Both solo and as one half of NY duo Armand Hammer, underground rap hero ELUCID is known for his uncompromising and commanding lyricism. In his latest release I Guess U Had To Be There, his first full-length in collaboration with Switzerland-based producer Sebb Bash, he reaffirms his status as a lyrical juggernaut, the album itself an example of his remarkable versatility. Densely packed, I Guess U Had To Be There contains nothing superfluous and no lines wasted – just impactful verses set against Bash’s cacophonous yet cinematic compositions.
The album opens menacingly with ‘First Light’, a track devoid of drums, instead relying on an uncanny synth drone coupled with handclaps and a pulsating bassline. ELUCID’s rhymes are characteristically stacked yet cryptic, as he purposely lets the words flow out indiscriminately, even stating self-referentially: “They found his utterances puzzling.” The track, like the rest of the album, is made up of twisting vignettes, defined by a mix of mundane observation and searing commentary, which come together to emphasise ELUCID’s poetry. ‘Make Me Wise’ is another great example, ghostly string samples weaving around some inspired imagery: “Fresh, fortified, built to destroy / Permanently feeling a need to cease and to exist / Scarcity is a lie of the state / They pairin’ propaganda with pie in the face.”
Sebb Bash’s production is loose and sprawling, with an overall otherworldly quality seeping into every track, whether it be in the distorted soulfulness of ‘Cantata’, with its glistening piano, or the tripped-out ‘Visitation Place’ and funk-infused ‘I Say Self’. The latter’s pointed repetition of the words “I say self” throughout underline the track’s declaration of survival in the face of negative external forces. ‘Coonspeak’ is a real highlight in its weird and wonderful structure, Bash’s discordant strums and eerie murmur eventually finding a sense of resolution in some soul-tinged vocal runs.
While I Guess U Had To Be There is an album that predominantly draws attention to the powerful coming together of two artists individually at the top of their game, there are some excellent guest appearances which add some interesting and memorable textures. On ‘Hands n Feet’, Estee Nack contributes a killer verse as a snare shuffles erratically beneath, while the luxurious ‘Equiano’ features a transient flute line courtesy of British jazz star Shabaka Hutchings, as ELUCID raps “I got heaven out in Amsterdam, Shabaka brought the flute”. ‘The Lorax’ reunites ELUCID with his Armand Hammer partner, Billy Woods, for a track in which the pair emphatically deliver some harsh lessons over a sparse beat.
The closing track ‘Parental Advisory’ is in some ways an anomaly on I Guess U Had To Be There. Where ELUCID’s lyrics offer abstract musings throughout the album, on ‘Parental Advisory’ there is direct and unfiltered messaging around the dangers of child abuse. Shrieking, off-kilter guitars amplify the discomfort of the words: “How’s it hurt you more than it hurts me? Words to live by, ways to be / I only trust you if there’s blood drawn, Confuse wrath for bein’ loved on”. And towards the end, a spoken-word passage reinforces the effects of such violence on a child’s brain and the “wear and tear on the immune system”.
I Guess U Had To Be There is a concentrated album of snapshots and annotations, collage-like in its structure and soundscape but full of colour in its experimental nature. The combination of Bash’s minimal, oftimes disorientating backdrop with ELUCID’s vivid, intricate rhyming creates a mystical atmosphere of sorts, with constant tension that purposely never leads to a resolve.
