DEPTH!…

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[6.89]

Rodney J. Greene: Aside from “Raise It Up”, released before Elzhi joined, I never cared for Slum Village, even as their peak coincided with my own backpacker phase. Jay Dee’s offbeat boom-bap just wasn’t my steez, but my biggest problem was that I felt the rather lazy rapping from dudes I felt should know better. After a few halfhearted attempts at finding an in, they fell off my radar. Catching up with this SV alum now, producer Black Milk stands in for Dilla, approximating his style, which I have warmed to somewhat. Elzhi, however, rhymes with a sharpness and clarity either I had previously overlooked or he has newly discovered, never losing my oft-wandering attention.
[7]

Dan MacRae: To paraphrase noted academic Ghostface Killah: Elzhi’s been doing this after Nas dropped the Nasty.
[7]

Matt Cibula: Wasn’t feeling this and still not really, and I have no truck with “oh god Slum Village r00led, RIP Dilla.” But it’s pretty cool that the verses get better as the track goes along, so upgraded my score for that.
[6]

Martin Skidmore: Smart underground hip hop from Detroit. The beats are atmospherically moody and slightly sinister, but the appeal is down to him. He strikes me as an outstanding rapper, with nimble flow and very strong rhymes, imaginative and often witty. He may be a little too keen on overt cleverness, but it works for me.
[8]

Chuck Eddy: Trippy, halfway gorgeous, dexterously verbose in a way that’s so familiar it feels clinical, hard to care about but hard to dislike. Lays back yet manages a kind of momentum. Gets a bonus point for acknowledging people in Detroit need to eat.
[6]

Alfred Soto: His flow is good enough that I almost forget the references to chronic, gettin’ deep, and thoroughbreds. In short, this would make for an excellent guest appearance on a Raekwon or Prodigy record.
[6]

Edward Okulicz: His flow is impressively fast and slick, though despite his protests to the contrary, some of his rhymes are cheap (Grim Reap? Doesn’t work). What really sells this is the production; the beat could have powered a far funkier track but if anything, the gauzy menace is an even better use for it. Both banging and unsettling.
[8]

Ian Mathers: I really like the production here, and it took me a few listens to figure out what it reminded me of. Finally it came to me — Elzhi sounds a bit like he’s rapping over the new Caribou record. And while, “Odessa” aside, I’m finding Swim on its own underwhelming, “Deep” makes me kind of wish Elzhi would take on the whole damn thing.
[7]

John Seroff: Not really THAT deep (“pale as Renee Zellweger”?) but Black Milk’s production is bumpin’ and eLZhi’s style is bell-clear and more clever than most.
[7]