If you try and figure out what "Asbest" means, Google will take you to results for "asbestos". I like to think of it as meaning something like "as best" because he is using it as his name-- he is declaring he is the best. Is that not what rappers do? I think even if they don't do that they all should. If you're not getting into hip-hop to be better than the rest then why are you getting into it in the first place?
Asbest The Moor King is among the best, really. The name "The Moor King" does pay nice homage to "Othello" and many have said Shakespeare was the original rapper. The songs on this cassette (And, oh how I love listening to hip hop on cassettes) are interlaced with shorter songs which are mostly instrumental but sometimes have people talking. They have that piano and jazz sound to them which only heightens my comparisons with A Tribe Called Quest here.
True to form though, you don't have to take my word for it. Simply listen to the "Outro" and Asbest The Moor King himself will tell you what he does. It kind of makes it so that I- and anyone reviewing this really- doesn't have to give you the play-by-play, which I already did by mentioning the jazz breaks. Still, rappers should be the ones singing their own praises still. I remember a time when it was that way and then it felt like someone took it too far. I don't really know who though because I've stopped listening to the hip-hop they feed through the radio.
You can think what you want but you're wrong. From KRS-One to Denzel Curry to Uncommon Nasa to Asbest The Moor King, 2017 has been a great year for hip-hop. I will never be able to say exactly or enough times that the radio is shit, but if you even just listen to these four artists this year you will have a great year of rap music. And not coincidentally, three of those four releases are available on cassette (Someone get me that new KRS-One ish on a tape please) ((I might even go so far as to say the new Chance The Rapper album isn't bad)) (((I want to make a semi-regular podcast about hip-hop, who's down?)))
Like Dr. Dre, Asbest The Moor King keeps their heads ringing. He has guest spots, but hey, like Dre that's how I learned about Snoop Dogg so I just like to think perhaps some impressionable teen is listening to this and will use it as a gateway drug to Dooz Kawa. A bit of Nas and a bit of Scroobius Pip, "Mind Of A Few" is the real deal. Musically, this is one of the best pieces of hip-hop I've ever heard because of the beats with the rhymes but also what is happening when no one is saying anything.
So if you know what the music is about- in that modern Beats way- then you must be asking yourself, what does he rap about exactly? This is about life. It's not a love song. It's not really sad or angry, but it can kind of be. It's just life. It's just a commentary about the day to day and overall existence we all share. Oh, and there is a song about smoking weed and even being from outside of the United States, Asbest The Moor King isn't afraid to name drop Donald Trump and feel our pain here in the states. At least there is one thing we can seemingly all stand united on.
£6 //
https://asbestthemoorking1.bandcamp.com/album/mind-of-a-few
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