As we await for Murs
to drop his highly anticipated Warner
Records debut, Murs For President,
it seems like the Living Legend has
decided to give some of his loyal fans a little something to whet their
appetites. What came partially from
needing an artistic release and probably sheer boredom associated with prepping
his major label debut, is a compilation that features Murs and some newer artists trying to make their own lane. Much of Murs
And The Misadventures… is dedicated
to showcasing Murs‘ extended family
but still gives you just enough Murs
to keep the heads happy.
There are some moments on this mixtape that are of the
eyebrow raising variety. Keep On Loving
Me features Murs and newcomer Isaiah dropping some straight heat over
some buzzing organs and a dark sample. Murs also gets on his ‘A’ game with 1st Love which plays out as
an interesting tale about the first woman who stole his heart. It’s told in a
manner in which only Murs can tell
it and unfortunately the only person that needs to hear it, won’t. Elsewhere, Murs joins Supreme for a
reggae tinged romp titled Bang Bang
which may be one of the high points of the mixtape. A lost 9th Wonder track meanders about with Babylon Fall and is a fresh reminder of
the type of work 9th and Murs can string together. She Had A Nascar is simply Murs working his magic over a quirky
and spaced out backdrop while Murs
and Supreme go hard with the Embassy (I swear I heard that name
before…) produced Ups And Downs.
Small problems arise when Murs isn’t handling the emcee duties full time as joints like Asek‘s The Saga Continues and Supreme‘s
Truth come up lame as they race
towards the finish line. The latter is really a stripped down beat better
suited for a freestyle, but it’s also a reminder that this isn’t a real album. Murs even gets off one dud with the
simplistic production of Down In Dena.
But as any mixtape consumer would know, the skipable tracks aren’t reason to avoid
this project. Matter of fact, its rarity alone is worth the price of admission.
It’s obvious that a Murs
project is at its best when Murs
takes the reins. But that wasn’t the aim
of this project. Murs and the
Misadventures… was intended to keep the true Murs fans happy as well as give Murs the much needed creative release he needed. Although every
track isn’t packaged with dynamite, true fans won’t care. The only thing that
matters is that Murs is still
putting out music and hasn’t hit a writing roadblock on the way to his Warner release date. It’s also reason enough for us to shut our
mouths and hold tight for just a tad longer. Hopefully by then Murs will have what we’ve all been
waiting for.
