Shelly Knicks - The Love + Space Connection (Album)
Shelly wastes no time getting listeners amped up, he was doing it prior to this release. I’ve always wanted to experience rolling around in that rink he usually DJ’s at & off rip with this album, he has me ensuring that’ll come to fruition. Those who were lucky enough to witness the live stream event he invited listeners to got to experience some really cool things that unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend & I’ll hate myself forever for that but it’s okay cause the album has arrived & just like I’m certain that streaming event was, this album is quite the out of body experience. Shelly has always been an intriguing figure in this industry, one of the best lyricists out but on “The Love + Space Connection”, he crafts an album that feels like the one he’s always dreamt of creating. Sonically, it’s light years ahead of everything we’ve heard from him thus far so shall we hop in his saucer & zip through these galaxies, I think we oughta!
The use of skits on this album is so beautiful cause, he really is a Disc Jockey, he’s not pretending to be anything he’s not. “WLOVE #1” has our good friend Aye Cue calling in from Earth to request that Bentley Blue spin the single to follow, that “Jamie Foxx Freestyle”, which is a fair comparison, I mean, who doesn’t love Jamie & more importantly, who doesn’t love Shelly. It’s astonishing how he’s simply freestyling, yet turned it into a great little record. We then tap back in with another caller, who’s actually riding this intergalactic esque production so smoothly, it’s my favorite off the project even though it’s a mere skit. I’m curious as to who this caller is & I know if I learn who, it’ll wow me even more!
Shelly knows how to stop the floor but still maintain his elite level lyricism on the galaxial “Spaceship”. I can’t say I’ve heard an MC rhyme so eloquently over Electronica & quite honestly, I even hear a bit of Disco in this one, might be Nixon’s contribution to this beautiful genre bending cut! For fans who may not be used to the experimentation Shelly has exhibited so far, fret not cause he’s added one that’ll satiate the rap fans with “Auto (Matic Static)”. His bar work on this cut hits like asteroids crashing down onto Earth. May the little earthlings pray they never have a close encounter with this Third Kind. Then we zip back to tango with the big booty life forms along Saturn’s rings on “CATASTROPHY”, another floor stopper that demands you move, he’s playing pool with the planets at this point in the album.
Probably the most hilarious caller out the 3 who’ve called in during this runtime & I gotta know who it is cause he saying some wild shit & I appreciate the hilarity. At the caller’s request, Bentley hits them with the albums lead single “Janet Jackson”, which we need to spam her with this beautiful homage to the legend. The visuals to this cut should hold listeners over until we undoubtedly get more visuals for these other worldly tunes he’s gifted us with. He knows he has a shot so rather than twitch his finger on the trigger, he simply shoots his beams of light down on the finest specimen he’s ever witnessed. He’s seen nothing like it back on his planet & it’s evident that he scooped her up & took her back to his habitat for some “Sexy Time”. Love & Space have never felt more connected than the two concepts do on Shelly’s masterful magnum opus.