This is the long-awaited sophomore effort and Drumwork Music Group debut from Buffalo, New York emcee 7xvethegenius. From her first 2 EPs, The Calm Before & Self 7xve, and full-length debut album 7xve is Love, until she and Jae Skeese became the first artists signed to Conway the Machine’s own Drumwork imprint, Among them, 7xve ushered in her biggest breakthrough so far. She then prefaced Deuce of Deuce with “Thy Will Be Done” and “Self 7xve 2” and, most importantly, The Genius Tape, produced by DJ Green Lantern. Nearly four years after signing, it’s finally here.
The !llmind-produced “A Lesson” is a murky trap opener that promises things will only get crazier as time goes on, think smarter from now on, while Papoose’s “Triangle” is soulfully Talking about seeing $1 million before she made it. “Graymatter” features a pop-inflected tune from the eponymous producer asking how you can buy your mom a house with street credit, just before Jae Skeese sings the jazzy “Psalm,” which Camoflauge Monk takes one at a time A verse to hurt you.
The title track maintains a booming tempo for 107 seconds, showcasing some crazy rhyme schemes, until “Dirty Nikes” returns to soul samples and talks about focusing more on her craft as of late. “Moma” is heading in a luxurious direction thanks to STREETRUNNER’s thanks for being able to do it without a spoon or fork, but then the homemade “Deuce” completely strips down the drums and welcomes everyone On this beach chair.
“Authentic” takes the spacious boom-bap route and talks all about wanting to be yourself, while “The Genius” is my favorite single ever, from the Daringer beat to the 7xve lyricism, a warning to say no to drugs and keep rapping so you guys You can understand what love is. “Jump” has more of a jazz-rap undertone, retaining kicks and snares that warn you you should think twice before jumping, while the Justice League-assisted “Serious” flexes to keep her above their heads.
The penultimate song “Float” is near the end of “Deuce of Deuce” and she’s questioning God, wondering when the first song will be the last, because she’s had her heart broken so many times by these bastards, keeping her head down and focused. Yu works, and finally, the “If I” record ends with some cloudy boombap shit that basically talks about whether she’s going to die for about 5 and a half minutes.
The production of “Deuce” lasted nearly 4 years, ushering in a new era of drumming for the First Lady. In comparison, I find myself leaning more towards the production of The Genius Tapes, but regardless, the tapes’ elite lyricism and storytelling are woven into this album, showing us what she’s been like since Conway gave her a record deal How much it has grown.
Score: 8/10
