Masta Artisan – Rapper’s Liebe

Masta Artisan is the rap moniker of Daren Jackson. Jackson himself is probably best known for being a music critic himself, under the alias Rap Critic. This is his third album as Masta Artisan, following his previous albums, Starving Artist, Hungry Emcee, and Polarity Switch. I’m foregoing the track-by-track review for a more holistic review.

If du sprächst Deutsch, you’d notice that the title means Rapper’s Love, this is because the album follows Johnny Jackson, a nervous college student who has never ever had a girl. The album follows Johnny as he meets a girl, becomes her friend, and slowly gets exiled into the abyss known as THE FRIEND ZONE.

I really like this album. Artisan is a very lyrical rapper. He uses straightforward sentences to describe the settings and situations he’s in. You know how when you read a book, you can just see the events happening in your head? That’s exactly what this album is like. As he spits his verses, a little short film plays in my mind following the lyrics.  Also Artisan’s singing voice is good, he really adds to the song by using his baritone.

This isn’t to say the album has problems. The beats, while not bad, aren’t really anything special. They’re not as hard-hitting as the beats you’d hear on some bigger artists, nor as inventive as some other underground producers. In addition to that, the focus on the lyrics make the beats get sidelined. Also I feel that the song “Oh My God” isn’t very good. The chorus just too loud and annoying, it just hurts my ears. The beat has this annoying circus feel and completely overrides the verses too.

Overall however, I think this is a good album. Masta Artisan is a good lyricist and an excellent storyteller, and he’s talking about topics that can be related to by people like me. How many other rappers are gonna make an album about not getting the girl? I give this album a 7/10, because the rapping is fantastic, but the beats are only ok.

Have you listened to it? What’s your opinion? Put it in the comments below. If you haven’t heard it, you can buy it here, or listen below.

[spotify spotify:album:35P0uLO2WBiScZAvroi55V]