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Over the past year, Philly emcee Nico the Beast has gone through more than his fair share of adversity, surviving a car accident that killed his friend and left him hospitalized, and later dealing with the passing of his infant son. Summing those events up in a brief sentence certainly doesn't do justice to the tragedy that Nico has dealt with, and truth be told I don't feel entirely comfortable mentioning them in the context of a blog post, but it's impossible to discuss his new solo album, The Beast Within, without considering what's happened to him. The album serves as something of a catharsis for Nico, giving voice to the emotions he's dealt with and giving listeners a view into the life of a man who seems to be caught between grieving over past events and coping with the aftermath (an aftermath which, it should be noted, includes the healthy arrival of his second son). The end result is an extremely personal work, while managing to be more than musically entertaining enough to keep it from alienating the average listener.
I've long championed Nico as the most technically skilled emcee without a record deal, and mixed in with the personal songs are quite a few tracks that showcase his abilities on the microphone. In fact, the mix between personal cuts and lyrically aggressive battle cuts reminded me of some of DMX's early efforts. Perhaps the best example of Nico's lyrical skills comes on the intro to the album, produced by Nachural:
Nico the Beast - Intro (Nachurally Gifted) (right-click to d/l)
Here's one more song off of the album, perhaps the most personal track on The Beast Within:
You can purchase Nico's album The Beast Within over at his bandcamp page.
If you want a hardcopy of the cd, hit him up on facebook.
6/28/2010 4:15:51 PM posted by Fresh