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One Be Lo: Ox y Moron

One Be Lo - “Ox y Moron”

Wow.

I knew nothing of One Be Lo’s latest record, Labor, until the day before it was set to release. Spotted a tweet, of all things, mentioning that the record was scheduled to drop the next day. Talk about being blindsided. The moment midnight, September 6th hit I was F5-ing his Bandcamp like a madman, waiting for the record to drop.

Now, I’ve covered Lo at least three times before on the ‘Beest. Two tracks from his incredible 2005 record S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. and a joint with fellow Michigan emcee Senim Silla as part of the duo Binary Star, from their classic record Masters of the Universe. Lo is seriously one of my most favorite emcees of all time. and I mean that in a Kanye-esque “all time.” What makes Lo awesome to me is that he’s an intelligent emcee with a lot to say and a lot of wisdom, yes, wisdom, to impart to listeners. As well, he’s a fantastic rhymer with his intricate wordplay and a knack to create rhymes which will have you repeating two or three times to fully get it. I fell quite hard for S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., a terrific record on all counts, and began the long, long wait for new content (I wasn’t crazy about ‘07’s The Rebirth).

And now that I have Labor in my…er, well, on my hard drive and MP3 player, and been listening and re-listening for nearly a week now, I am floored. The record is an excellent follow up. Lo hasn’t been resting on his laurels these past four years as Labor stacks up well to his previous work. Lyrically, he still can craft some very complex lines and his content still concerns life, spirituality, and many social and personal issues, which he handles with candor and a certain sense of wariness, like he’s already lived through every minute of it. Musically, he’s made a large jump from the understated beats of  S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., as the production here is bigger, bolder, and more lively than before. Lo’s back indeed, and he is kicking ass.

Now, to pick a specific song? That was tough, but “Ox y Moron” appealed to me from the first play. Following the album’s concept of tracks based around animals of the Zodiac, “Ox” speaks about money, often a contemptuous element in Lo’s songs, but here Lo speaks about money’s effect on people, especially people who had nothing before. It’s a wild listen, as Lo paints hilarious examples of money’s effect. The beat is defiant, made even better by the guest vocals and the wonderful Eddie Murphy samples. Welcome back, Lo.