There’s something inspiring about a man who defeats his demons. For anyone who has followed Eligh’s career from a young Living Legends upstart to this year’s release of Grey Crow, it’s easy to say that the man’s exemplifying a rebirth of sorts and it’s fair to say he’s soaring once more. With Grey Crow, the Los Angeles native is poised to display the talent and technique that have already allowed him to garner success, only this time, for the first time as a solo artist, it will be done with a sober mind. After fighting addiction, he has been clean for five years and Grey Crow has emerged as his moment of clarity.
Lyrically, Eligh has not missed a beat. As the Luckyiam.PSC-assisted “Love Ov My Life” notes, he’s not dumbing things down. “When I give you this, my condition is that you listen up real close. Don’t let details fall through cracks,” he says as he starts his verse off. Here, Eligh shines mainly when those details are introspective thoughts. Before that, “When I’m a Dad” shows insight he’d give to his unborn child but it also provides information about his own upbringing. In it, Eligh discusses being “psychologically punked” as a kid in South Central Los Angeles, a matter many rappers would hide. The greatness in Eligh is that he exposes these things, willing to share pain and despair while maintaining a strong positive outlook in the end. One glaring spot is “Wish I Would,” where he shows more about his journey to sobriety, another moment of honesty. That ability to be open also shines through on “Miss Busdriver,” the disc’s first single, a dedication to his now-deceased aunt. Sharing memories, he sings, “Miss Busdriver, can’t find my way home / Can you pick my spirits up and take me to a safe zone? / Archangel of the O, can you play music for your folks? / I’m kind of down, I need to hear the notes / You’re not around but I can feel the hope.” While Eligh holds his own, he has plenty of support from a strong line of emcees. Brother Ali, Aesop Rock, Pigeon John, Zumbi, The Grouch and many more bless the album with verses.
As is usually the case with Eligh, he mans the boards for the major part of this album as well. Save for two tracks, Eligh produced the entire project and used a variety of styles to do this. For instance, with K-Flay’s intriguing performance, “Shine” brings Eligh an upbeat sound. The same can be said for “Whirl Wind” while “Wish I Would” is somber enough to let Eligh tell his story. The guitar in “When I’m A Dad” helps it stand out as an inspiring piece, with the loop leading into a hard-hitting drum pattern. He’s also able to tap into his own emotions a lot better as the producer/emcee. The piano keys and the horns in “Miss Busdriver,” for example, enhance the soothing nature of the track, better showcasing the “hope” he’s rhyming about. Eligh has often said that making beats is his first love and this passion allows him to thrive, particularly when paired with his rhyme writing.
It seems that five years was too long a wait between solo albums, but Eligh hasn’t been slowed by time and perhaps that time was necessary. His delivery’s still sharp and his lyricism has been strengthened by his personal storms. Moreover, he continues to provide intriguing, if at times confusing and different, soundscapes to match his introspective pieces. As a writer and producer, Grey Crow soars to show that sobriety has only enhanced Eligh’s creativity and it could very well be his best solo effort to date.
The Grouch’s album was dope and Eligh’s joint with his mom was banging too…Living legends the most underrated crew from the west….
Love this CD, Eligh kills it
salute to getting clean, dude. stay clean.
Truthfully liked this almost as much as Kanye’s album
how do you even begin to compare kanye and eligh??
Eligh is an honest cat. I’m always excited to here his new music, he never disappoints. Grey Crow takes no time to grow on ya. Its dope
Classic legendary album, you actually need to LISTEN in order to feel it. And if you dont FEEL it, then start listening to something else. 5 Stars.
WESTCOAST!!
dope. blessed to have an artist share so sincerely and with such a deadly/lively refined style. rare music. thank you eligh. sensei rise.
amazing album, true work of art!
Dope album
NOT JUST REAL HIP HOP BUT REAL GOOD MUSIC PERIOD… LYRICALLY REMARKABLE, GREAT BEATS, GREAT SONGS, ELIGH HAS BEEN THE MAN FOR SOME TIME NOW BUT THIS IS THE ALBUM THAT IS REALLY GOING TO OPEN IT UP FOR HIM. LL
addicting, you got to have this album.
what s sobriety and sober etc have to do with art? dont mess with people’s personal lives.
Great point. It makes you wonder whether the reviewer has ever heard of the ’60s. I mean, Jimi Hendrix, James Morrison, all those guys made some of the best music of all-time on LSD. Get your mind right, son.
Ive been playn this shit non stop since i got it… fukn fire!!
Love this album. One of the best albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. Especially since he is now in Recovery, I love how he keeps it real. It inspires me at times when I’m feeling down. I’ve been clean for over 2 years and I feel what this album is communicating.
On repeat since the the day it came out!! Legends Baby!
Damn straight.. can’t stop listening to it either.. LL Crew Represent.
sick ass album of the year!!!!!!!!
k
Gandalfs the shit
Amazing album from such a complete artist.
best album i’ve heard in at least the last 5 years!
…
This album is straight nice, love “Soul on the Road”. Eligh at his best. Been a fan since the four track dayz. Stay up brotha…no out there with your style of flow & production.
Damn!!! I thought I was the only one who knew about the log cabin crew!! Sucks when you realize that there are other people as cool as you are.
p.s. Props to this site for shining some light on one of the best lyricists in hip-hop of all-time who combines that with one of the illest flows. Yeah, he’s really that SICK.
Eligh definately brings it again with this album, though I still like Poltergeist better.
I was nervous about how quality it would be after reading about the heavy focus on his sobriety and having heard what that did to the last G&E album (which aside from a few tracks was decent, but garbage compared to No More Greener Grass. He pulled it off though, and Grey Crow is a solid album that will stay in my car for a long time.
this song is beautiful.
Best Hip Hop album I’ve ran up on in a looooooonnngg time!
This album deserves way more than a 3.5. After listening to it several times, I would put it between 4.5-4.75. 38 tracks…17+4 bonus+instramentals…all heart. Fuck mainstream!
Best Yet Eligh!!!!!!!!!
Best album of 2010 no doubt, this is some of Eligh’s finest work to date. Lots of great songs on this album and definitely battles the great Poltergeist album. I wish we could get solo Eligh albums once a year!
the best album I heard in a long time. from the start to then end i could not skip one song.
Great work… never heard about “eligh” before, but this guys is on fire right now ! !
5/5
Eligh is dope as fuck. Check out his group The Living Legends too. Amazing shit
Best album since Say G&E. I hope this is his breakthrough album. Worldwide word of mouth pass the word man!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kanye west album of the year
Grey Crow destroying last kanye album in many ways …. I was listening Kanye album twice its so overhyped … but Eligh album listening every day since being released DOPE AS HELL
So, when are people other than this guys friends gonna leave a comment! This is NOT very good.
LOL i was thinkin the same about those comments
1
sda
Just grabbed the album last night and I’m finding it hard to put down. Very rarely do you grab an album that every single track is incredible. I’ve been listening to LL for 12 years now and must say, this album is one of the very best. I was wondering where Eligh went, and now hearing his story makes the album that much better. Keep it up E, your style is unmatchable and NO ONE can even come close to what you drop.
Man, I can’t believe the editors gave this a 3.5. Why? Because it actually is DOPE?!? Fakin’ JEDACKS!!!
eligh is a beast. u feel the soul throughout the album. 3/5 is bs for this album 4.6-4.7 sounds about right
It’s funny/sad/pathetic how some people in hip-hop actually listened to the early Wu, Rakim, and 2pac and applied what they said to their rhymes. People like Aceyalone, Legends, Latyrx, Atmosphere, Gangstarr, etc. And, then, the vast majority of my fellow triple H’s stayed stuck in 1993 and only think somebody is super-tight if they project an image of either slangin’ rock or bangin’ chicas. Real Recognize Real, and Eligh is ridiculously sick. Anyone want to comment on that?
eligh kills it 5/5 !!AWESOME
Never really heard of this guy , he has a bone thugs flow kinda . not really feeling this cd . not my style . but its not bad
he didnt produce teh whole album Starkey coming outta of philly with that StreetBass sound produce Suffocate.
3.5 LOL This is one of the best albums this year. 4.5 IMO
Great album.
4/5
3.5 is straight insulting. eligh killed it again and again in this album. 5* all day. Stay up E
Perfect album