Hip-hop and rap are friends again. Sentence reigns from Denver with a real mix of real turntables, real beats, real samples and real rap. It’s refreshing to hear something so classic.
There and Back is what it says: a trip back to the time when rap was built in a basement with live scratches (cred to DJ Thought), when lyrics were intense but weren’t afraid of bordering on funny, even cheesy—in any case summary pronouncements of both the miniscule facts and the overarching trials of life as the MC knows it.
Funky, jazzy samples and beats as classic as they come, this stuff harks back to Grandmaster Flash with a notable sharpness that channels Disposable Heroes. Sentence fearlessly retreads the classic styles that rap, lately, has almost forgotten; and does it at a time when we could all use a reminder.
Prevailing poignancy emerges at track eight. “With You” is modern day underground along the lines of Murs and Slug; and the album reigns on in modernity.
To top this off, Sentence has enough ferocity in his battle lyrics to make him a modern threat with a classic knowledge. Take a lesson and watch your back; Sentence has been smart enough to watch his.
