Review Summary: Life is real...
Wilbert Gavin May's act, Cities Aviv, has taken the underground experimental hip-hop scene on quite a journey the last three years. His debut tape
Digital Lows showcased his abilities as both a rapper and lyricist. It also gave listeners a preview of the bold, drastic direction he would take with his next project,
Black Pleasure. This shift marked a breathtaking dive into the world of sampling.
Sampling of course, is nothing new or novel in the hip-hop scene, but Cities Aviv’s approach, along with how he raps (or often, just speaks) over the samples, is what feels so fresh and distinctive. What stands out about his style is how everything he does feels abrasively yet addictively unique. His beats and samples are so loud, they can be hard to listen to, while his verses are often barely audible. But here’s where the brilliance lies: Cities Aviv is an above-average rapper, no doubt, proven across several releases. But it’s clear that he discovered his low, deep vocal range and realized it could be just as much of an instrument as his beats. So, each song ends up feeling like a song within a song.
As you listen you find that not only are you in a daze by how well the samples are layered, but also how much you’re drawn into the trance-like state of his low, calm whispering verses. Imagine the harmonies of one Ol’ Dirty Bastard, combined with the powerful shouts of Death Grip’s vocalist Mc Ride. So much of what Cities Aviv does would be considered risky or even off-putting by other hip-hop acts because so much of the focus of the track is taken away from the actual emcee. However all of these unique talents and facets of the Memphis artist are melded together beautifully on his debut LP
Come to Life.
The album opens similarly to his two previous tapes, with an outrageously loud and bizarre intro track that does a fantastic job of preparing you for what’s to come. It’s nothing short of a drug induced trip in auditory form. “Fool”, one of the album’s absolute standouts, is the first time we hear Cities rap on
Come to Life. This track, more than any other, struck a deep emotional chord with me, especially when he chants, “Come to terms with this image you decide to burn…” When you discover a particular artist-especially an underground gem like Cities Aviv-they’re rarely perfect and often very rough around the edges. But that’s part of the reason you support them: you hope to see them reach the potential you know they have. It’s what originally drew you in. That’s why I got teary-eyed the first time I heard “Fool.” In that moment, I knew he’d finally put it all together. He’d found a way to merge his ear for beats with his skill as a rapper and vocalist. His small, yet loyal following, all knew he had the potential to be great, but we didn’t know how long it would take for him to put together an album full of tracks that didn’t focus on just one or the other.
The album is certainly not without its faults however. For any first time listener the samples will definitely become taxing as one traverses the track list. Some are overwhelmingly loud, while others are so quirky, so
out there that it is a wonder where the
hell he found that particular cut. Thus arises the most overwhelming fault of
Come to Life: its redundancies. At the very least one has to marvel at the album’s crisp, layered production, though the way in which Cities produces a track becomes almost superfluous. The concluding track, “Don’t Ever Look Back”, exemplifies this best. The beat is repeated over and over again with very little variation, and unless one immediately falls in love with the sample, it becomes an effort to listen to the track all the way through. Though fortunately there are only a few songs on
Come to Life guilty of this, and it is something that will be incredibly easy for Cities Aviv to iron out on future releases.
Come to Life is everything Cities Aviv, and his cult-like following wanted it to be-a trip. Not only for the ears but the mind and body as well. This album is an adventure and is incredibly rewarding-if you let it be. Forget everything you have ever known about the genre, and just let the lush, immense sounds take over. The best way to enjoy this is to simply expect the unexpected, because however well I described Cities Aviv to you and his debut LP
Come to Life, like any master artwork, you will interpret it in a completely different and unique fashion. So let this album take you on your own journey you will not regret it.
