Written by Jason Marecki
In this series of reviews, Jaden Reynolds and I are covering each major Armand Hammer release in preparation for their new album Mercy out November 7th of this year.
Released November 3rd, 2017, Rome is the third release from legendary NY duo Billy Woods and E L U C I D and is the first true step towards the excruciatingly beautiful and haunting production we’ve come to expect from the two.
Woods and E L U C I D are incredible songwriters and lyricists, often drenching every line in dense political theory and esoteric religious references, and it’s here in droves. As discussed in the previous two entries in the series, the two can tell a story like no other. Rome is no different. The two weave these micro-stories into every few bars that create this wide, sprawling tapestry of a decaying, dying civilization.
One of my favorites comes from the thirteenth track, “Barbarians”. E L U C I D takes the second verse, and within the first few lines, he references the late Texas legend Pimp C’s “slumber melody”. Pimp C was a producer and rapper from Port Arthur, Texas who worked with Jay-Z, Three 6 Mafia, Outkast, among others. He sadly passed away from complications caused by heavy lean usage mixed with his pre-existing sleep apnea. DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia described his body as being surrounded by blood and burnt-out candles.
The next few lines read “New Testament God seeming like a no-show / Cross lowered from an icon to just a logo / By the boat load, on a vessel named Jesus / Suicide jump in slow-mo / Water ripple like he skippin’ stones”. Right here, E L U C I D effortlessly builds a world around this micro-story. The world of Rome is a desolate one. God has abandoned us. The businessmen, the slave masters, the money changers and grifters of the world have taken the church back, selling the word of the Lord back to the people that need it the most.
It is this desolation that makes Armand Hammer so unbelievably special. No one, in just 6 lines can create images this succinct and powerful. However, Rome is FINALLY the first Armand Hammer that can back that image up.
The project starts strong with “Pakistani Brain”. Right from the jump, we can tell this is going to be different. Armand Hammer slows down, the soundscape opens, while also darkening. While before, we might’ve been on a busy city street, we now find ourselves in these echoey instrumentals. Dark alleys, steam hissing from a grate as a man’s herringbone dress shoes click against the wet pavement.
Rome is heavily reminiscent of a film horror score. “Tread Lightly” and “Fanon’s Ghost” bring the high, stinger strings that keep our stomachs churning and hair raised. “Microdose”, “Stole”, and “It Was Written” all wobble in and out, drawing on free jazz to keep us in a constant state of disequilibrium.
It’s this Armand Hammer that has written itself into the history books of experimental rap. A haunting mixture of these dark, punchy beats and the most complicated, dense, and meaningful bars ever written.
Rome, however, is not a perfect record. As their first step into true abstraction, things are a little tame. While no song has bad production on the album, most songs do not immediately jump out. I left the record itching for more, something noisier, more out-there, otherworldly. Some songs on Rome feel samey, and it was hard to focus on the vocals at times.
As with Race Music, I’d like to look at some other rap albums from the time. Tyler, the Creator’s Flower Boy, BROCKHAMPTON’s Saturation Trilogy, Mach-Hommy’s 6 mixtapes and albums, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., aforementioned Jay-Z’s 4:44, Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory (RIP SOPHIE), among a host of others. In my previous review, I cited Race Music as not being unique in the scene as a whole. I can gladly say Rome, for the time, was and still is a unique record. In a scene deeply embracing fast-paced, brash, loud electronic influences, Armand
Hammer takes a step back and slows things down.
Rome is the first real step for Armand Hammer, and an excellent addition to anyone’s library. If you’re a fan of dark, slow, abstract hip-hop, please consider checking it out.
(PS, Shane Ingersoll’s cover art for this record is absolutely incredible. Do yourself a favor and scroll through his Instagram)
Fav Tracks: Pakistani Brain, Microdose (feat. Quelle Chris), Fanon’s Ghost, Stole, Pergamum, Barbarians, Overseas (Epilogue)
8/10.
Tune in next week for Jaden Reynold’s review of Paraffin by Armand Hammer!
You can find the previous review in this series of Furtive Movements here