Written by Jaden Reynolds
In this series of reviews, Jason Marecki and I are reviewing every major Armand Hammer release in anticipation for their new album “Mercy” releasing November 7th of this year.
Billy Woods and E L U C I D are some of the most underrated rap artists of all time and hearing them grow together throughout their careers has been a treat. Their second release together though, “Furtive Movements” released on August 5, 2014, sees the duo at their most amateur.
Furtive Movements is a solid record, and I don’t think any rap fan would disagree. Billy and E L U C I D’s word play and wonky flows are just as good as ever. These guys are genuinely legends when it comes to lyricism and storytelling, but we are still quite early in the career of Armand Hammer so there is something missing here. They are doing exactly what we have come to know and love about Armand Hammer but the same can’t be said for the production.
Because of how early in their collaborations this record is, the production isn’t near as interesting or groundbreaking. This project feels almost like a modern-day alchemist project. While the production is solid in every way, the overall package seems to be lacking in variety. The first three tracks, “CRAWNS,” “Dust Jackets,” and “Affection,” leave a lot to be desired. While all tracks are solid in their own right, I just can’t shake the feeling of wanting a bit more absurdity in the instrumental.
Listening to this record for the first time after hearing everything they have done after it left me severely underwhelmed. Armand Hammer is best when they are rapping over instruments that no one else could. Their eerie flows and unique delivery is what makes their music so enjoyable to me, but that aspect is completely missing from this release.
My favorite track on “Furtive Movements” is easily “FUBU”. This track is just wanted from an Armand Hammer track. The instrumental is loud, abrasive, and Billy and E L U C I D have their best verses on the record here. Everything comes together to culminate in not only the best track on the record, but a new personal favorite in their discography for me.
The rest of the record after that is very underwhelming. While it does go a step further with the instrumentals, being more varied than the first half, something feels off. Specifically track 5 “Willie Bosket (Remix).” Although the instrumental in interesting enough, the flows of both Billy and E L U C I D leave a lot to be desired. It feels elementary for their standards and left me quite confused how they could go from “FUBU” to this back-to-back in the tracklist.
Overall, “Furtive Movements” by Armand Hammer is not the duos best showing by any stretch of the imagination. It’s the duo trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t and that’s something I can appreciate. There are a couple highlights here and there, but I would only recommend this record to their most dedicated fans. It did lay some groundwork for the records to come however, and those are some of my favorites of all time. While this hasn’t aged too well, it’s a snapshot in time, showing even the best of all time have growing pains.
6/10
Fav Tracks: FUBU, B.E.T
Least Fav: Willie Bosket (Remix)
Tune in next week for Jason Marecki’s review of “Rome” by Armand Hammer!
You can find the previous review in this series of “Race Music” Here