Checkmate’s emphatic verse on the all-star studded Northern Touch single made him a bonafied rap talent. He immediately caught the audience’s attention with his gruff, sharp voice and battle proven lyrics. Now, after years of guest and mix tape appearances he’s completed his debut LP Welcome To The Game.
Throughout most of Welcome To The Game, Checkmate brings the kind of intensity that he has become known for. “These Days & Times” with its slick guitar lick provides the perfect amount of grittiness for Checkmate and his accomplice Concise to get open on the mic. Concise makes numerous appearances throughout the LP, and it quickly becomes clear that when these two emcees combine they make for an explosive duo. The two team up once again, this time joined by T.O.’s Frankenstein for the subdued but hard hitting “Night Vision.” “Rap Passion,” a smooth up-tempo jam, finds Checkmate partnered up with the Rascalz’ Red-One for an all-out assault. Other tracks worth checking for are “The Devil vs. The Maker,” “Would You Die?,” and “The Longshot” in which Checkmate does double duty and handles the sound boards as well. Checkmate delivers lyrics filled with an abundance of kinetic energy, and he is perhaps one of the most skilled emcees that I have ever heard with respect to hitting the beat precisely on time with his rhymes. However, at times this precision comes at the sake of complexity with short-syllable rhymes. Fortunately, Checkmate also provides a few cases where he lets loose on the mic, and as a result showcases his dexterity at offering detail. In both the graphic “Tale Of The Temptress Pt.1,” and “Veronica” his storytelling is so acute that no video is needed to picture the events taking place. On the album “Outro” he freestyles like few others over the bare but banging Give Me A Happy Day loop.
Checkmate is a raw emcee, a fact that sometimes plays to his advantage and sometimes not. As such, the effort he gives is often determined by the beat that he’s given. Checkmate is combustible and spontaneous and as a result provides a number of moments worthy of repeated listening.
