Musab is a talented writer. This has been known since he
was nicknamed Beyond. Back then he rolled with the
Rhymesayers crew and garnered indie buzz as an important part of Headshots
and Dynospectrum. Now, with the past in the dust, Musab
is emerging with the Slick’s Box, his first album away from the
RSE family and his debut on Hiero Imperium. With this
much talent and experience on his back, much is expected from Minnesota
Slicks. This talent is apparent here, but somewhere along the way, it
gets lost in mediocrity.
Lyrically, Sab’s ability to drive a listener through his
troubles is quite nicely done on a pair of cuts. “Night of Mirage” and “Confessions of Minnesota
Slicks” serve to show the internal demons plaguing a father – a
Muslim man and a working pimp. These tracks manage to provide an inside look as
to how one man can live such conflicting lives. The view is quite compelling
and it makes for some good listening. Other cuts like “Baang” and “Kool-Aid”
stand out as well, where Musab flexes his dexterity with the
pen and with his flow.
While claiming to be a real life pimp, Sab does not solely
focus on macking, which is good. However, when he does recite his share of pimp
rhymes, they range from dull to cheesy. “I Ain’t Even in the NBA” is a low-point
with corny lines about looking like a model, not being gay, dressing in Dolce
& Gabbana and “getting girls like every single day.”
Nevertheless, it should be noted that this is not a one-sided album. Even with
the cheesiness, the LP shows some balance. You have to respect that.
These rhymes are accompanied by similarly versatile beats. Some are upbeat (“Ain’t Even in the NBA”)
and some are soulful (“Confessions”). At times, some beats are soothingly smooth (“Hat & Shoes”)
and others are wonderfully sampled (“Baang,” “Kool-Aid”). In the same way that the
rhymes falter, some beats are tiresome (“U Talkin’ to Me?”). In the end, only a
few beats actually stand out, but you can’t completely fault the production for
the album’s pitfalls.
With some solid production, Musab is able to use his talent
to open interesting doors to his complex life. Sadly, he is unable to carry the
entire album. Even with such interesting topics, the album has almost zero
replay value and little appeal beyond a few cuts. Some of his best tracks are
unfortunately cut down by terrible hook writing (“Night of Mirage”) or horrible
hook execution (“Ay-Ay”).
Although he is noticeably talented, Slick’s Box does not display
this well enough. As a result, the album fails to truly make an impact or a
lasting connection. Funny, what he really needed was his former producer Ant
to bring out the best in him like he did on Respect The Life. On his
own, Musab just couldn’t keep this disc from falling apart.
