Clear Soul Forces – “Still” (Album Review)

Clear Soul Forces are a hip hop quartet from Detroit, Michigan consisting of E-Fav, Ilajide, L.A.Z. & Noveliss. They blew up at the beginning of 2012 with the viral sensation of their “Get No Better” music video but now 7 years later, they’re delivering their 5th full-length album.

Things kick off with “Blaow”, where the 4 spit battle bars over a semi-jazzy boom bap beat. The song “Hit Me Now” is a perfect display of their skills over a vibrant boom bap beat while the track “Diamond Rhymin'” is a chilled out crowd mover. The “Sword Play” remix is a pretty great revision of the song that the group did on Noveliss’ Kenjutsu Under the Moonlight EP from a couple years back while the song “Kick It” kinda reminds of the classic Tribe Called Quest track with the same name, but updated for a modern audience.

The track “Dinner Time” is filled with lyrical acrobatics over a J Dilla-esque instrumental while the song “They Shootin'” is a flawless display of the quartet’s chemistry accompanied by a mellow beat with some thumping drums. The track “Say (What)” is a well put together freestyle with a funky beat & after the “Still Enterlude”, the penultimate song “Pump Pump” is an infectious club banger. The album then finishes with “Don’t Stop”, which is a 7 & a half minute odyssey about their success.

This is easily the group’s best album yet, in my opinion. The chemistry between each member is tighter than ever, their lyricism has gotten a lot more sharper with time & the production has that Detroit soul to it making the palates sounds gorgeous. If they continue to outdo themselves with each album like this, then I have a feeling that they’ll grow closer to reaching the potential as one of the greatest groups to come out of Detroit.

Score: 8/10