When Weapon E.S.P hits your inbox with a ‘I think you should check this dude out‘, you know you gotta do that damn thing – and I’m glad I did. Weap was telling me about an emcee he’d worked with before who had just released a solid new album, and if the Savageland emcee was putting me onto it, I already knew it would be flames. But, the proof is in the pudding they say, and so I made sure I copped ‘The Shogun Tape’ by LoGun of Main Aim (who I remembered had rhymed with Weapon E.S.P under the moniker ‘Viktor Creed’ on the the 2018 release ‘Devolution‘) and got to zoning out with this joint in the headphones.
The result is this review.
The opening soundbyte from the movie ‘Shogun Assassin’ sets the scene for this album. It’s raw, well composed and with rhymes that are so sharp and delivered so surgically – it’s like a samurai sword attacking your eardrums. You get a very ‘Gravediggaz’ kind of vibe and feel to the album, but lyrically LoGun stands apart with his unique flow. It can lull you into submission and then slice you up – all while giving that gritty, grimy feeling.
It’s probably fitting then, that each track feels like it’s telling a story and you as a listener are compelled to take in each and every word. The second track ‘Thru the Door‘ also features a sick Notorious B.I.G sample from ‘Kick In The Door’ which is so well placed, Biggie himself would have co-signed this joint. Even the interludes feel like they are part of setting the scene that is The Shogun Tape and wouldn’t be out of place as a soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie on the real. Think Afro Samurai as well.
As is commonplace now, less is more and the album clocks in a shade over 26 minutes. Much like an episode of your favourite show really, it keeps you wanting more, but you’re not unfulfilled. I’ve heard this a dozen times and am not sick of it, because of the intricacies in the production, but also lyrically LoGun is pretty intense and engaging. The flow had me nodding and stankfacing at the same damn time. Such an easy yet complex listen.
Bangers: 5th of Grime, War of Thoughts, Thru the Door, Clashing Steel
Score: 8.5 / 10. As I said before, this is a really good album. I would have liked more – but that’s just me. Can’t fault anything that’s been included on the joint. A very solid listen which will have me checking for more from LoGun in the near future.
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