Fourth solo studio album in the rapper Termanology's discography. His friend Statik Selektah produces half the album, providing most of the music in the second half, the rest of the beats are created by Just Blaze, Buckwild, Dame Grease, JUSTICE League, Hi-Tek, Nottz and Q-Tip. The guests are Kendra Foster, Crushboys, Sheek Louch & Styles P of LOX, Bun B of UGK, KXNG Crooked of Slaughterhouse, Conway & Westside Gunn of Griselda, Joey Bada$$, Cyrus DeShield, Sean Taylor, Your Old Droog, Chris Rivers, Ea$y Money, Bodega Bamz, Masspike Miles and Saigon.
The introductory piece is appropriately triumphant thanks to splendid horns, beautiful work by Just Blaze that Termanology doesn't waste, offering an excellent start to his album. The tape's ideal momentum is maintained by the second track, "I Dream B.I.G.", made together with two heavyweights, Sheek Louch and Styles P of LOX, on a spectacular beat by Buckwild, which brings the vibe back to the mid nineties with gorgeous dusty drums and an iconic vocal sample. After seven minutes, the album drops by attempting a shameless approach to the charts with "Looking Back": rocking production from JUSTICE League, good rap from Term, plaintive pop rap hook sung by Crushboys that ruins the song, which isn't even chosen as a single.
“Where’s the Love” should also be an easy winner on Hi-Tek's fluid production and with Bun B supporting the author on the mic, however, there's another pop chorus that knocks down the cut. Saigon arrives with the right energy in the socio-political piece "We're Both Wrong", but I feel like Q-Tip's dope production is a bit wasted on this occasion, this piece could have been stronger than it actually is. The specter of Eminem hovers over "Let's Go (Part 2)", which is a cut that would have been ideal on one of the Slaughterhouse albums, even if the beat is of higher quality than those usually present in the group's records: Termanology quickly spits on a concrete jazzy sound carpet of Statik Selektah, KXNG Crooked completes the work.
Statik's first production arrives after almost twenty minutes, followed by a second for "Top Shotta" in which the producer invents a splendid jazz lounge sound painting to support the Termanology bars, this time joined by Joey Bada$$, who doesn't disappoint. The beat breathes deservedly for a few moments at the end. The following choices are the mellow "Krazy Thangs", the dedication to his daughter "First Love" and the track on the fight against alcoholism "The Last Time": this trio of songs has a lot to complain about because the rhythms chosen, however good they may be, they don't do Termanology's heavy bars justice and end up creating songs that fade into the background and remain practically unnoticed, for one reason or another.
Kendra Foster sings the hook of "Moving Forward", prelude to an album finale that shows some happy and long-awaited high notes. Statik Selektah signs a commendable production for the "The Curve" posse: fresh and lively bass, slick keyboards, dry drums, cinematic beat to welcome one of the best back n forth performed by Hall & Nash, Your Old Droog delivers the second verse with a good flow and precedes Termanology. This is one of the best gangsta rap tracks in his catalog. “Bar Show” is the last beat Statik Selektah provides on the record, featuring Chris Rivers and Easy Money dropping bars for four minutes. The album closes with "It's Quiet", deservedly hailed as one of the best songs on the album, if not the best: sensational beat by Dame Grease that takes a sample you know, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, and doesn't alter it, delivering a beautiful liquid solution for one of Term most inspired lyrics.
The album is released on Termanology's ST Records label, Statik's ShowOff Records label and Boston-based label Brick Records. Statik Selektah recorded it at Marley Marl's House of Hits, directly in Brooklyn, New York. The cover is sober, album title at the top, author's face in the centre, anonymous background. There's a stellar cast supporting the main rapper and behind the keyboards there are guys who have produced at least a couple of classic albums each, including Statik (“1999” for Joey Badass, “Flygod” and “Supreme Blientele” for Westside Gunn, both guests here).
This should therefore be an easy candidate for album of the year, at most a favorite in the underground circuit, however it's never taken into consideration, for some reason: there are several notable excerpts, Termanology proves to have a good pen and he creates an interesting record that tackles a multitude of different topics delivered with an appropriate, timely and good rapping style, nevertheless, some productions of the central section slow down the project and some pop hooks clash with the rest. With just over three quarters of an hour of material, excellent material most of the time, “More Politics” retains good replay value and it's undoubtedly one of the finest records in Termanology's vast catalogue.
Rating: 6.8/10.
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