Artist: MoRuf
Album: Shades.Of.Moo
Released: November 12, 2013
East Coast native MoRuf drops his latest LP, titled Shades.Of.Moo, which features 15 promising gems from the unsigned emcee. With production headlined by Melo-X, along with Iman Omari, Jesse Boykins III, and Madlib among others, Shades.Of.Moo offers a full spectrum of original material guaranteed to garner multiple repeats on your speakerboxxx.
The Sonic soundscape opens with the first track, “Neighborhood” in which MoRuf invites us to get familiar through his use of artful emceeing and booming beats. A Tribe sample in the background preludes to the plethora of 90’s sample beats that permeate throughout the LP, but allude to a greater use of the art with the lyric “I’m sick of working for a man I never met.”
Like all great emcee’s, MoRuf builds a verse based on this own intellect, recollect, and acknowlegement of his surroundings. No cliche metaphors, false pretense , or bullshit just to get by. Instead, our interest is sparked by a smoothly dripping narrative that unfolds like a melodic tale over dope beats.
Standouts on Shades.Of.Moo include:
“Fallen”– Brooklyn-based producer MeLo-X lends his production to this smooth track, in which MoRuf laments on the act of letting down your guard, reflecting on the lyric “It was all good just a weak ago.” Stating “Kelis did the same to Nas, acting bossy/ Look up at his eyes. He’s a victim from demise/ Love- wishing he still had it, snatching dollars from Illmatic”, MoRuf adds a bittersweet note to the the picture he paints, recalling the depths one will go when in the pursuit of their heart’s interest. “Ain’t that about a bitch, like a female dog” reveals the darker side of falling, when falling for the wrong one. Poignant, honest, and undressed over an ambient beat, it’s a sure fire favorite on the LP, a guarantee repeat.
“Homie.Lover.Friend” (ft. Jesse Boykins III)- Catching us with the line “Can I take another breather/ as I blow this dust of the vinyl, bump a lil Anita, caught up in this Rapture” MoRuf introduces a character that “uses love as a weapon” , enticing our intrigue to the tumultuous type of love that bears different (and often confusing) titles. Collaborating with Jesse Boykins, the theme plays on the notion that sometimes the subject of our affection plays like a season, revealing different lessons for every season. The minimally dressed beat knocks like the second coming of Outkast, spurring nothing but excitement. Another favorite.
“DYV”– With an arresting slow-tempo beat that comes undone within the walls of your eardrums (think D’Angelo), it’s easily the sexiest 1: 54 on the LP that works to close out the project and get us open for the upcoming bonus cuts.
“Dodging.Dark.Clouds”– Embedded within this bonus track is most likely the realest of revelations on Shades.Of.Mo. “Dodging dark clouds” unravels itself like everything the title itself suggests, consisting of lines such as:
“I dream of chords, changes, and basslines”
Wrestling with internal issues and hints of demise, MoRuf plows through a piano-driven track revealing nothing but relentless attack against his opposition:
“Solitude, wasn’t askin (for any) help Can’t be happy for nobody if not happy for ya self”
Barely grimacing as he moves along the bassline, he says “You know the World is Yours, Moo, it aint really hard to tell.” With MoRuf’s remarkable ability to refine each cut off of Shades.Of. Moo and produce 15 solid gems, something tells me it’s only a matter of time before the unsigned emcee prevails.
You can stream the full LP/or download below.
-Leslie Dizon (Aka Big L)
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