By Deuce

You might not know anything about him, or have never heard of him before, but you definitely have to give it up to Mic Nickels on his latest release The Impressionist, which is technically credited to Mic Nickels and Kiza. Granted, since it’s eight tracks long, it’s a little equivocal as to whether this is an album or an Extended Player.

But that’s not the point. The point, or rather one of them, is the man laced one up with both Rockness Monstah and Rah Digga and, to boot, even shot a video for it. That would be “Against The World”, which also features Keef wOOkie. Ms. Digga definitely burnt down the booth on this one; Nickels made a point not to get outdone by anyone, and anytime you have the pleasure to hear a rhyme or two from Rockness (bring back Heltah Skeltah with Starang Wonda on an album/tour dedicated to Sean Price, please) it’s always best to pay attention.

Moreover, Nickels went and found Kurious Jorge, who simply goes by Kurious now and has for the longest, got him back in the lab, and got what might be the best verse this reviewer’s ever heard him kick. “In The Water”, which also features L.I.F.E.LONG, has an eldritch track which could very well be in triplets. It begets an off-kilter flow, with which Nickels readily accommodates it. But your man Kurious comes through swiftly, smoothly, gliding over the track with a nimbleness that other rhymers would do well to study.

The production on this collection of tunes was solely handled by Kiza, so there’s definitely some recurring themes to the music. The best of the tunes are laden with samples, particularly vocal ones, and the drums are put together sloppily, and protuberantly, which helps in some notable numbers. The rugged drums on “The Possibilities”, which features Jeanette Berry singing on what’s mostly a two-bar hook, are a prominent example of this propensity of the producer. And, it’s a suitable counterpoint to what else could’ve easily been a too-smooth style radio track. As it is, it works well, bringing the best of the hippidy hop and the more accessible style of music together.

The duo—Kiza and Nickels—do no wrong on “Relic”, the opening number that sets the bar high for the rest of the project. With an outing like this, it’ll be interesting to see what the MC and his producer come up with next.