New York emcee Lørd Skø releases his fourth record following PiFF. His career began 6 years ago with his debut EP 13th Angel and since then his profile has continued to grow, eventually hiring one of the greatest A&Rs in the industry, Dante Ross, as his manager and showing the world what he can do with the release of his debut Museum. His sophomore effort, United Palace, was a huge dedication to the community, breaking away from the Fat Beats Records-backed PiFF, leaving Statik Selektah to go it alone to produce Elevator Music.
The title track starts off by combining a booming bap instrumental with synths, giving us something from his old days of playing the stairs, while “How It Is” talks about calling things what they are. In “Better Days,” starring Dave East, the two connect over a soulful beat and discuss waiting for things to get better in life, while in “Northern Lights,” starring B-Real and Smoke DZA, the trio begins to spiral into addiction.
“Drunk Dial” featuring Ab-Soul ends the first half on a funkier note, sliding into the scene with the meanest gangster-leaning instrumentals, but after “Hangman” combines a slowed-down vocal sample with some kicks and snares to address some mental health issues, “Donnie Brasco” continues with Elevator Music’s second verse, a reference to the crime drama of the same name, who wonders if it’s his second verse, a reference to the crime drama of the same name.
The song “Wonder” brings a jazzy boom that makes one ponder the meaning of the word, while the “nWo” – consisting of Andre Lawrence, Kai Ca$h, LIFEOFTHOM, Marco+ and Rhakim Ali – likens themselves to the WWE Hall of Famer of the same name and WCW’s most dominant faction in its later years. The soulful ending song “Wish Upon a Star” ends “Elevator Music”, telling how he has been busy recently and wants to admit his exhaustion to his mother.
We’ve heard Lørd Skø outperform Statik Selektah’s production many times over the past few years, so the latter’s ability to handle all of Elevator Music’s beats raised my expectations significantly for it, and I can confidently say that it’s the greatest thing Skø has ever done. From his sharp calligraphy to the jazzy, boom-bap production the Showoff Records founder is known for, it’s like bridging generations of New York hip-hop simultaneously while pushing the culture forward.
Score: 8/10
