s lyrically crime related. Chased by agents/ that’s crazed and/ think my word placement’s flagrant. I make moves like a fugitive / wondering who could live as an outlaw/ writing as the criminal south paw / without a doubt ya’ll home free you know me/ with my rhyme book safe its straight we gone be/ but but but wait! What’s this! My rhyme books missing and swimming down with the fish/ police probably thinking that they brought an end to me/ little did they know they flow is in my memory/ either way I got a show to rock tale of two cities expose the plot.

“On My Day Off” makes simplicity sound fly. Intellekt teams up with Sol. illaquists of Sound again for a laid back track full of violin cords and begins talking about the things that run through a college students mind on a day off. This is the only track with an R&B element thrown in the mix and the female vocals add a distinct R&B sound that works on the track.

Intellekt brings along a guest emcee for the funky hook on “Microphonetics.” Yassine adds his unique verbal scratching flavor to the hook. But the true jewels here are the lyrics. Intellekt spits out more hip hop quotables in one song than many emcees can give you in a career.

Yassine pops back up on “More Than Meets the Ear.” This is an exceptionally creative song that speaks on the travel of music through the various components of your ear drum. This may come off as something that Ghostface or Canibus would snack on for brain food, but Intellekt manages to not go too far over your head when talking about Properly worded I’m assertive when I talk to ya/ demonstrating sounds resonating in your cochlea/ carry to the vortex, there where it’s registered/ feasibly the illest frequency that you ever heard.

Although this independent album is lyrical in nature, the beats definitely share the spotlight. Intellektual Property was blessed with production from The Messenger, Speck of CYNE and DiViNCi, the MPC specialist of the group Sol. illaquists of Sound, who are fresh off tour with Sage Francis. The rich sounds from these solidly produced beats complement Intellekt’s comical spirit, expansive vocabulary and his social awareness and give the listener a very mature blend of quality new school hip-hop in a world of lackluster and over saturated candy cane raps.

*For more information on MC Intellekt and DJ Dirty Digits and to sample and purchase the album Intellektual Property, check out www.mcintellekt.com