Grant JonesMuch is made of rapper productivity levels, most notably Griselda Records, but it’s more achievable when you’re crafting songs with your cronies. This is where an underground rhyme-machine like Napoleon Da Legend benefits from his obvious work ethic because every project he puts out feels like he’s trying something slightly different, with a respected expert in their field. The record before this was with DJ Rhettmatic, and the next one is with Giallo Point. Born in Paris, this more worldly outlook and bilingual background, coupled with a tidy, recognisable style means he’s built up an impressive catalogue of albums. It’s difficult to know where to start when a rapper has so much material, but his latest effort with New York’s JR Swiftz (who produced the excellent Elzhi album “Seven Times Down Eight Times Up“) is as good a place as any to jump in.
Coining your album “Great Minds” implies there could be some philosophical pondering, perhaps some reflective analysis of the world’s issues. It’s got elements of that, but this is largely Napoleon sparring in the booth, making the most of some tough instrumentals. With JR Swiftz, you’re getting that satisfying, thumping production you may expect from underground favorites like Supastition or Torae. It’s bit like a grimier alternative to Marco Polo’s brand of head-nod Hip Hop. “Raining Sledgehammers” is a very accurate summation of this style:
Napoleon usually has an excellent ear for beats, which is why he’s someone I’m happy to check for, even if barely a week goes by without a new record surfacing online. Swiftz’ cooks up some dirt on “Destroy Your Ego”, letting Napoleon air his grievances with those considering that his high output could be detrimental:
“Eight album average in a year, Po’ you overdid it
Y’all was talking shit, I was showing you how I’m living
All my highs and my lows, my victories and my woes
And I can’t help it if I’ve got chemistry with the hoes
I can’t help, this breaking so many rap codes
Curating a style, that kept on generating cash flow
May come across as an asshole but life ain’t always been nice
I learned to eat even if I have to kill for a thin slice
So if you want to get it to God you should think twice
Knock your fucking head up off of your shoulders, ain’t that shit light?!
I twist a bird for trying to twist my words
Hit him with an instant curve
Give them this work then I flip the bird
I’m a distant first, you ain’t equipped to go the distance
Turn your career from a bad joke to a whole statistic
I’m so sadistic when it comes to this, huh, outside my comfort zone
N**** we don’t run from it”
There’s further reflection on “Pride”, which comes across as more sincere, possibly in light of the continued losses of legendary artists in the Hip Hop scene. “I just want to do something I’m proud about, and if I die tomorrow don’t be sad, I did what I did with what I had” he earnestly declares, and this is something that he does better than the more throwaway braggadocious songs. Napoleon’s voice is easy on the ear but also possesses enough empathy and detail in his verses to separate him from the crowded scene he operates in.
There are a few guests to assist: fellow workhorse Reks supplies an unusually jaded verse on “My Truth”, and frequent collaborator Nejma Nefertiti steals the show on “Sniperific” with a verse that sounds like the female assassin part she’s playing. Finally, there’s the increasingly popular boom-bap favourite Awon on “Righteous”:
I would usually end a review putting an artist’s album in the wider context of their discography, but I simply haven’t heard all of Napoleon’s albums. The GameBoy-inspired artwork undoubtedly plays to the older Hip Hop fan; Swiftz doesn’t really make beats that directly mimic the 1990s, nor do we get any videogame bleeps and bloops, so as a concept “Great Minds” doesn’t succeed on that front. It’s more in line with a mixtape (I can’t be the only one that thinks Napoleon looks like Lil’ Wayne on the artwork) and at nine tracks, it’s thirty minutes of satisfying, occasionally irresistible Hip Hop, that any self-respecting listener will enjoy. Especially that last track, “Sistine Gravel”: