On Burnt Sector, The Lone Ninja strikes with intricate rhyme structures, dark basement production from Lord Gamma equipped with samples ranging from Wu-like Kung-Fu to Art of War exerts. Each element of the work plays a part, attempting to set up the Lone Ninja’s next attack. The album follows suit in line of distorted, low fi-sounding Hip Hop projects first started with the classic Enter The 36 Chambers, and reinvented throughout the following decade and a half by outfits like early Juggaknots and MF DOOM. Where those projects succeeded, this one wavers. Intricate rhyme schemes prevent any emotion from spelling over onto the project and inevitably the content suffers.
The rugged production seems at time to stand-alone and though Lord Gamma puts forth a very commendable effort, the project can begin to tire. Tracks like “Wind Darts” display stellar multi-syllable rhyme schemes but the listener is left with little to ponder content-wise. The Lone Ninja asserts himself as a battle emcee from the jump and holds his own on the lyrical tip, but unfortunately 11 tracks of similar content is a bit overkill. Often it appears that the Lone Ninja sacrifices concepts in order to finish a line lyrically. This approach becomes predictable and the listener finds himself finishing The Lone Ninja’s rhymes instead of focusing on their meaning. The guest spots on the album, especially, Godilla, breathe a much-needed energy into the project. Godilla and the other guests seem to attack Lord Gamma’s production and the listener is left with wishes of what may have been if The Lone Ninja would have chosen to do the same.
Tracks like “Feudal Japan” shows how gifted Lord Gamma is on the production tip. His raw sound is complimented nicely with hard-hitting drums. He carved out a nice niche on this album, demonstrating the lost art of bare bone productions. “Storm Shadow” is another example with haunting strings and Art of War exerts being read, it’s not hard to imagine a few of the Wu-Tang brethren over the beat. The Lone Ninja, however, stands by himself over the production for the majority of the project. His vision of dark production matched with movie samples is decisively effective, unfortunately his writing approach to the album leaves the listener yearning for more.
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The Lone Ninja’s monotone vocals voicing verbal assaults over gritty production is like listening to a contradiction. He obviously spends a great deal of time perfecting his craft, attempting to better himself lyrically and has a keen ear for production, but the dark production and content doesn’t quite match his vocal approach. The elements are present, but the sacrifices he makes lyrically make the remainder of the project suffer. With more concentration to content and concepts, and focus on the emotive qualities of vocals, The Lone Ninja has the opportunity to distinguish himself among his peers. For all the flaws that the project has plenty of hope. The Lone Ninja and Lord Gamma never stray towards more commercial sounds, content to make the music that inspires them. With a few changes, The Lone Ninja, with help from Lord Gamma, has the opportunity to master his craft.
