LMNO + Kev Brown- Selective Hearing

By: R.M. London

((4.08.2008))

Much like the golden age duos of yesteryear, one MC and one Producer teams are back in style. Cohesive pairs like: Atmosphere (Slug + Ant), Blu and Exile, Foreign Exchange (Phonte + Nicolay), and more are combining forces to make coherent albums that follow one comfortable sound rather than bombarding listener's ears with numerous production styles and techniques. With the success of 2-headed teams like the one's mentioned above more artists are following suit. The latest dual-faced monster is the team of Maryland producer, Kev Brown, a highly touted beatsmith from the Low Budget collective hailing from the D.C. Metro area, and Long Beach veteran MC, LMNO, from the popular Visionaries crew and Up Above Records imprint. Equipped with a Pete Rock meets Dilla golden age sound, Kev Brown looks to continue his hot streak of flawless production by accompanying LMNO's distinct voice and style.

For years, LMNO's voice has been a widely discussed phenomenon amongst the independent hip hop community. The love/hate relationship with the openly religious MC's vocals has robbed the much deserved credit that he, as a solo artist, and The Visionaries deserve for their innovative music and style. However, after listening to "Selective Hearing" it seems that LMNO has found the perfect production to cradle his odd delivery and vocal stylings. With upbeat neckbreaker's like 'Who's That', 'The Cause', and 'Show Up', LMNO shines brightest and delivers his most comfortable sounds. The duo also come together nicely on the smoother tracks, like: 'Beat Tape' and 'Unheard', but when taken to a slow and more romantic sonic pace this is where LMNO gets lost in the shuffle and becomes a bore while getting smothered by Kev Brown's flawless noise.

By providing us with 11 tracks LMNO is easier to digest for new listeners. But, by providing us with the instrumentals it might be a tell tale sign of who the true star of this record really was. Kev Brown continues to show why he (and his Low Budget crew) are an absolute force to be reckoned with, and an artist that should be utilized on more hip hop records in the future. If you have never heard of LMNO before this release, this is a great starting point to ease your way into his discography. If you are a fan of LMNO, this is one of his best records to date. If you are familiar with LMNO and are not a fan, this is a tolerable album. All in all, a stellar release so far in 2008, but only one person truly radiated through the headphones.

Favorite Tracks: Who's That, The Unheard, The Cause
What to do (Buy/Try/Frisbee): Try.
Digits: 7.0 // 10