Evidence - Unlearning Vol. 1 (Album)

We got a lot of "Unlearning" to do; I know I've been undergoing that process as of late, so it's beautiful that Evidence has delivered the first Vol of him doing so himself. It's never too late to become a "Better You" & unlearn all that conditioning that no longer serves you & if it does, it's probably only to your detriment. The choice to open this record, which is my favorite out of all of these, by the way, but the choice to open it with a disclaimer from Royce da 5'9" was a brilliant choice. Nobody has mastered the slow flow as impactfully as he has, he's a legend in this game & if you don't know, you best do your homework on everything he's done after decades in this game.

Evidence is one of my personal favorite producers & if I know anything about producers, they all "Start The Day With A Beat." Granted, not all of them can make beats with a sound quite like his, but that's beside the point; in terms of rapper/producers, he's at the top of that list, sitting right beside his stepbrother in Alchemist. Whenever "Sharks Smell Blood," they will attack & just the sound of this one feels like someone just wading in the deep water, their blood just slowly finding its way to the nostrils of said sharks as they slowly begin to follow the trail of it like Bruce. He says on "Pardon Me" that this is the 1st time he's ever recorded an album with a child to care for & kept that recording of his kid on his phone trying to get his attention as kind of a metaphor to where he's currently at in life. It was recorded just two months into the pandemic & over Animoss production, which, if you don't know, has done a lot of work with Roc Marciano & Ka & has been on his bucket list of people to work with for a while now.

With "All Of That Said," the sample on here is amazing & the choice to get Boldy James on here is an excellent choice. They both got this slow monotone flow to them that meshes so gorgeously, he "Won't Give Up The Danger" that life comes with; it's just the way of it all. The subtle production on this one is so dusty yet daunting as Murkage Dave almost whispers on that hook. Evidence seems frustrated with someone but still leaves his olive branch extended far enough for them to grab onto whenever needed. A killer verse from Conway the Machine on "Moving On Up," Ev "Talking To The Audience," it's like he's "Lost In Time." He's always had this throwback feel to his music & that is ever so present on Park Jams, this music is a "Taylor Made Suit" for him, but once all the unlearning is complete, he asks, "Where We Going From Here…", one can only surmise, but I'd say up.