Search - Last Emperor :: Music Magic Myth (Bonus CD)

All Hail

Leo | ny | 09/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album deserves to get far better than some mixed reviews and a recognition for future potential. For those who have never heard Last Emp before, now's the best time. He uses fantastically vivid and tightly woven lyrical skill along with strong intellectual content to produce what I see as some of the best hip-hop ever to vibrate its way out of a speaker.



The album starts out setting a plot with a skit. An evil army of whack emcees has risen in the eastern provinces, and they now threaten the capital; the time for battle is at hand. Hence forth a hero arises from the "people's republic of west philly" trained in the dark arts of hip-hop. Of course, our hero is Last emp himself.



The entertaining intro sets the scene for Last Emp to come correct on the mic for track after track of pure hip-hop goodness. There are so many tracks on this album that go beyond what the mainstream masses would have ever dreamed or thought hip-hop could be. On "Tiger Trail" emp shows you his talent for raw lyrics over a hot eastern influenced beat with a hard hitting hypnotic bass line. The delivery here is right on the mark too, it's just one of those tracks you can't help but rap along to. On "Prisoner" Emp shows his story telling abilities, and it truly demonstrates his artistic talents. Compare this to anything else out there and it blows it out of the water. Perhaps the hottest all around track is "Karma". Here Emp delivers 3 separate brilliantly expressed stories of heartfelt emotional empathy over a thought-provoking beat. The words here are inspiring and uplifting, and show a much more positive side of hip-hop. Emp gets downright philosophical on "One Life", on a track that is both heart-wrenching and mind blowing. To all those that never thought theological questions could be intelligently explored on a hip-hop track need to hear this. This song displays how Last Emp can get very deep in ponderence while still remaining concise and articulate with his rhymes. An excerpt says it all:



"A meaningless death made me question the meaning of life

Does my body remain at rest like when I'm sleeping at night?

Will I burn in eternal hell or will I find paradise?

Be rejected or resurrected like the body of Christ?

Is it like purgatory, the story described by the Catholics?

Or Nirvana that Buddhists honor in both theory and practice?

Like I study in my college philosophy classes

Or do my molecules and atoms travel back to the gases?"



The positivity Emp routinely brings through in his music is summed up by the last line of the first verse of this amazing song: "He said a brotha like me is willing to fight, and every time I question death my only answer is life".



Other notable songs include two romantically inspired tracks "Shine" and "do you really care?". Both have lots of heart and tons of lyrical talent. On the later Emp states the memorable lines:



"truly divine, now show me a sign

I want you to remember but you wont even try

Who woulda thought that our worlds would collide

on the corner of hello and goodbye

but I wont deny

Im lonely inside

a million faces in the crowd and she overlooks mine

and even though I got pride, you know I wont lie

memories of you are still etched in my mind"



I don't think even Common's much-loved "The Light" can truly outdo these two excellent tracks. The last track "The Great Pretender" has Ceelo of Goodie Mob in the background, and though the composure of the song's awkward hook keeps it from being in my favorites list, Emp lyrically shines here and sums up his entire rhyming paradigm in a few lines:



"This is your opportunity to listen in

if you're coolin by yourself or maybe with some friends

from the young bucks upto senior citizens

I make em get up and feel like kids again

Now if you don't wanna stand, then take a seat

as I take you to the land of make-believe

mister grey has came to display his greatest feats

you want a snack? well relax, cause you in for a treat

What I write comes to life so people can get busy

and I'll live on well after these same people forget me"



Lastly, we have a shining star of a track in the beautifully constructed song: "single mother". While not as soulful as "Dear Mamma" or "Keep ya Head Up", Emp carves his own nitch here giving props to single mothers world-wide, both his own and others, in a mature, intelligent and heartfelt ballad that truly deserves due praise as one of the best in the category. The second verse Emp gives props to his own mom



"You were my first teacher, my first friend

gave me my first vision, and a first glimpse

of a bigger world, givin me my first look

tuckin me into bed, read me my first book

and as I fell asleep for the first time

little did I know you were showin me my first rhyme

I wanna thank you for showin me

how to be a man and turn my pain into poetry"



Truly, this album cannot be awarded anything short of 5 stars. I'd give it 10 if I could. This is more than I good album by a man with talent, it is a glaring example of what hip-hop can and SHOULD be. Last emp takes it back to the essence and proves proficient at everything from story-telling, to introspection, to pondering the mysteries of the universe, to expressing emotions, to battle raps, to straight up old school funk. His vocab is impressive, his lyrics intelligent, his beats dope, his delivery impeccable, and his rhymes tight. If you're a real hip-hop fan, go do yourself a favor and buy this album and hear it for yourself.

"

Finally the Emperor Debuts!

Louie G | NE PHILLY | 09/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am sooo glad he was finally able to deal with all the problems he had with his distribution and all that and sign with raptivism. Ive been a fan of The Last Emperor since 99 when I first heard secret wars part 1 and was blown away by how he was able do deliver something inovative and new and not rhyming about "bling bling" and all that junk that now runs rampant throughout hip-hip.If you are a true hip-hop head and still hold the art of real lyricism close to you I highly recommend this album from the first track to the last the emp paints vivid images in each of his songs and deliver's a great album BUY THIS ALBUM!!!! and also download his vast collection of songs on the internet I promise you won't be dissappointed. Visit his website http://www.thelastemp.com/
My favorite tracks Who's That, Some Love Some Hate, Tiger Trail, Karma, One Life, The Incredible Man, and Finally my absolute favorite Single Mother ..."

The greatest album no one knows about? Probably.

Pablo | 10/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Last Emperor made his name on the Lyricists Lounge albums, an series of albums dedicated to hip-hop heads connected with the underground. He wasn't a prominent feature on these albums, hence there wasn't a whole lot of hype for his debut album. Working against Last Emp even more, he couldn't even get it out on Rawkus, where it'd have moved more units; he had to go with a very cheap label to publish and distribute his music for him. By the time Music, Magic, Myth was released, not only was it scarce in any store, but even some of the most dedicated hip-hop heads had no idea who this cat was.



Last Emp showed his brilliance on the Secret Wars saga, which can be found on the bonus disc of this album. The chosen few who did know this cat's skills were anxious to hear how well he'd do on a solo album; and thus, this masterpiece was given to us. But are there even more than a thousand people out there who've heard this album? It'd shock me. I'm shocked to see this album has the sixteen reviews it does on it, and also very pleased that this album, at the very least, reached some heads; because anyone who is a fan of hip-hop deserves to own this album.



It's musical perfection; from start to finish, nearly cracking in at an hour long, Last Emp doesn't let up. He is the most passionate emcee I've ever heard on the mic; if you thought Shakur's delivery was powerful, you haven't heard anything yet. His lyrics are leagues above most cats in the game, including some of the most revered lyricists; on a straight-up lyrics tip, I'd only put him behind Immortal Technique and the GZA. The thing is, unlike the aforementioned CD, who are politically charged(Tech), or throwing poisonous darts(GZA), Last Emp is the soft-spoken poet who spills his heart out onto his music. He drops knowledge, science, mathematics, whatever you want to call it, all over this release. He has the vocabulary of a college professor, and the heart of a warrior.



There are so many powerful cuts on here, it's hard to single any out; but tracks seven and eight are my absolute favorites. Track seven is One Life featuring the late Too Poetic; who was literally dying as he recorded this song. Too Poetic's words are enough to bring a tear to the eyes of even the most stubborn individual, as he retells the phsyical pain he's suffering with his intricate storytelling. Despite nothing being able to top Poetic's verse, Emp's is powerful in its own right, as he questions religion, and life after death like no other emcee can in his verse. Track eight is Meditate, and it's spine-tingling; the Buddhist monk hymms in the background create a very atmospheric piece of production, and Last Emperor drops verse after verse of dopeness.



The Last Emperor's debut(and unfortunately, only album at this point) is just as important as the Illmatics, Ready To Dies, and Reasonable Doubts of this world. If you can find this, do yourself a huge favor, and pick it up; i promise you won't regret it."