Samurai Shin – “The Saga Begins” EP (Album Review)
Samurai Shin Comics compiles a soundtrack directly correlating to the comic animation, bringing the visuals to life. “The Saga Begins” EP was inspired visually by Afro Samurai, Samurai Champloo, and Sword Of The Stranger and musically by Wu-Tang’s latest release “The Saga Continues”, I was excited to review this album and it didn’t disappoint as it began from the retro introduction with lyrical wordplay carrying the verses through perfect transitions. Advocates of golden age HIP-HOP will absolutely love this EP, it brings that raw HIP-HOP flavor we know and love, mixed with the innocence of our childhood. Throughout this album, I was having nostalgic feelings of Saturday mornings and childhood bliss.
The Ep begins with “Trip Style” produced by P.Soul, instantly the HIP-HOP purest reminded me of the late 80s, early 90s as the flow was east coast influenced and rugged. “Trip Style” serves right as the 1st song as it better explains who Samurai Shin is, The action-packed song is full of visual mind concepts to perceive the picture. The album keeps rolling as we get to “Core Demonstration” produced by Foridomi, by far my favorite song on the album because of its gritty raw approach and how easy the hook is to remember and repeat. The dark nature of the song is what shows the beauty, it amplifies and demonstrates the value of darkness. Anime is the 90s kids past time and Samurai Shin plans on lighting that fire once again for the next generations of kids.
Next on the track list “Anonymuz” produced by P.Soul featuring Xia-Dawn this song comes in like a bomb, from the minute it hits your speakers the rap vocals and the production atmosphere sync and complement each other. I can hear the East coast style that influenced Xia Killer flow as the song continues, The compilation captures the picture perfectly as we continue with “Looking At The Dark Skies” which was only an instrumental by Samurai Guru which proves to be magic. I love the silky smooth vibe as the strings and drums bring out the spirit of the track. I was especially impressed with the melody and sound arrangement.
“Sage The 64th Wonder” is the last song, self-entitled track by the producer as he flips Eazy E “Boyz in The Hood” and completely changes the song content bringing their own flavor to the sound. The Compilation Ends with a 3o Min Interview with Frank Loyr and Ty Smith breaking down the process of creating the comic, getting in character and manifestation of the project. Ty Smith also touches on his influences within anime and key strategies he’s learned over the years to better assist his artistic creations today. Follow Samurai Shin on Facebook Twitter Instagram.
Rating: 9/10
Highlights: Wordplay & Animation
Dislikes: Wish it was longer
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