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MH-264 K-The-I??? - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow  K-The-I??? marks a thunderous return to Mush with his latest full-length, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. Production on the album is handled entirely by Thavius Beck, his first project since he finished work on Saul Willaims' Niggy Tardust alongside Trent Reznor. Where his debut, Broken Love Letter, focused on past loves gone wrong, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow is a collection of songs about the MC's cross country relocation, and trying to come to terms with how his life has changed from that. The result is a work of singular focus that catches K-The-I??? at his strongest, dropping ingenious lyrics over Blade Runner beats. The album features a stellar line-up of guest MCs as High Priest of a newly reunited Antipop Consortium, Busdriver, Subtitle, Scribble Jam winner Nocando, Vyle, and Mestizo all drop in. Thavius Beck even leaves the producer's desk and steps in front of the mic for a track. For fans looking for an album that ties hip-hop's past, present and future, K-The-I???'s Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow delivers. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| K's back and kicking - stand clear - NME / Rewards as much as it refuses to compromise - The Wire / Another strong notch on the post of lyrically-progressive hip-hop - Hip-Hop Connection / Go cop this s**t; it's the future of hip-hop - Lost At Sea / Few rappers think to use words like "polyocular"; fewer manage to make them funky. - Q / K-the-I??? has a bright future ahead. - XLR8R |
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| The poetry slam format has had a peculiar impact on hip-hop music. Couching rap lyrics as poetry helped to legitimize the genre in academic circles, paid homage to pioneers like The Last Poets and Nikki Giovanni and provided an important podium for talented artists who didn’t fit the mold of mainstream hip-hop culture. It’s tough to deny the electricity of seeing a poet captivate a live audience with a fast, fresh flow. The downside is that it’s often difficult to capture that energy on record. That disparity is evident throughout Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, the third album from the ponderously named, slam-influenced rapper K-The-I??? Boasting densely layered, polysyllabic lyricism and a rapid-fire flow that brings to mind KRS-ONE in full-on “teacher” mode, K-The-I??? is unquestionably a skilled MC. He has a poet’s ear for wordplay, packing his streams of consciousness with clever internal rhymes, surreal imagery and unexpected verbal twists. (“Life is what you make of it, you idiot / Cry me a river bank / Empty tank polluted / With devil sticks to the chest / Rest in peace / Isolated / You’re tempting me to intrude the interlude”). It’s a deft delivery that rewards close listening. ...The apocalyptic visions of “Marathon Man” roll along with an eerie creep and ominous vocal samples, while “Sabbath Faster” (“We distorted those fighter jets / Minor threats / Look at the architect through the eyes of prophet before I forget”) rides a burbling electronic beat that almost verges on danceable. A well-chosen roster of underground guest rappers (Busdriver is probably the biggest name here) lends muscle and provides some welcome departures from K-The-I???’s steady staccato. As hip-hop albums go, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow has plenty going for it, but it works best as an advertisement for K-The-I???’s reputedly exceptional performances. - Made Loud |
