Classified - Self Explanatory

OK so to be straight up I had not heard about this dude at all and without any sort of media release attached to the CD (Damn you Sony!) I had to rely on my unsurpassed Google searching skills to figure out who Classified was. Didn’t take long to figure out this guy is awesome (and Canadian)! 12 albums deep into his career this is his first major label release featuring 22 tracks of quality hip hop. The fact that he is both producer and emcee makes this all the more impressive and the diversity of the beats will ensure that there is something on here for everyone.

The production values are top notch with beautiful samples and vocal stabs thrown in to perfectly compliment the honest flow of Classified. I guess he knows what beats would suit him best. You got your head nodders and your more upbeat tracks and even a few R&B tinged tracks for good measure, while all the while keeping things fresh. On ‘Oh Canada’ Classified samples his own National anthem. I mean what else are you supposed to do when you’re doing an ode to your own country? “Oh Canada we love our beaver”. Indeed.  ‘Anybody Listening’ is a feel good dance track and is a pick amongst a lot of great moments which all flow effortlessly together to hold the listeners attention right through.

If you had to choose Class is definitely a better producer than he is emcee but that doesn’t matter too much as he has a whole lot of fun and on ‘Quit While you’re Ahead’ even has enough confidence to spit “I’m not tryna say that I’m better than y’all, just saying I’m on another level to y’all”. Cheeky bugger.

This is one of those albums that makes year end top ten lists on hip hop blogs where readers are like WTF? Don’t let this one slip under the radar.