Jay tha Kemist: Sound of Symmetry Review
The album starts off with a dusty meek backdrop, soaked into the lonely piano melody. Jay tha Kemist breathes life into the simplistic yet melodic beat pattern. You are welcomed into The Sound of Symmetry with heavy lyrical content. Poised inside the emotion Jay perfectly captures his outlook of life and its hardships.
The production is easy and grants a vivid image. An amazing start as this piece stands tall. "Rhymes of Relevance" gives a grandeur presence to the album. "Ask about me" projects a stark difference in personas from Jay. An ego-driven punch heavy, adlib threaded southern taste. The production has a certain bounce to it that's infectious. His flow never really changes direction and becomes long winded. The punch lines are creative and pose a like-able charm. The chorus isn't as impressive and slightly lags the piece. Ask about me relies on his lyrical ability but drops the ball with musicality. Take a dose of "Heavily Medicated", the first thing you notice is the stadium sound of production. The production takes a major leap from his first works. The synths hit perfectly, beat patterns strive amongst the instruments but never drown. Jay's lyrics come in with strong tides. The flow pattern is common and lacks a strong diversity. The initial flow drags amongst its grand production. The chorus comes in and kicks the record into high gear. The chorus is amazingly done and perfectly placed. His dubbs are mixed perfectly and grant you a definitive bounce. The song only falls short because of the predictable and sometimes mundane flow. The lyrics, chorus and production still shape this song into something special. Moving down to "Been about my Money" the beat has a thick southern charm. The production is nothing special but captures a certain persona. The chorus lacks depth as it maintains his familiar verse flow. He still manages to capture you into his bounce and spectrum. Jay starts off amazingly and gives a great performance on his verse. Which was tantalizingly delivered and slightly aggressive. His adlibs are spot on and paint the perfect environment. "Logiq" comes in next as his flow directly captures. His delivery is unique and refreshing. A broken stop and go pattern that captures his freedom as an artist. Perfect feature placement to what is forming up as an hit record. The next feature "ArchAngel" also brings a different atmosphere to the record. His flow is more together and lyrics are an easy listen. You fall deep into his flow and before you know it the song ends. The record is crafted perfectly as the features bring even more life to this amazing piece. Fall into "Peace of Mind" the production is ambitious granting an amazing feel. The piano synths swim in symmetry with the snares and drums. The notes drive the perfect feel as the song literally gives you a peace of mind. The artist "K-I" is featured on the track. He creates memorable vibe with his distinctive voice. He delivered a solid performance and fit perfectly into the track. His flow structure is dynamic and bold to mention. The chorus is spectacular as "ArchAngel" is featured. His vocals trail his last words and rumbles into a cracking vibrato."PromiseTMG" provides vocals into the chorus. His singing is on point but often feels over bearing as the songs tone provides a slighter ambition. Jay tha Kemist finishes off the verse in his common flow and makes this a song worth noting. Break the mold with "Code of Ethics". The beat has a more sinister piano tune. Nothing stands out with the production as it's just okay. What is impressive here is Jay's flow. As soon as it starts Jay delivers a tangled flow pattern. Creatively its refreshing and grants you a deeper sense of the artist. The topic is also relived in design. As this album seems to hit us with similar vibes with different topics. Jay paints a picture vividly of how he grew up and how times were and then resonates with the man he has become. The song's structure is common but the flow pattern is chaotic and we loved that. His chorus had a similar feel from his solo records, but still manages to grab us in. Jump down to "Just Living my Life" feat: PromiseTMG. Immediately you are introduced with a refreshing palette of instruments. PromiseTMG a featured artist: starts off with the chorus. The bass kicks in unison to his unique singing voice. Promise singing is perfectly placed with critique arrangements. Lyrics are direct and capture you instantly. His voice is clean, crisp and smooth as every note is delivered with perfection. Jay's verse comes in and coasts along his similar flow pattern. His performance on this track slightly falls behind the grand feel, but never drops considerably. The second verse is done by PromiseTMG. Once again he delivers an amazing performance. His voice and flow is unique. His lyrics grab attention and poise on adlibs are dynamic. A shining moment is captured during a break down on the production aspect. Promise switches his style and goes back into his crooning. F* you F* you is sung by Promise and is so unexpectedly passionate, it sends you chills. This record managed to capture us in a higher way. Finally breaking that mold that felt set for the album. "Take 10" is the next record on the album. The production is definitely a step above some of the other pieces. More depth in the instruments showing a higher level of eccentricity. Light piano tunes, dirty synths and heavy basslines. The verse part of the production felt too long. Which left us waiting for a drop that never came. Jay tha Kemist makes up for that as his flow pattern is amazing. He revisits his tongue twisted convolution delivery gifted earlier in the album. His lyrics grant the attention and manage to have alot of captivating thoughts in its design. You are baptized in his thought process and forced to listen. The chorus is aggressive and his voice sounds great amongst the production. The 2nd verse seems a little long as the chorus starts to feel missed. The lyrics don't pan as deep but still grants social gems. The record is all around amazing. From production to performance Jay tha Kemist delivers a grand experience. "My Own Lane" has a unique production sound to it. More of a laid back LA sound to it. The verse from Jay is not captivating. His flow pattern leaves much to be desired. The lyrics are common to his topics and this feels like a repeat of a previous piece. The chorus is sung by his feature: LC. Which is performed well and grants more depth to the record. But the record never manages to go beyond the "its ok" threshold at any point. Dive into the last song on the album "Aint no Limits". The production is silky smooth perfect percussion southern extract. Soaked into the bass-line and the highly infectious rhythm it preaches. Reverb bounces you into a melodic trance as this production is the highlight of the album. The chorus is done by: Promise TMG and once again he grants a perfect performance. His voice is close and open. Slight effects, his voice ripples in pain and desire. He drives the forefront to the record as Jay opens with ease. Jay delivers one of his best performances. His flow and lyrics are extremely hypnotic. His topic choice although similar to his pain this record still shines in its own way. Everything sounds so precise and easy. Promise comes in on the second verse. His lyrics, voice and flow pattern is flawless. His lyrics follow suit and deliver an amazing end to what has been an amazing album. The Sound of Symmetry is a great album. Great line of production, deep lyrics and thoughtful choice of topics. Jay's range from different vibes and emotions lack and it shows. He drives to close to his lane but drives perfectly in it. The album picks up mid-way and finishes as strong as you could ask for. Hurt by the diversity, Sounds of Symmetry needed more choices. His features were amazing and placed perfectly. Jay delivered this album as a full course meal with no dessert or appetizer. But the meal was so satisfying it would only bother those who wanted more to taste for the palette. Sounds of symmetry is a must listen and definitely worth to dine in.
Jay tha Kemist
The Sound of Symmetry
4.2/5
Untouchable
Official release April 18,2016
