May 19, 2011

Review: Noah23 – Fry Cook On Venus (2011)

Noah23 has been called a “Poetical prophet” and for good reason. This Guelph, Ontario native released his fourth album this year with Fake Four Inc. Noah23 comes from a “hippie family”, his latest album, Fry Cook On Venus keeps his evoking psychedelic feel accompanied by his swift emcee skills. The album is not only exceptionally diverse, but also a breath of fresh air. Fry Cook on Venus bounces from melodic tough sounding tracks, “Murder City ft. Sole and Awol One” and “Sea Of The Infinite Wave ft. Ceschi and Mika9 to beautiful vulnerable tracks, “Nuts, ft. Liz Powell” and “Can’t Stay Mad”.

There is no doubting the talent this emcee has. Some rappers, especially mainstream rappers, are almost too easy to predict with their rhymes, flow, verse and hooks. Noah23 is not in this crowd. No two hooks are alike with each track being it’s personal story. His rhymes are unpredictable, fluid and thought-provoking. He raps about pop culture, love, the future and space. This album has the best existentialist feel to it, which makes me fall in love with it more and more each time I listen to it. The fact that Noah23 is an artist not afraid to rap inside the lines makes everything about his music beautiful and new.

The title track, “Fry Cook On Venus” starts out beautifully repeating “It’s a new day” before Noah23 launches into a rap about love. We see the softer side of Noah23 a few times in this album. With sincere lyrics, “My admiration is immortal and true love is rare,” he rhymes about a sincere love. Then he says, “Don’t fuck with me girl our I’ll eat your face.” Avoiding images of Mike Tyson whirling in my head I find that to be poetically, strangely beautiful. Up next is “Sea Of The Infinite Wave” which features other Fake Four Inc. talent, Ceschi and Myka 9. I dare you to listen to this track and try to transcribe it without slowing it down. These artists show their immense talent at being fast rappers. This track is nothing short of brilliant.

Why do we love the softer side of Noah23? Because when he raps about love, women and relationships he does it in a way that indulges in his subject. From the track, “Bright Green Laces”, an ode to a girl with loud sneakers to “Can’t Stay Mad” a gentle song about the aftereffects on a lovers quarrel. The one track that stands out like a beautiful rose is “Nuts”, which features from Canadian band, Land Of Talk. This indie-singer songwriter track paired with the beautiful melodies Noah23 creates equal perfect harmonious bliss.

“No Tomorrow” will take you to the carefree beaches on Jamaica with reggae, old-style tones. “Old Dog” which features Halifx rapper, Ghettosocks brings a nostalgic beat, and remixes. The album ends with “When I’m Gone”, featuring another Fake Four Inc. artist and Canadian, Gregory Pepper. With Pepper on the guitar, this song weaves Noah23′s rhymes. With Pepper’s haunting lyrics, “Keep my cryptic letters, save them all. Put then in a box or dresser drawer. Paraphrase the good bits, read the words. You’re speaking at my funeral. You are going to miss me when I’m gone.” This track ends the album in a state of complete content.

Rating: 7.0/10