Monday, August 11, 2008

Midwest Broadcast's Slept On Albums, Vol. 3

Greetings, people. Here we are again, with yet another edition of Midwest Broadcast's Slept On Albums. Today's post, as you'll soon see, is an awfully (and possibly deliberately?) timely one. The album is Detroit rapper eLZhi's Europass. And although this album is sicker than influenza, it should only get you even more hyped for eLZhi's official debut album, The Preface, out tomorrow, August 12!



So what about Europass, you say? Well, eLZhi spent a good portion of this summer touring through Europe. Always hustling, he decided he needed something to be selling after shows at the merch table. Thus, Europass was born. Apparently though, it didn't even sell all that well at shows, but it eventually leaked to the internet here in the states. Thus, it should be understandable how this album may have gone unnoticed for a while.

As for the music, I cannot brainstorm an accurate way to describe eLZhi's magnificent lyricism. The man simply knows how to rhyme. Really, really well. The Slum Village member may just be one of hip-hop's most overlooked emcees today. eLZhi is the total package. His lyrics can melt your face with hard-bodied punchlines, get you laughing with clever metaphors and similes, and get you thinking with introspective, complicated storytelling. All in one verse. Europass highlights his skills better than any of his previous mixtapes were able to. One solid, focused listen to this album should leave you with your jaw dropped by the end. Highlight tracks of the album include "Fire," "That's That One," "Audio Cinematic," and the spectacular "Motown 25," on which both eLZhi and Royce Da 5'9" absolutely black out over a raw beat. Oh, and did I mention Black Milk handles production on about half of the tracks? If I haven't made it clear, this album should be added to your iTunes ASAP. Now, I usually wouldn't do this, but below is a link to download the entire album. This one's a gift. Because the album was only available in Europe on Elzhi's tour, you probably won't be finding it in any local record stores. So I'll be generous and share it with you directly, instead of making you find it yourself. Enjoy.

eLZhi: Europass (An Exclusive Tour CD)

Bonus: Elzhi speaks about Europass and his upcoming album, The Preface

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