HieroglyphicsThe Kitchen
Hieroglyphics Imperium

- On the intro track to underground rap legends Hieroglyphics' latest record, the hip-hop institution let it be known, confidently, that if you can't stand the heat you better get out of the kitchen, which in hindsight may not have been a terrible piece of advice - something I never would have fathomed at the tIme.

The specific kitchen in this scenario happens to the group's first full-length release in ten long years, The Kitchen being only the third record proper from the Oakland hip-hop crew helmed by one of most interesting and enjoyable MCs ever to grace the mic, Del The Funky Homosapien. While Del surrounds himself with a large and semi-revolving cast of other, interesting, rap misfits of varying quality and musical impact, he clearly is and always will be the first and foremost reason for rocking up to any Hieroglyphic party.

Appropriately, given the preceeding temperature warning, the record actually starts off quite fiercely, Del leading the charge convincingly. Opening cut Livin' It Up is a pretty good example of what the group should be aiming for at this point: a bouncy, light and joyous jam that rocks a beat reminiscent of when Pharrell was turning tricks for rap duo Clipse around the turn of the century. Though it jumps around stylistically, the majority of the first third of the album is solid. Early stand-out cut Golden is up there with anything the group have ever released, the proof that there's still some blood pumping through the veins.

You knew there was a but coming, and there's certainly a point at which my interest in The Kitchen took a nose dive. You can't help feeling the seventeen tracks here should be cut down by half: the average ones muddy the waters, obscuring the better ones.

The record is in a constant flux of ideas and time-periods. Old trying to play with new and never quite melding. I feel like the group should have either relied more heavily on their past or dropped it all together, the Hieroglyphics brand represents...what now? I'm not sure exactly. So The Kitchen needs some tough love, sure, but it really isn't bad at its core, it just all feels a little out of place and like context is killing this one-time rap powerhouse.

I can understand Del not wanting to bogart the record but I found myself constantly waiting for his next appearance and unfortunately it rarely came quickly enough. Luckily for the world over Del has just revived another semi-lost project in Deltron 3030 and with no other MCs to share mic time with, it's hard not to be a bit giddy about the prospect of a whole lot of Del-boy coming back our way. Fingers crossed that my fragile heart isn't stomped into the gutter again.

- Jay Edwards.

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