Album Review: Intalek mixtapes1
Posted by - In Music, Reviews
Clever wordplay, the ability to paint a picture in your mind with his words, and his deep-thought lyrical skill… I bring you Intalek (also calls himself I.N.T. and Theo-nious Monk). Intalek is a 22-year-old emcee from Virginia Beach. He’s often compared to Lupe Fiasco by his listeners, in terms of his lyrical thought process. However, he doesn’t claim to be like anyone other than himself. He has 3 mixtapes out, for free download (after the jump!), that have been creating a buzz around the internet. I’ve never heard of the guy, until he recently emailed us. It’s never too late, right? He passed over the links for his mixtapes, and I sat down and listened to them all… quite thoroughly. I think he’s developed another fan (me), because I’m diggin’ what he’s puttin’ out there for the world to hear.
Anyway, I have a certain way of how I do things in regards to listening to albums I’m going to review. I listen to each song. If I like the track, I’ll write down the title, along with some notes (what I liked about it and such). If I don’t like the track, nothing gets written down… unless it’s so unpleasant to the ears, that something needs to be said. Haha.
SQUARE ONE (6/10 stars)
>> Going Down Freestyle — “They listen to you and wonder how many bars left // They listen to me and wonder why I ain’t even start yet.”
>> Close — It’s a song about a girl, love and secret admirers. What’s not to like?
>> Tour Guide — “Where military brats get raised to blue collars // where highways are built from government tax dollars // where drunk driving happens every night, not a bother // where somebody’s kidnapped or raped by a father.” It’s a journey through Virginia type of track – the people, the scenery, the history, the highs, the lows, and so on. I flew to Virginia in October of last year to visit my grandpa who had just moved out there. He was showing me the huge houses that were built because of tobacco. That their economy and agricultural production was dominated by the tobacco growing there. Interesting…
>> Dear Music — This is an open letter to music, talking about when he first encountered music as a whole. From a young kid, while growing up, and where he’s at now. Name drops like: Anita Baker, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Kriss Kross, Lil Kim, Nas, Jay-Z, DMX, Wu-Tang, and so on. He even touches on the days when he’d go through chatrooms and forums battling against other cats. You know exactly what that’s like…
>> Don’t You Baby — Dope track… lyrically and the hard-hitting beat.
>> Other tracks I liked: “Code Magic”, “Take Notice”, “Wild”, “Rhythm of Rhythm”, “Mental Lapse”
HELLO SPACE WORLD… (7 of 10 stars)
(Note: This mixtape is full of collaborations with DJs and artists from Myspace.)
>> Don’t Cry — I smiled the second this track started. That upbeat, big-girls-don’t-cry beat. The track is really funny, you’ve got to listen to it. You know when you meet somebody, and there’s a few things you like about them… cool conversations, they look good, they have a dope personality, are beautiful inside and out, and all of that. But you come across one or two things that turn you off, and sometimes it’s enough to make you say peace. Yeah, that’s this track. Hahah.
>> This Land — Ahhhh, yes. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings sampling. I love her voice throughout this track. This is a patriotic track, that goes through the colors of the USA flag… breaking down what they each represent. “Blue be the color of truth // And handicapped parking spaces made for the troops // who fought for the youth // who sought for the truth // to understand that shit President Bush has moved to // if it doesn’t move you, look into the true you // billion dollar debt, money’s unusual// everybody’s paid, tv shows, and coo-coo personalities making thousands, boo-hoo.” One of my favorites on the mixtape.
>> With You — “I usually don’t fall so fast. For you, I fall from God’s hand just so I can land with you.” Beautiful track. It’s about that special somebody that you want to be with and love.
>> Express Yaself — It has that old school hip hop feel, which I’m liking a lot. Both emcees (Intalek & Basic) have quality verses over that beat, which is ace in my book.
>> Breathe Me — When this track came on, my initial reaction was… “Aw shit, a Sia sample!” Two minutes into the track, I was thinking that he accidently slipped in a Sia track in this mixtape. Three minutes in… hmm. Ohhh, there he goes. Hahah. Yeah, so the first 3 minutes and 10 seconds is the beautiful songstress Sia, and after that, Intalek drops in with a verse.
>> Band In My Mind — I like this song, because of the cool, jazzy beat, along with the relaxed words laced on top by Intalek. Soothing…
>> Other tracks I liked: “Paper Plane”, “Set Me Free”, “Feel Good Music”, “I Will Not Lose”, “Band In My Mind”, “Internal Growth”
BELIEVE THE HYPE MIXTAPE (8.5 of 10 stars)
>> Juice 2009 — I don’t know why, but this made me want to do the Kid-N-Play dance (even though it sounds nothing like that particular dance scene). Hahah.
>> Ima Monsta — Even though it’s a little over 1:35 mins, it’s packs a punch.
>> Brooklyn To Virginia — Yeah, it’s that Jay-Z with Santogold “Brooklyn Go Hard” instrumental backing up Intalek. But instead he’s repping for Virginia Beach. Lots of name droppin’ in this track. Smoooooth…
>> Monkey — This interlude had me saying “What… the…?” with one eyebrow cocked up, combined with laughter. Monkeys, donkeys, gorillas… oh my. I’ve actually never heard anyone use the term Gorilla (nice butt, ugly face) though. Haha.
>> Cakes And Kisses — Jeremih “Birthday sex” remix. Sex talk in code of pastries… haha. Kinda feelin’ it. Actually, I can hear this song being played on the radio, over and over and over again. You know, that same 10-track rotation they have. Or, I can see it being used as myspace names, status messages, and so on. Haha.
>> Say You Will, Pray For Real – What I got from this track is that he doesn’t want to disappoint himself… or lose his passion to make music and become successful doing what he loves. And that’s something he thinks, prays, seeks guidance for, seeing as how he lost the ability to participate in his other passion (basketball, due to torn ligaments). Ill track. He, along with everyone else, should never stop trying to reach their own goals/dreams. Don’t stop pushing, always look foward.
>> Dead — “Those who are dead are not dead, they’re just living in my head.” This track is after the outro, and it’s ill. I believe it’s about those hip hop greats that are no longer with us, but are still living on through their music and within their true fans. Towards the end, Intalek spits about a funeral that he’s attending. All the greats are there in the church, and as ‘lek walks in, they’re giving him head-nods and daps. They lead him up to his own casket. “Pimp C is the one to reveal the casket infront of me. Mac Dre tells me to peek in, I see a reflection of me sleeping. Goodnight.” I think it holds a strong metaphor for one day being on the same level as them. I may be wrong about all of that, but that’s what I got from the song. It pays homage to Big L, Biggie, Tupac, Eazy-E, ODB, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez, Jam Master Jay, Proof, Dilla, Pimp C, Mac Dre, etc.
>> Other tracks I liked: “Youtube & Dreams freestyle”, “Gangsta Trippin” (Fatboy Slim beat!), “Too Smooth Freestyle”, “Bang Out” (wordplay is nice), “City Lights”, “Hello Hip Hop”, “The Red Freestyle”, “The Outstanding”
FREE DOWNLOADS:
Square One: The Mixtape (2008) (Sharebee)
Hello Space World… (2009) (Sharebee)
Believe The Hype: Best Of Intalek (2009) (Sharebee)
Infinity (mp3) (UserShare) — Intalek releases a new track every Wednesday, and this is the mp3 he did last Wednesday. Souls of Mischief’s “93 ‘Til Infinity” instrumental backing.
Download the mixtapes and listen for yourself. And stay tuned to CB, because I plan on interviewing Intalek soon.
Intalek myspace | Intalek facebook
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