[Repost from Add to Wantlist; by Dennis, February 13, 2025]
Wait, what? Hip hop on this rock-oriented blog? This one is actually pretty cool (and universally relatable), so yeah.
Stages is the ambitious sixth studio album since 2006 from MindsOne, a collective from Wilmington, North Carolina, centered around KON Sci and Tronic, responsible for the lyrics and vocals of the 17 tunes—a whopping 63 minutes in total—here. Clever and inviting raps take us through the human life cycle, from inception to the reflective later stages in life, all those phases of development and maturation, growth and struggle, with an open ended conclusion to the project as opposed to a finite ending. Although it is a guest-heavy journey, it always feels coherent and cohesive, with energizing beats, atmospheric jazzy samples and magnetic turntablism. This is a bizarrely rich and thoughtful record.
Stages, a concept album engineered & mixed by Owen Dollar, is out now digitally and on vinyl 2-LP through Fort Lowell Records. Also featuring Kev Brown, Sam Brown, Shylow the Beat Yoda, Marco Polo, Da Beatminerz, Tink_Musik, Drew Dave, MentPlus, DJ Iron, DJ Noumenon, DJ Slim Deluxe and Jay Killman on select tracks.
