Whenever I enter a discussion about best current emcees, I undoubtedly bring up Celph Titled at some point. This usually elicits confused looks, as whomever I am talking to thinks I am referring to my own rap capabilities. I then have to spell it out for them. Literally. “No, ‘C-e-l-p-h Titled,” I explain.
The Florida rapper dropped one of the most incredible rap albums of the past few years in 2010, collaborating with Buckwild to create “Nineteen Ninety Now.” What differentiated it from the slew of other rap albums coming out of both the mainstream and underground was the concept: Celph used previously unused beats produced by Buckwild in the 1990’s. True to the name, the record sounds like it could have been made in the 90’s. Buckwild pulled out beats filled with some sinister snaring and a heck of a lotta kick. From the moment you press play, you’ll be nodding your head to the beats constantly. Warning: you may need a chiropractor afterwards.
With excellent instrumentation, the lyrical content is equally solid. From track one, Celph Titled comes at the listener hard, with steady, confident flow which is chock full of pop culture references. “The Deal Maker,” showcases Celph’s phenomenal wordplay with every line. Some of them you’ll readily understand, like “Catch me on the Food Network and watch me handle beef,” and “My guns flip more shells than the Ninja Turtles show.” Others require research, such as when Celph says “And like Ben Grimm’s wife you ain’t doing a Thing.” Unless you know your Marvel comics universe pretty well, you might not catch that Ben Grimm is the name of the guy who became the Thing. But you don’t have to understand each and every line to get the point of the line and the song. Take a look at Rap Genius for help deciphering some of the more obscure references.
One of my favorite tracks is “Mad Ammo,” which features F.T. and R.A. the Rugged Man. On this song, Celph drops the lines “I’m Babe Ruth with home runs/You’re a crackhead with basehits/Preachin’ to the choir like Mase did.” Again, it might take a few plays to get most references, but that’s the beauty of the album. You can listen to the record multiple times and still miss some of the double entendres. “I Could Write a Rhyme” is an interesting track which details Celph Titled’s rise in hip hop in under six minutes. Not only is it informative but it sounds pretty damn good.
“Nineteen Ninety Now” features some solid guest spots by well-known underground rappers like Apathy, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, R.A. the Rugged Man, and Chino XL. Really all 16 tracks are fantastic. Grab a copy on iTunes, Amazon, or the Celph Titled Bandcamp. The latter allows you to download the album in FLAC if you are picky about your music formats like me. Follow him on Twitter, and like his Facebook.
For even more Celph Titled and Buckwild, snag their 2011 follow up “Nineteen Ninety More.”
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