The Upperground Community - Longevity Crew (Captions)

Longevity Crew's (now known as Captions) long awaited debut album. StresOne (emcee), Choice 37 (emcee/producer), and DJ Rel put their heart on the line with a series of songs that take you into their world influenced by classic Hip Hop, Jazz, and even Electronica.

Lyrics/Conscious: Stres One's rhymes are profound and clear with wordplay and metaphors. Both emcees are pretty young, and it sometimes shows, but are impressive regardless. Songs contain catchy thought provoking hooks speaking on topics like soul searching, love lost, and love gained. Basically the whole spectrum of emotions of life. Its core values in relationships with God is not blatant, but found in between the lines, filled with life lessons that feed the soul at many stages of life, weather to chill, get amped, or just day dream.

Beats: Diverse Hip Hop tracks (Jazz, Drum & Bass, 90's Underground Hip Hop), all well thought out, despite being individually unique you never forget who you're listening to. Lots of attention was given to audible detail accompanied by appropriate layers of ambiance that tend to build.

Minor Complaints: A few tracks' production are just a bit over done, with effects and cuts that don't add much. There is no real connectivity between tracks, making it seem like a series of singles although there is a clear beginning and end. At one point there is an attempt to connect two songs, but it's never repeated and seems awkward. Group dynamics really don't get a chance to show themselves and who is DJ Rel?

Choice Tracks: "Sign Language", "Daydream", "Walk with Us", "Grace Drifting", "Rain"

Sample Lyrics: "Yell for freedom, then bind your own chains, curse the drought, then drown in the rain. Every thing's taken, but we want more, to take for granted behind our closed doors, the rhythm is broken and you're looking to mend time, but the view was limited looking through the needle's eye" - Stres One

"I ain't preachin' but reachin', lending a hand and an arm, but the choice is truly yours till it's gone." - Choice 37

Author's Review

Fresh Sound, Friday, 06 January 2006

Written by Audible - See all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer

Lyrical Skill
Beats/Production
Message/Conscious Level
Creativity/Diversity
Quality Tracks Ratio
Overall Rating

"Everything Builds" is a beautiful meditation on God & Life. Longevity Crew paints the details of every aspect of their given world through thought provoking lyrics, catchy life lesson hooks, and carefully layered beats that range from Jazz to Drum & Bass influence. Though this one might heavily cater more to mindful listeners than bass booty shakers.