Most might know Asheru as the MC who raps the opening theme of the cartoon "The Boondocks," and helped write part of the MLK speech in the episode called "The Return of the King."
This album, released in 2001, showcases not only his skill as a rapper, but his character as a person.
You can tell that Asheru and Blue Black (both of the underground rap group The Unspoken Heard) really enjoy some jazz (they actually name drop a few artists in some of their songs, including Thelonious Monk); it permeates throughout the entire disc. In fact, there's a live cut on the album ("Live At Home") that was recorded in what is almost certainly a jazz nightclub. That's not to say that every rhyme is laid over a jazz beat; for example, the title track (one of the best songs on the album, IMO) is backed by a simple drum/piano beat. The lyrics Asheru rhymes are intelligent and meaningful, which is very indicative of its underground roots. In fact, Asheru strings together a comprehensible string of verbs in "Truly Unique" that would make even Greg Graffin (of Bad Religion) proud.
"Soon Come" as a whole maintains a consistent atmosphere, having a really calm, cool and relaxed feel (once again bringing about a comparison to jazz music). There's also a definite "old-skool revival" feel to the album, and it will certainly bring comparisons to more current artists such as Pharoahe Monch and Talib Kwali (especially Pharoahe Monch's "Desire"); perhaps even older MC's like Nas. Either way, any fan of hip-hop ought to find this album and take a listen--I guarantee you won't regret it.
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