Although I don’t really know the cat too well, I really like Willie Evans Jr. I guess it’s strange to preface a hip-hop album review with personal affections. I mean, I like Wu Tang Clan but I’ve never even been in the same room as Method Man or the RZA. But I have met Willie Evans Jr. several times, and each time I find a new reason to like him more than the previous time. But I won’t get into all that.
I don’t know if it’s been decided yet, what to call this new breed of indie hip-hop. Some have been calling it backpack hip-hop, and it is true that you will see backpacks at a Hip Hop Hell show, but you would never see one of those on the floor at “the clubs.” (I would say Kartouche instead of “the clubs,” but where is the rap club these days?) Some call it underground, some call it indie, but whatever you call it, Willie Evans Jr is playing a breed of hip-hop that is genuinely informed by great old school sounds but feels all kinds of new.
Hip Hop Hell Records has put out more great albums in the last year than any other single entity in Jacksonville. The N Word was the first release, and those songs are making my playlists left and right, but Willie Ev is bringing Hip Hop Hell Records to a whole new level.
‘Slow Adrenaline’ drops in like an organic, Digable Planets sort of bass line with beat boxing as the only stable rhythm in the song. Tracked over that are chimes and some abstract instrumentation fading in to provide texture, but the song’s real continuity comes from Willie Ev’s flow. He skips over the mouth-made beats and pulls the listener through the song with his candor and cadence. For a relative unknown to the hip-hop community at large (he is known in Jax as part of the ABs), starting off the new album with beats and instrumentation done by mouth is gutsy, but he and collaborator Therapy pull it off like the pros they are.
‘Jacksonville pt. 2’ features some soulful old school samples alongside Willie Ev’s beats, giving an urban southern vibe under his smart lyrics. Like a Mos Def with a little more blues and a smile on his face. Even jams like ‘Rock Widdit’ and ‘It’s Alright,’ with their psychadelic and rock and roll approaches to hip-hop, still have this underlying crackle like they came off a thrift store record and the smoothed out overlay that must have been provided by the mastering at VisionSound Recording Studio, as well as Willie Ev’s style. He has a sound that is distinctively his. Not just by how frank and conversational his lyrics are, but how the bass and the beat works together with the scratchy smile in his voice.
The album’s title track, ‘Communication,’ which features Massachusetts’ Mr. Lif and the song ‘Move Em Out’ with J One are easily the party tracks of the album, but each number is quality. Even his shout out song is dope.
Find this album at Royal Treatment Record Shop in Springfield, on Main Street next to Shanty Town Pub. Jacksonville’s hip-hop scene is getting too good and too big to stay under the radar much longer, catch these acts while they are still around town.
Article Published in the 03-08 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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