The always meditative 2Mex has become one of the most compelling MCs to surface from LA’s renowned underground. Rolling with the Visionaries, Shapeshifters, and Of Mexican Descent, 2MEX has dropped ample material solo and alongside his many crews. On his latest, self-titled album, he draws upon the many styles we’ve seen him flex along the way, showing his greatest versatility yet.
This time production duties were entrusted exclusively with 2MEX’s longtime collaborators Omid (a.k.a. OD of Beneath the Surface fame) and Shapeshifter Life Rexall. Surprisingly, it’s the lesser-known Life Rexall who steals the show. The album’s crowning point, “Chillaxing” (that’s chilling and relaxing) featuring Boca Floja and Jr. is so upbeat that this bilingual banger is sure to leave any listener hype. Over Life Rexall’s beautiful assortment of violin, flute and trumpet samples and heavy drums 2MEX spits potent lines like, “I’m just a pupil of my ancestors/ I communicate with the people without the use of hand gestures”. Other Life Rexall-produced gems, “Falcon Gentle” and “Dreaming Under Pressure”, see 2MEX shine just like he did on much of his first album, B-Boys in Occupied Mexico–with vigor and mutiny.
As 2MEX reminds us, he’s the kind of MC to wear his heart on his sleeve. And this includes taking a stab at a few love joints. Take a listen to the slow-rolling “Only As Good As Goodbye” or the acoustic guitar-laced “Baby I Ain’t Joking” featuring Awol One for proof. But it’s tracks like the haunting “Ghost Memo” that prove to be more captivating. Written as a tribute to his fallen comrade Danny Ramirez a.k.a. Memo, this song is especially entrancing with the indigenous percussion and eerie background vocals that Omid aptly cooked up.
2MEX’s latest is evidence that he can be the fighter and the lover. Thankfully he’s found the producers who can drop the perfect beat for each of 2MEX’s approaches on the mic–and this album has many.
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10 February, 2004@12:00 am
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