Album Review - “Primordial” by Beretta Shells
How would your day sound if it were a musical album? What instruments would accompany your breakfast, or what piano notes would sound as you attempt to trudge your way out of bed for a morning shower?
Making music based on everyday life is a surreal idea, but one never explored until now, thanks to Beretta Shells and his album Primordial.
I ran into Shells at a local music event where he informed me that my review of his project “InTheDazeOf: Audio Depiction” was accurate in my assessment that his rhymes played more like a game of tetris rather than taking the A-typical rhymers route of crafting bars.
While Primordial still has his trademark style of rap that’s never too in your face but skillful enough to avoid lackadaisical territory, Shells, for this 14-song project, feels different than the Tetris-esque emcee prior. Throughout the 30+ minute project, he taps into a creative zone that feels like a fun filler episode of your favorite TV show, crafting exceptional verses that are fun in length and more matter-of-fact in their impact.
Shells’ personality shines in this project as his bars don’t follow the rapper's norm of being preachy or braggadocious. But his flow is somehow inviting, relaxing, and conversational at the same time. With tracks like "9pmSunset," you will hear the album as if you’re enjoying a late afternoon chat with a friend while strolling around a walk to your local corner store.
As a multi-talented artist, Shells prides himself on being an excellent rhymer. However, it wouldn’t be fair to overlook the utter brilliance of the project’s production. It’s perhaps surreal to dream of a concept album centered around the musical mood of a day, but Shells’ talent as a producer drafts the concept and ensures easy guidelines for his rapping persona to follow.
Tracks such as “TooScary” are the perfect example of capturing the glee of walking outside on a day filled with just enough tasks to not border on overwhelming. His masterful ability to contort samples do most of the heavy lifting of the project, but that’s a praise-worthy achievement as his rhymes match the craftiness of the samples while remaining true to the concept of the project.
Overall, Primordial is a fun collection of songs that never betray the overall concept and remain related to one another. No song feels out of left field, no bar feels wrong, and Shells feels comfortable in production and rhymes. That’s more than enough of what you should ask for in a thematic-centric project.
