New Kingdom — Heavy Load

Jason Furlow, Sebastian Laws and Scott Harding form New Kingdom, hip-hop group from Queens. Gee Street puts them under contract and this trio records the album between London and New York. New Kingdom offer an alternative and experimental hip-hop album, thirteen cuts, about 45 minutes in length. The production, in which Lumberjacks also participate, is at times interesting, alternative and psychedelic, but for the most part it's simple boom bap, while the lyricism of the two performers (Furlow and Laws) is positive, even if their interpretation leaves a lot to be desired.

The first five cuts fall very flat: "Good Times" features a lean, slow, pounding and hard syncopated drum machine, which constitutes a cheap rhythm on which the duo delivers with a slow hardcore-trash style; subsequent tracks are similar, the second song has a simple hook, while the third one pick boasts a decent jazzy bridge. Skit at the fourth choice, before "Mama and Papa", dry and hard drum, slow hardcore delivery. The production helps "Cheap Thrills", but the song is mediocre and the delivery of the performers is slow and cumbersome. The seventh and eighth tracks leave similar feelings on simplistic and heavy beats, while the rapping ranges from trashy-slow to cumbersome slow. "Half Seas Over" welcomes the rap rock section and the record comes alive: there's a good guitar riff in this track, simple slow drum, light boom bap and good soft rock bridge on the hook, but the Laws and Furlow's delivery is lazy, almost spoken word.

"Mother Nature" has another rap rock rhythm with guitar riff and heavy drum machine, but there is something wrong with the rapping choice, here heavy, slow and cumbersome hardcore-trash, spoken. These two guys still struggle in "Callico Cats", on a simple production and with a dull bridge, where they offer bars that want to be urgent but struggle to get out, the flow is annoyingly cumbersome. The group definitely falls into "Mighty Maverick", the worst cut of the record and one of the worst of the year: simple rhythm, slow, normal syncopated skinny drum machine, simple chorus, but on this mediocre sound the duo decides to perform for five minutes entirely with burps (or with a similar effect), a choice not easy to understand. The last track has a good sax sample and a lean slow tight drum, but there is a guy who has done a run just before arriving in the studio and is out of breath and starts talking, he can't go on; bad cut.

Overall, the production is acceptable, the rapping sucks. Unfortunately (for Island Records...) they will be back three years later with their latest album, not much better than this one. 5/10.