Nonce - World Ultimate (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

WEST COAST MASTERPIECE

O. KAKA | WOODBRIDGE, NJ United States | 04/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"CLASSIC

LYRICS --------- 9/10

PRODUCTION COURTESY OF THE NONCE ---------- 10/10

THEME --------- 10/10

ALBUM COVER ---------- 8/10

CONCEPT ---------- 10/10

STANDOUT TRACKS ---------- ALL TRACKS

OVERALL ----------- PURE HIP HOP NON STOP."

Classic masterpiece

mordecai | Richmond, VA USA | 06/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album. Great jazzy production that isn't too soft. Perfect flows to complement the beats. Very complete and well put-together with highlights including "Mixtapes" (and its remix), "On The Road" and "Bus Stops""

Nothing short of wonderful

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 09/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are maybe twenty or so hip hop albums of the hundreds I own that I would call perfect. The Nonce's 1995 debut "World Ultimate" would never be spoken of as a top 20 album because it wasn't hugely influential or even popular, but listening to this album from start to finish it is absolutely flawless. This album was executed to perfection. The rappers Nouka Base and Yusef Afloat are West Coast MCs with what one might call an East Coast mentality. Their product comes off most comparable to a Tribe Called Quest record, but not lyrically. They're plenty distinctive, but I say that mostly because the production recalls a more laidback and polished Tribe production and Yusef sounds pretty similar to Q-Tip vocally. They celebrate the original spirit of hip hop, and they're incredibly artistic in their trade. Both of them fit the definition of a dope MC. They have dope flows, dope vernaculars, write dope rhymes, and deliver dope hooks. The beats are really something else on "World Ultimate." The feeling is very jazzy, and each beat has a kind of laidback background vibe line that makes them perfect. Horns, saxes, flutes, and keyboards are plentiful, and the beats are really clever and catchy, you could get lost in this type of production. The LP is a perfect length at thirteen tracks, you can just let it flow. Heck, even the cover is dope. "World Ultimate" is a flawless hip hop album full of absolutely gorgeous hip hop: a must have!

The album opens with the gorgeous "On the Air," which has some nice vibes and a hook anchored by a perfect breezy sax loop. Nouka and Yusef's rhymes on this song sound therapeutic, their flows and execution are flawless. The lighter, more upbeat but equally polished "Keep It On" celebrates the joyful spirit of hip hop and B-Boys, a great song. The single "Bus Stops" is a true highlight, a laidback weekend song about relaxing and kickin' it to the ladies. Again the production and rappers' performance shine. The collaboration "West Is..." is a shout-out to their beloved coast, shaking the perception of it being solely a home to gangsta rap. Another highlight is "Mix Tapes," where the duo recalls their introduction to the hip hop world and their early days. After the dope "Testing" instrumental interlude, the great title track arrives with a wonderful, upbeat jazzy and relaxed beat and fun verses. The chorus to "Good to Go" is based on a classic EPMD line from Strictly Business, and it's another song I really like that fulfills their potential and displays flawless execution. I also love "On the Road Again," a particularly soulful and toney number that vibes really well, and it's followed by a similarly nice track "Hoods Like to Play." "J to the I" is perfect, with some of the best lines and an airy flute instrumental. The bullhorned B-Boy verses to "Eighty-Five" recall Run-DMC or Grandmaster Flash, over a signature Nonce production. The album closes with a very nice remix of "Mix Tapes."

"World Ultimate" was released during the golden age of hip hop, and while it ranks among the best of its contemporaries is still incredibly slept-on, so much that it's even gone out of print. For any hip hop purist and fan of the artistic sounds of A Tribe Called Quest, Aceyalone, Digable Planets, or Camp Lo, consider this release a must-own. The Nonce could have been an underground force, but tragically Yusef died in 2000 and the Nonce never released another LP, just their final EP recording The Sight of Things in 1998. Their name will live on in obscurity with their one perfect album, and I highly recommend it."

Get Your Hands On This {5 Stars}

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 03/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Nonce are composed of the duo Nouka Basetype (aka Nouka Base) and Yusef Afloat. World Ultimate was their debut and it was largely ignored despite quite a few dope singles. The first thing that jumped out at me was how much Nouka sounds like Aceyalone. Acey makes a few guest appearances and I couldn't (and still can't) distinguish one from the other. Of course, over the span of time Acey has gotten older so his voice doesn't sound like this anymore. Yusef, on the other hand, has more of a nasal pitch that makes his flow unique yet familiar. The rhymes are of the everyday b-boy ilk which, when done right, can be very, very entertaining. Of course, they do it and do it well on this album. The production is handled entirely by The Nonce. A lot of people compare their sound to A Tribe Called Quest, but I don't hear it. I think their sound was totally their own when they dropped in '95. No disrespect to Tribe, but these guys don't really need name dropping in order to validate their freshness. Just cop the album and pop it in...it'll speak for itself.

I found quite a few things wrong with this album. First of all...... Nah, I'm kidding. This album is perfect. From start to finish you get smoothed out beats of varying tempos and the rhymes are on point. If you're not nodding to this, check your pulse.

World Ultimate is literally the kind of album that you will only see or hear once in a lifetime. This album is so hard to come across that I'm STILL bangin' the promo copy because I don't want to open the original issue. Amazon has a few copies online and I think $15 is a steal for this joint. With Yusef leaving us on May 21, 2000, you will never ever hear anymore fresh Nonce material outside of what's already out. That, along with the fact that the album is so dope, makes World Ultimate, as well as their other releases, a must have for your music library. Nouka Base (who now operates under the name Sach -- from Project Blowed family) once said that he had over 40 tracks of unreleased material that he was going to put out along with a reissue of this album in CD and vinyl format, but that was a minute ago. Don't hold your breath, just grab this one while you can.

Standout Tracks: Mix Tapes - 1926 Sunday Night Remix, J To The I (My Favorite), On The Road Again feat. Figures Of Speech, Eighty Five, Bus Stops feat. Aceyalone, On The Air, Mix Tapes, and Good To Go

R.I.P. Yusef Afloat Muhammad"

Ultimately

Carltouis Stevenson | Angeles Mesa, Los Angeles | 06/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Nonce consist of two, Nouka Basetype & Yusef Afloat, on their debut hailing from Los Angeles. Nothing what you'd expect from a West Coast group as they produced the entire album with a jazz, hip-hop, commercial appeal tracks. As they describe the scene to find the most of the opposite sex, at the "Bus Stops" over an almost jazz slow groove. The highlight of World Ultimate is "Mix Tapes", as Nouka sing the hook, "...I used to sell mix tapes, but now I'mma emcee, I got the rhymes and beats, I used to rock them tapes..." It good to hear someone represent L.A. from a different light. They flex their production skills on the mainstream instrumental interludes "Testing" and "Eighty Five". "...the mellow / the fellow / the one that likes to say hello / to a fly girl that's good to go...", and this is the feel of "Good To Go". The roughest of them all, "Hoods Like To Play" as the two made a killing without the gun play. There are only a couple fillers that keep this from being called ultimate classic, but it's a good album with original tunes or Killafornia's bounce (with the exception of "Mix Tapes - 1926 Sunday Night Remix" that contains a sample."

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