Coming off the heels of EX2’s new LP “Resurgence,” Gel Roc drops another solo joint for the masses. “Beautiful Tragedy” is an extremely dope album; so, it angers me when people say that music, specifically Hip Hop, sucks. Unfortunately, we live in an age of laziness and disinterest. Most expect great music to fall from the sky and land on their laps. The term “seek and you shall find” has never more true for this decade. If those that complain would put the same amount of effort in finding the art they want, rather than saturating every social network to be “seen,” they would realize that there’s a whole new world of awesome music out there…For them!
Anyway, Gel Roc has a lot on his mind and “BT” is his way of unloading all this on those that will listen. He’s always had a dark approach to his music and nothing changes with “Beautiful Tragedy.” Many of the topics are insights into the music industry, politics, consumerism and personal reflection to say the least. He tackles each subject with precision and delves deep into each topic at hand. Along with Gel, is a huge staple of ILL emcees to help relay Gel’s message. This reminds me of the whole mid to late 90’s Cali scene where everyone was dope. There are 16 tracks, each one flowing to the point where time is not a concern. You will definitely play a few tracks over again or just listen to the full album 3 or 4 times in a row. Lyrically, Gel is always on top of his game. I can’t imagine any different.
XCzircles (of the Escape Artists) handles the production and DJ Drez applies the supreme cuts we’ve (in the know) grown to love. The production is excellent and is perfectly catered to Gel and the other artists wrecking the mic. The sound is of course dark and edgy but contains that slight boom bap we love and even incorporates a little industrial vibe as well. Some the emcees you’ll run into are Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Awol One, Vyrus (of EX2), Aamir of Escape Artists, Ecid, Longevity, Joe Dub, Neila, Lord Zen, Mestizo, Mike Eagle and more. As you can see, it’s a “who’s who” of some of the best lyricists in the world. Some of my favorite tracks include “Trust to Dust,” “Step Science” (the lead single), “Beautiful Tragedy” and the Posse cut “Tragic Poetry.”
If you purchase the physical, you’re not going to get some flimsy CDR with generic artwork. It comes looking beautifully crafted with liner notes. The same goes for the digital copy, you get the album art and more so, it’s worth your purchase. So now it boils down to this, do you waste your time on Facebook uploading a million pictures of yourself while complaining about the music industry? Or do you take the time and add great art into your life by purchasing and supporting great artists like Gel Roc. I hope you choose the latter and not the former! Go to http://abolanorecords.com/, http://www.accesshiphop.com/store/?itemid=20586 or http://gelroc.abolanorecords.com/album/beautiful-tragedy . Bless C73Eternal
