We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Symptomatic of a Greater Ill

by Darc Mind

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8.99 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Symptomatic of a Greater Ill via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $8.99 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 34 Mindbenda Recordings releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of VARON THE UNBELIEVABLE, MEDICINAL, Eating Dreams For Breakfast, BUD STRAINS VOL 2, Gucci Vax, WHO'S THE MF MONSTA?, The Fly in Silk, DARC MIND WUZ HERE, and 26 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $146.17 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
2.
U Da One 04:33
3.
4.
5.
I'm Ill 04:06
6.
Covert Op 03:48
7.
Give Me Time 04:18
8.
BMOC 05:08
9.
Fever Pitch 03:50
10.
Rhyme Zone 02:04
11.

about

It's not often that a hip-hop album released in 2006 sounds like it was made in the mid-'90s, right when rap was heading into a monumental change, towards greater commercialism and ubiquity. It's so infrequent, in fact, that the reason why Darc Mind's debut, Symptomatic of a Greater Ill, has such a Native Tongues-vibe is because it was actually recorded between 1995 and 1997, but due to label problems, wasn't released until nearly a decade later by Anticon. And it's the kind of album that makes you miss early Tribe, Organized Konfusion, and Eric B. & Rakim, because it reminds you just how good hip-hop could be back then (of course, there's also a lot of great contemporary stuff, too, but that's not the point). MC Kevroc has a relaxed, nearly conversational style -- it hardly seems like he's trying at all -- but is still able to twist words around internal and end rhymes, metaphors and quick, complex phrasing (his delivery on "Knight of the Round Table" is wonderfully intricate and fast) and his lines, while still exuding a certain amount of confidence, are never arrogant or aggressive. "They press and try to trap but I break it with my boogie/...I'm staring straight ahead yet I see the whole court" he explains on "Rhyme Zone," but he is also willing to point some of the conventions in hip-hop, like in "I'm Ill," when he spits "Ill is the way I exaggerate my sense of self-worth." He's talented enough that he could get away with being even more overtly boastful, but his intelligence shows off his skills better than any simple battle rhyme could. The production on Symptomatic, which allows the skills of the MC to come through while still incorporating its own influences and ideas, is handled by the other half of Darc Mind, Webb D. It's straightforward, focusing on the hollow drums, but it brings in a dusty bass and keys and horn when necessary, a kind of grittiness inherent in the beats even though they're simple and clean that reflects urbanity and life itself. It's a great record, thoughtful and aware yet still laid-back and fun, and though it took a while to be released, it's better late than never to hear this, to be reminded of everything that hip-hop can be, both in the past and hopefully, continuing on into the future. (Amazon)

credits

released August 29, 2006

Produced by X Ray Da Mindbenda

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Mindbenda Recordings Queens, New York

Queens based record label founded by Web D aka X-Ray aka King Cesar. home of Darc Mind, Organik Poisons, Kwest Tha Madd Lad and the original M.I.C.

contact / help

Contact Mindbenda Recordings

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Symptomatic of a Greater Ill, you may also like: