Greetings again one and all, tis I Singerdread with another review. This time around it is Verb T’s newest offering, ‘Medicated Dreams’ EP.
I find it unlikely that anyone reading this doesn’t know who Verb T is, but if you don’t, I’ll just say he is a guy who has been in the game for a while and done more than paid his dues. This is why I think he has the position he has at the moment, as a kinda OG of high focus records (I’m sure Verbs won’t mind me referring to him as an OG! haha).
This EP is now the second release from Verbs that is completely produced by the man himself, and as anyone who has the previous Verb T produced album, ‘I Remain’, will tell you….he ain’t too shabby son!! Many rappers try at producing, some do Ok, aaaaaaand some do not. Verbs falls into another category of rappers who produce……he fucking smashes it!!
I dont think that myself and fellow HHLAT writer Adam will ever forget when we saw Verb T perform the title track from ‘I remain’ at Boom Bap festival last year and the crowd reaction when that beat switches!!! Jheeeez!! Haha anyways, moving on……
I really like Verbs style of production, as at times its hard to hear what he’s played and what is the sample….which is awesome!! and also a real testament to his skills as a producer. His beats remind me a lot of Madlibs beats (I’m sure Verbs won’t mind this comparison either), as he creates tracks that have their own type of vibe to them and sometimes may not strictly sound like ya average hip hop beat. That theme or style of beats match perfectly with the subject matter of the EP. ‘Medicated Dreams’ is a trippy and laid back 9 tracks in which Verb T tells tales of pain, insomnia, and basically insanity!! Don’t let the laid back sound fool you though, as Verbs is as complex as he can be with his rhymes and patterns, making the replay factor of this EP very strong.
I really think this EP is brilliant, and I couldn’t stop listening to it, as was the same with Verb T’s last album, ‘I Remain’. My final thought on this EP is one that I don’t want people to get misconstrued. The point I wanted to make was that I think Verbs age and music now is at a maturity level which gives him the freedom to do some things others may not be able to do with his sound and subjects. It is for this reason that I think the older hip hop head may well appreciate this EP more than a younger buck…BUT, as I said, I don’t want people to get this twisted, as I’m sure younger listeners too will appreciate what Verbs has done here.
There is only one verdict I could have come to when reviewing this EP……Go and buy it now!!…..its awesome and its out now!!!
Thank you for your time in reading this and thanks to HHLAT for the chance to do this again. that’s me, Singerdread, signing out. Peace Love Unity to all.
Words; Singerdread
Get Verb T’s ‘Medicated Dreams’ EP from
iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/medicated-dreams/id914830552
or direct from High Focus Records http://www.high-focus.com
Verb T – Hospital Bars
Verb T had this message “This is a good prelude to my new EP I guess. This video was filmed in December 2011 at St. Thomas’s hospital. I had been struggling for years with Crohn’s disease and all the different medication I had to take was affecting me badly as well. In that hospital bed I finished off writing the Morning Process album. I was there over Christmas when I should have been with my kids. My hair looked fucking sick really but I was at the lowest point I ever have been physically. When I came out I was on a huge dose of steroids which made me feel better at first only to feel a lot worse. This is around the time when the four owls album was new and we were doing shows all over. I would be sitting backstage looking half dead and have to jump up and go mental on stage. The traveling and not sleeping were hard, it had to be a case of mind over matter to get through it sometimes. I heard an endless list of “you look tired man” “you look well sad mate” “are you wasted?” “did some one shit in your ruck sack?” (ok not the last one). in the past few months I’ve tried other more natural remedies and tried taking better care of myself generally and it’s helped but it’s still a struggle sometimes. So my new EP is a wacked out journey through my experiences under the influence of different types of medication with side helpings of weird dreams, some depression and some optimism, it’s out on now, that’s good isn’t it? yes.”
Verb T – Powdered Dreams
Verb T – Isn’t Clear
ORDER THE CD: http://bit.ly/YCu5K3
ORDER ON ITUNES: http://bit.ly/1tOPdJD
ORDER ON JUNO: http://bit.ly/1pcHjCo
ORDER ON AMAZON: http://amzn.to/YCtVlW
hiphoplifeandtimes 