In the midst of the on-going Drake–Pusha T feud and the release of Kanye’s newest album, legendary MC and member of The Roots, Black Thought, has put out a new project called Streams of Thought Vol. 1. Produced exclusively by North Carolina’s own 9th Wonder, Streams of Thought Vol. 1, is a five track lyrical workout that features the likes of KIRBY, Styles P and Rapsody. While the project is only five songs deep, it delivers every moment that it is in play.
Most notably, Black Thought shines on “Making a Murderer” alongside Styles P. On the track, Black Thought give us the bars we’ve been accustomed to when he raps, “Outer space the place that I’m parkin’ in/My marketin’, when you see the sky darkenin’/Rhyme artisan from the crew that’s bipartisan/Hi haters a 5th grader you’re not smarter than/Alpha & Omega you betas I march harder than/Batteries, y’all ain’t included, you’re not a part of it/I just took a flight to France to cop cardigans.” Styles P holds his own with lines like, “Let’s meet at the crossroads of torsos/And learn some things only the Lord knows/Break the law, it’s the only law now, no one knows/Got pies in the oven but no DiGiornos.” Rapsody and Black Thought also turn in remarkable performances on “Dostoyevsky”. Black Thought delivers on his verse when he states, ” When I was eighteen living beyond my means/I was afraid of my dreams, looking at the finer things/Wishing I could l flip to a microchip from a paper clip/Upgrade to a spaceship from a basic whip/Cash rules everything, I just wanted a taste of it.” Rapsody raps, “They say you need vision to see eye to eye with the jews/Spent 25 hundred on sheep skin, let it seep in/I ain’t turn starboy in a weekend/It took more like 7 years, make a sane man drink Everclear/It ain’t ever clear/Yeah, we ain’t ever guaranteed the year.”
From start to finish, Streams of Thought Vol. 1 is everything you would expect from a legendary figures in Hip-Hop like Black Thought and 9th Wonder. In the end, we’re left wanting more, but you have to enjoy what you can get. Check out the full project above and be sure to check back for more music this Friday.
