Blacastan - Blac Sabbath

[DirtMcgehrk]

01. Blac Sabbath (Intro) (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
02. Blac Magic (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
03. The Dice Life (Produced By: Statik Selektah)
04. 3010 feat. Esoteric, Celph Titled (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
05. Crate Diggaz feat. ColomBeyond (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
06. Best That I Can feat. Mark Fury, ColomBeyond (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
07. City To City (Produced By: Mr. Green)
08. The Way It's Done feat. Bad Newz (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
09. Returnin' To Nam (Produced By: ColomBeyond; Blacastan)
10. Diamond (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
11. You Wouldn't Believe (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
12. The World feat. ColomBeyond (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
13. Anything Less (Produced By: Blue Sky Black Death)
14. Crac House (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
15. The Darc Krystal (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
16. How Can You Be So Sure? (Produced By: DJ Doom)
17. The Life Of A Tape (Produced By: Blacastan)
18. Life Is Not A Game feat. ColomBeyond/ Outro (Produced By: ColomBeyond)
19. The Way It's Done feat.Bad Newz *BONUS*

[DirtMcgehrk]

So if you haven't heard of Blacastan yet, it's about time you did. The Connecticut bred emcee just released his debut album, Blac Sabbath today after countless delays and a few superb mixtapes that have created massive buzz in the underground hip hop community.

I've given the LP a spin through and have to say it's a contender for my Album of the Year. It's pretty much no holds barred hip hop. Raw delivery with updated 90's era production. The best thing about Blac Sabbath is its dark edge. Up and coming producer ColomBeyond shines on the boards with carefully arranged piano loops, droning guitars and masterfully chosen soul samples to create an old school sound fit for the new school. Blac Sabbath is rounded out nicely by the guest producers, consisting of Statik Selektah, Blue Sky Black Death and Mr. Green, all of whom mesh in perfectly with its overall sound.

The highlights of Blacastan's freshman release definitely come through in the conceptual tracks. Blacastan shows a remarkable knack for storytelling on "How Can You Be So Sure?", while "Life of a Tape" finds him rapping from the perspective of a cassette tape, following the evolution of music mediums and creating a great sense of nostalgia without too much name dropping. "The Dice Life", produced by Statik Selekatah is definitely the highlight of the album production-wise, mimicking the sound of dice being shaken inside a plastic cup and laying it over a funky bass line and drum break. Of course a song with Celph Titled is going to be a good one, and that's exactly the case for "3010", which also features Beantown's own Esoteric. Celph brings the usual punchlines and booming delivery on the cut, easily elevating it to one of the best on the album.

There's a pretty equal balance between these and the more street-worthy cuts. Blacastan feels like a legitimate breath of fresh air for underground hip hop, just as B.o.B's The Adventures of Bobby Ray felt from a mainstream perspective. It's another album that just flows together, creating a classic argument for the strength of many parts making up the whole. Blac does spit a lot of ignorant shit, but all in all the album is a pretty socially conscious one, and a very smart debut. I'd even go as far to say that even casual hip hop listeners will find a lot to like about it. Blac Sabbath dropped today on Brick Records, so go check it out!

Rating: 4.8/5

Key Tracks:

-The Dice Life (Produced by Statik Selektah)
-3010 (feat. Esoteric & Celph Titled)
-Anything Less (Produced by Blue Sky Black Death)
-Crac House
-The Darc Krystal
-How Can You Be So Sure?
-The Life of A Tape

[INF]

present illest track in youtube form?

[DirtMcgehrk]

My number 1 and number 2 favorite cuts off the album:

1.


2.



A few other notables. There isn't much up on youtube yet, but believe me, this is a fantastic album.

[INF]

DAMN!!!!! heaters!!!!

I o u rep.

[DirtMcgehrk]

Much appreciated. Glad you liked what you heard. Shit is flames.

[whitey]

blac is dope. i put up that 'life as a tape' track up a couple months ago to luke warm response.

[DirtMcgehrk]

blac is dope. i put up that 'life as a tape' track up a couple months ago to luke warm response.

That's a shame. "Life As a Tape" is dope as hell. I would have thought this type of album would have been popular on these boards.

[whitey]

That's a shame. "Life As a Tape" is dope as hell. I would have thought this type of album would have been popular on these boards.

werd werd me too bruh. life as a tape is the shit nas should be sounding like these days. instead hes sucking. but blacs keeping it real. big ups blaca.

[Erquel]

insaaane album
i remember Blacastan from Jean Grae's album with blue sky black death, he destroyed the track he was on

oh, here it is

[INF]

blac is dope. i put up that 'life as a tape' track up a couple months ago to luke warm response.

wow.I just dont remember that.I must have been gone or just plain slept.

that shit was fly ,especially the third verse where Wax is talked about.

[DR. NICK RIVIERA]

Connecticut has a lot of ill rappers, but I admit, I never payed attention...I'll check him, Life of a tape is dope...

[Chambers]

just listened to The Life Of A Tape, sounds dope. Defs will be listening to more of Blacastan.

[muscularghandi]

Blac showed up as a surprise on last night’s Ghostface show in NH. Place went berzerk. Blacastan is defenitely the shit. This record is ill.

Love to see him get in on a Ghost/Rae track.

[main_man]

yeah, i think this albums getting slept on.
easily one of the best hip hop albums of 2010.

blac can rhyme. good production. ill song concepts.
def listen to this joint if you havent already. solid banger.

would like to hear blac on a track with apathy or royce 5-9.