Boston, MA veteran Slaine returns with his sixth record. Best known as a member of La Coka Nostra, he released an EP and a total of 4 mixtapes before releasing his debut album A World with No Skies in 2011 under Suburban Noize Records. He subsequently launched “The Boston Project” in 2013 and “The King of Everything” the following year, but after releasing the “Slaine is Dead” EP in 2016, he took a three-year hiatus and dropped the mature “One Day” return in 2019. It’s been a while since “The Things We Can’t Forgive,” but he’ll be locking in with Statik Selektah for “A New State of Grace.”
The title track opens with some skipping synths and a vocal sample talking about going to places you don’t usually come back to, while La Coka Nostra’s “Cancel Culture” tackles this theme atop a booming bap instrumental. “Listen Up” blends these wacky synths with kick and snare drums to form a b-boy anthem, while before “Ambition of the Crown,” featuring Millyz, Millyz talks about the dangers of playing with fire when aiming for a king.
“It’s All Good” goes on to apologize to the people he hurt while thanking them for being his true friends, while “Ain’t Been the Same” talks about waking up to say hello to his new life and saying goodbye to his old one. Paul Wall’s “Coka Grillz” with La Coka Nostra is a great single, with everyone spraying lyrical bullets at those who want to fight them, while Rasheed Chappell’s “Crumbled God” with 1982 takes a more conscious approach to the subject matter.
Masta Ace and OC’s “The Real Shit” kicks off the final leg of A New State of Grace, with the trio talking about the ever-changing times over a piano-tinged boom bap instrumental, while “Gusto” from OT the Real and Statik KXNG samples Gang Starr’s “In Memory Of…” to see who can spit out the ugliest verses. The World Never Stops ends on a heartfelt note, talking about a future that makes sense in hindsight.
Capturing the energy of the original State of Grace while carrying the weight, wisdom, and scars of everything that’s happened since, “A New State of Grace” seems like a return to form for Slaine and Statik Selektah’s 2-decade friendship. From the latter’s signature boom bap sound, to the poignant lyricism that balances bravado in the maturity of “One Day” and “The Things We Can’t Forgive,” the sequel to Slaine’s most popular tape raises the bar set by its predecessor in the late 2010s/early 2020s.
Rating: 9/10
