Jamie Madrox is a 49-year-old emcee and singer/songwriter from Detroit, Michigan who began his career as 1/3 of House of Krazees, alongside The ROC and Monoxy. The latter signed with Mr. Bones to Psychopathic Records at the end of 1997 under the name Twiztid, becoming the biggest act on the label, which operates under the street banner of Insane Clown Posse, next to Ouija Macc, and subsequently in 20 Next to Ouija Macc soon after. After briefly going solo in the mid-90s on his debut EP The Demon Inside and full-length debut Sacrifice, Jamie returns more than a decade later with Psychopathic-backed sophomore effort Phatso. However, to celebrate Black Friday, the multi-talented man is back with his third solo record to close out the month of his birth.
“The Dice” is a melodic trap opener that wonders if he can save himself again or is now doomed, while “Tell Me When” goes the tropical trap route, constantly telling himself that he will Deal with whatever is in your mind. “❤️ Me then She ❤️ Me Not” samples one of my favorite Sublime songs of all time, “Doin’ Time,” letting this chick know he’s a sure target, not the “Mind Games” that preceded it , morbidly talking about your mind playing tricks on you.
Green Kid and Insane E join Jamie for a rendition of “On the Spiral,” giving off more of a hardcore hip-hop vibe, admitting they’ve gone over the edge and out of control, with E featuring guest vocals from My Favorite 2, and The Terrible Lead single “Dirt Sandwich” talks about self-pleasure being the vibe he promotes. “G4” with G-Mo Skee moves into boom bap territory with both men dropping straight bars at 102 seconds, then “More Problems Than Yesterday” keeps the kick and snare in, wondering why his problems increase .
“G9” starring Boondox reintroduces trap flare into the equation, leading to “Blockin’ Out the Haters” starring Blaze Ya Dead Homie returning to the frenzy to talk about shaking off their detractors. Hyro’s “G6” goes in a jazzier direction and the beat doesn’t stop until the city falls, but the following “Can U Hear Me Now?” by Twiztid talks about being part of progressive and dominant playlists.
Meanwhile, on “G1,” Jamie and James Garcia actively encourage everyone to listen to their music on repeat because they all have material worthy of doing so, while the soulful “Just a Little More” showcases this multi-faceted man Mature side. The ROC’s “Natural Born” bounces around another boom bap instrumental that showcases their murderous tendencies, while “Impossible” is a serious take on the impossibility of life. “Ty (4Real)” wraps up November Brain with the successor to Mirror Mirror’s “You’re the Reason.”
You can only purchase the physical album of “November Brain” through MNEStore, as Jamie is always looking for music from smaller and less well-known underground producers. Regardless, I still enjoy it as much as I did “The Chainsmoker II” about 9 months ago, and it’s fair to say that Twiztid’s two-parter did their best before “Welcome to Your Funeral.” Although not listed on the hard copy, this work is more eclectic than Chainsmoker II, ranging from boom bap to trap, jazz rap, hardcore hip-hop and horrorcore, introducing us to The Great Skull & the Graybow.
Rating: 9/10
