A Mystery Darkened

An album that is definitely appropriately named! I don’t think I’ve seen this side of Kheyzine in a while! He really unlocked the darker side of his production and did so alongside an MC I wasn’t familiar with until now. An exciting listening venture for sure and one that I’m definitely excited to try out! So? Let’s talk about it! This is the brand new album by MC -Curriculum and Producer -Kheyzine and together they drop this 12 track, 29 minute project with no features in sight just two artists locking in and doing their thing! The ‘darkness’ I mentioned above is evident in the opening track! -The Corners as we get a glimpse to Khey’s more gritty atmosphere with a combination of those haunting key notes, minimal drum work and an actively chilling bass note symphony that puts goosebumps up your spine while listening! Quite the compelling way to kick the record off! As we continue throughout the album we get cuts like -Extinguisher which is the sonic equivalent of walking through a forest at midnight. You have those funky bass lines, rock and roll drum work and more importantly you’ve got those various incomprehensible sounds that feel like there are animals, creatures and the unknown surrounding you at all times. Somehow this is more of an eerie experience than the first track! It’s able to sound both dangerous and mesmerising at the same time which I’d say is quite the feat! I will say though, when we get to cuts like -Lost In Paradise Repeated we get to this truly hypnotic transport to the 1980’s era of Synth Wave Pop inspiration! This one feels like a Corona track from her debut album! You’ve got those slow paced drum work, those shaking sticky keys in the background with that groovy bass! Alongside those continuous ‘clap’ effects that make this feel ripped off a dancehall from decades ago! Now, what a fascinating rapper this guy ended up being. Again I hadn’t heard him prior (at least to my knowledge) so I didn’t know what to expect or what was waiting for me delivery wise or performance wise but if this was a test/exam on how to be dope then he definitely passed the curriculum with flying colors! What I noticed immediately was his laid back nonchalance with his tone and approach. Especially since we had tracks that emphasised Khey’s more sinister sounding instrumentals it was refreshing to hear the contrast between the beats and the laid back presence of the MC! Even on cuts like -Without Warning, -Slow Dancing Playing Waltz where the production turned face into a more classical category his deep, in depth performances never switched up and added even more refined texture and rhythm to the tracks! He has this introspective nature to his lyricism. It felt like he was just sitting in the booth reminiscing about his most recent memories, situations throughout the day/week and various wisdoms that he wanted to share on the album. No features to bother him, just pure sharp rapping and done well! Well, this rapper is definitely not a mystery anymore. Just when you thought Khey couldn’t get anymore refined he upped the bar again! Definitely an album worth checking out!