Review Summary: Ecologically beneficial to your health.
Hip-hop artists have their stories, ones of immense struggle and hardship for the most part. Rappers like Nas and Big L put out albums describing these experiences, they both lived it being on the streets of New York during the '90s seeing first-hand these difficulties. We all could visualize that from Nas' '94 debut Illmatic, which put in sheer perspective the horrors and difficulties of life in the 'ghettos' of '90s crime-ridden NYC and its surrounding cities. That is why its really nice to see him have a big hand in producing "The Ecology", the much-awaited debut from up and coming rapper Fashawn. While not quite like the rap classic, it still is able to accomplish telling the story from the Fresno rapper who had to endure a similar upbringing and puts it all in retrospective - in contrary, an ecological greenhouse that is bursting with life and color.
Let's get the obvious out of the way here, "The Ecology" is a great-sounding album. The beats here are absolutely glorious, thanks once again to the legend Nas who is executive producer of this fine debut. Fashawn pulls both the sounds of gritty East Coast and glossy West Coast hip-hop, with a tad bit of R&B also incorporated, and puts them on the album - with a prime example in the soulful "Something To Believe In". Fashawn's effusive delivery and flow, with both wit and confidence, definitely fits in with the equal wits and grit from Nas - a collaboration that is one to behold in this confidence booster of a song. It certainly would've been nice to see Nas feature himself more on the album, but it probably would've taken the spotlight away from Fashawn so while unfortunate - it was also a smart decision. This really is an album where both East and West clash, with tracks like the boom-bap-oriented "Out The Trunk" representing the diversity of the record.
In "The Ecology", Fashawn puts his difficult upbringing and life on center stage - and he certainly doesn't shy away from expressing this in full. It is evident with tracks like a throwback in the G-Funk oriented "Mother", an ode to his mother. Lyrically-speaking it is one of the more down-to-earth tracks on the album, putting it bluntly with lines such as 'at least when you were there/half the time you was gone' - unafraid to say how he was mistreated despite the fact its about his mom. He also goes to greener ventures with a Cali rap anthem, the fittingly-titled "Golden State Of Mind", displaying Fashawn's immense love of where he is from and how proud he is to be from Cali. It is a showcase of the sun-bathed West Coast sound that is on the record, and one that is well done - thanks to the creative raps put down by the Fresno rapper. He even shout-outs the various area codes at the end, which has to be quite the surreal moment - especially if you are from the areas like the 619 of sunny San Diego or the 818 of urban Sacramento.
What you get from Fashawn's awaited debut is one that captures the very essence of not only West Coast hip-hop, but also some of the East. The plethora of beats that see both influences are perfectly balanced, and nothing short of excellent thanks to the terrific production from Nas. The guest appearances are elegant, guys like Aloe Blacc give songs like the bustling "Something To Believe In" the soulful edge these tracks are trying to convey, and done with huge success. Fashawn's delivery and flow is one to take note, cruising through his verses with his profound intelligence and immersion which you can feel throughout the record. In some spots he does bring a little too much braggadocio, but the record is too good where that can be overlooked. "The Ecology" definitely is one of the best rap albums of the year, one that cements Fashawn as one of hip-hop's finest today - and with no pun intended, a record that is ecologically beneficial to the rap environment.
