Canadian based rapper CeasRock’s new album Zero Gravity (free download) show his ability to lyrically stretch in different directions, but more importantly it shows a lot of potential. Zero Gravity, produced and mixed by 514IndoRecordz, starts out of the gates with the ascending title track that strikes of the higher dimensional, elevated hip-hop the likes of Hieroglyphics, Blackalicious, and Jurassic 5. The track production shines, adding the right atmosphere for the lyrical content and delivery. As an intro, the album seems to be headed for a spacey, conscious hip-hop journey.
However, the next few tracks seem to go into much more familiar waters. The production quality is still on point, but the sound comes back into the current more Southern-style rapid high-hat, slow and low beat sound. Lyrically while Ceas stays quick on the delivery, the creativity and unpredictability of his word play doesn’t reach back up to the promise of the opener. That said, while the album dips slightly it comes back up with the quietly cool “Jones” whose production nods to the warm classic R&B tinged hip-hop of Common’s “Be” era Kanye.
Toward the end of the album, Ceas comes back into interesting waters again with both the very conscious “Real Life Pt. 1” and classic sounding “10.5”. Real Life finds Ceas bringing both introspection and social commentary into the light with a solid, classically true sounding hip-hop beat to back him. Then on the closer 10.5 produced by Deejay IZ, things come back full swing into the elevation and creativity of the opener. It nods to the more genuine element of hip-hop, being true MC’ing which focuses more on content and delivery rather than catchy hooks and cultural trends.
Ceas is quoted saying about the album: “ZERO GRAVITY” represents the continuous ascension process that I go through as an artist. Focused on a modern style of production, “ZERO GRAVITY” will serve a catalyst to “FREQUENCEAS LP” which will be the 2nd instalment of the 2 part project. The goal is to show my versatility and ability to deliver quality sound within a cohesive piece of work, while still respecting the standards I hold as an emcee.” CeasRock does seem to hold high standards as a MC, and he really shines when moving into the more elevated, conscious direction of his creativity. Zero Gravity is definitely worth a listen, and CeasRock is one to watch. Stand out tracks: Zero Gravity, Jones. Real Life, and 10.5.
