ALBUM REVIEW: Camtron5000 Releases His Master’s Voice
“Camtron5000’s lyrics — sometimes serious, other times silly, and maybe even a little sexual — give close attention to every word.”
Sometimes when I sit down to review an album, I have preconceived notions about what I’m going to hear – try as I might to clear my mind of bias. So, I was relieved when His Master’s Voice, the latest from Camtron5000, hit my desk. The only expectation I ever have from Camtron is that I never know what to expect. The first few seconds of the opener “Starbucks” proves this isn’t just a straight-forward hip hop album.
A very subtle mandolin melody begins. It sounds like an opening scene from an Indiana Jones movie, as if the camera should be panning down to Indy sipping coffee in a small Turkish cafe in 1932.
That setting is immediately shattered as Camtron5000 comes in with the opening lyrics over a bass-heavy beat:
“Camtron, I’m so cool, I make her hot / That’s how I turn my fans on / Running out her house so fast, forgot to put my pants on.” He then launches into bars at a breakneck pace, with razor-sharp lyrical flow.
Camtron5000’s lyrics – sometimes serious, other times silly, and maybe even a little sexual – give close attention to every word. While most artists aim to have no filler songs, Camtron takes it even further by having only a very small amount of filler words. With his machine-gun barrage of lyrics, every one fits neatly into place.
The musical interludes, such as the mandolin and vocal combo from “Starbucks,” accentuate the composition rather than take center-stage. The musical sample in his track “Blessings” sets a more serious tone. “Blessings” features lyrical contributions from frequent Camtron5000 collaborator Jayson LrX and the back-and-forth between the two stands out as an album highlight.
Party bangers, socially conscious rhymes, His Master’s Voice has it all. Featuring insanely tight and unique beats from producer and frequent collaborator, Mirk, who is also a member of Foster Planet, a music project featuring Camtron5000 and John Glenn (LiketheAstronaut), this album is destined to make an impact across hip-hop scenes.
