Evidence’s production leans hazy and psychedelic, somewhere between a pleasant daydream and a neo-noir soundtrack. Those growing pains are gone on Intros, Outros & Interludes, where their styles interlock effortlessly. Aren’t U Glad You’re U? was an instance of two artists who clearly liked each other still figuring out how to fit in each other’s universe. It’s remarkable how much the two have grown since the last time they joined forces. Genesis has a way of sprinkling in quick allusions that map out his mindstate in the fewest moves possible: He compares his skills to wrestler Booker T.’s infamous 1997 speech to Hulk Hogan on “Campfire,” and makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to the Righteous Gemstones on “Victories and Losses.” Even at his most dour, there’s always some fun to be had on a Domo Genesis song.
On “Trust the Process,” he doesn’t just work with the “weight of the world on my shoulders”-he approaches it with the strength of a Super Soldier from Marvel Comics. He rarely references specific hardships, but his delivery sells whatever lessons he’s gleaned. Genesis is still hungry and willing to fight for what’s his, but he’s more weathered, more cognizant of when to use his energy to bolster his strength. “What I get, I deserve, I’m undeferred, I’m too ahead of the curve,” he says nonchalantly on intro track “Don’t Believe Half,” finding the worth in his peaks and valleys: “I had my head fully submerged under the current/They don’t wanna see me flourish, though.” It’s the most confident he’s sounded in years.Įven though Evidence handles all the production, Intros, Outros & Interludes feels like a mirror reflection of the Alchemist-produced No Idols. Intros, Outros & Interludes, his second joint effort with Evidence, puts all that uncertainty in the past tense.
On those earlier projects, Genesis seemed lost, his gifts for rhyming merely a tool to help piece his life back together.
Genesis has carved out his own niche as well, switching between the hazy boom-bap of 2017’s Red Corolla and 2018’s Aren’t U Glad You’re U?*-*his team-up with veteran rapper-producer Evidence-and the expansive live-band arrangements of 2016’s Genesis and 2018’s Facade Records. Today, loop-based rap music dominates the independent sphere, and Alchemist-produced projects warrant interviews with GQ.
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