Confucius MC – “Somewhere” (Album Review)

This is the sophomore effort from London, England, United Kingdom’s own Confucius MC. Making his full-length debut with The Highest Order produced by Keor Meteor in the spring of 2014 under the historically local underground hip hop label YNR Productions, he would go on to follow it up with his 2017 debut extended play The Artform & later form the MC/producer duo Old Paradice alongside Morriarchi. I was however intrigued upon the pairing that made The Highest Order would be reuniting for Somewhere.

After the “Welcome to Somewhere” intro, “Land of the Free” opens up with a boom bap beat talking about how sometimes things are hard to see in the titular location just before “Robots on Mars” preceding the compositional “Shadows of Yesterday” embraces a soulfully jazzier vibe instrumentally observing the crowd following the same wagon the clown borrows because they won’t listen to the return of artistry until the claps come rollin’ in.

“Light Years” talks about the easiness of dodging the truth rather than looking back at it prior to “World Stage” featuring Jehst references WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T for a jab at those dumbin’ down their respective styles. “Gazpacho Soup” after the “Sea of Life” interlude kicks off the 2nd half of Somewhere talking about goin’ round until he burns out & vanishes while “Lanterns” featuring Jehst, Sonnyjim & Verbz finds the quartet teaming up to discuss the blue marble being under critical condition.

We have Confucius over some horns confessing he feels like he’s in the middle of somewhere between “War & Peace” until Lee Scott & Strange U appear for “Cicada 3301” so everyone can bring it hardcore. The soulful “Solstice” talks about developing a reputation for his high blessed poetry but once “Eyes Don’t Shine” mellowly tells the story of a man selling himself out for respect, “Song for Everyone (Somewhere)” co-produced by Jehst concludes with an appealable outro.

Experiencing a sequence of life-altering events when recording Somewhere, the Confucius MC’s chemistry with Keor Meteor retains the same energy of The Highest Order whilst aiming to give the world a deeper understanding of the mental state Confucius was in when these songs were being conceived. Keor Meteor’s jazzy production Telemachus’ mixing enhances hasn’t lost a step 7 whole years later, breaking down a mindset that allows us to see beyond the reality of our situations & where our inner selves can find solace.