Premonition is obviously a student of Hip-Hop and more importantly; a student of life. Any artist that can reference Fyodor Dostoyevski and Chinua Achebe in the span of 4 bars is no dummy. This is not to say that he's a rapper that will bore you to death with academic references. He understands the balance in engaging the listener with lyrics that showcase his intelligence without talking over the listeners head.
The Build is a well thought out and cohesive first effort. It's great to see an up and coming artist take his craft seriously. This album is clearly about art. From the content to the cover, this project is confidently coordinated and executed. The work is focused and defined.
Listeners will definitely enjoy Premonition's tone. His deep voice and mellow delivery almost lull the listener into his music whether you're actually listening to the lyrics or not. This quality is most apparent on the self produced "Wait". While listening to this track, I almost had to double check my playlist to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped over to a Substantial (QN5) track.
If there is any glaring gripe to be had about the album it is with the sonic quality of some of the tracks. "Get Up" for example is an uptempo track with a pounding kick drum that doesn't quake like it should. "Catalina Fischer" and "Prem", produced by Spills, both sound a bit "cheap" for lack of a better term. The story is interesting on "Catalina Fischer" and it's delivered well, but the track is just distracting. If it were up to me to pick the winning formula, it would be Prem and KO Beatz. It was like listening to the Freeway and JakeOne you've never heard of. They compliment each other extremely well.
Give 'The Build' a shot. It's quality material. Definitely a great addition to any summer BBQ playlist. Overall a top notch effort that deserves some attention.
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