Posted on 05/01/2008
Honestly, this is one of the rare times, where I wish I didn’t have to write a review. The reason being that Fermented Spirits, a duo of Haj, and MicheleQJ, have amazing intentions, so naturally I want to root for them, but unfortunately, the execution is far less than stellar.  

Demystification opens with a smooth, and constant groove, reminiscent of Common’s “Invocation.”  MicheleQJ’s voice comes across sincere, and unforced, as he preps the album with a libation of sorts.  But after my palette was wet from the intro, I was tremendously disappointed by the taste of the song that followed.  The smooth, confident MicheleQJ, is thwarted by a forced, and seemingly amateur emcee, Soulbrotha,  complete with cliché and tangential flow.

The rest of the album is peppered with songs like, “Hemisphere,” and “Special,” which have undoubted potential, but again fall short due simply to MicheleQJ’s stretched, and uncertain vocal performance. Had they only had the real Bilal, to sing these tracks, they would have been awesome.  

The songs that are actually working on Demystification are the ones where MicheleQJ just performs spoken word over the tracks. He seems most comfortable within that realm, and the dissonance that exists in most every song isn’t present in these.  For instance, on “Desperate Measures,” and “Lose,” he returns to the calm and confident feel, that was introduced at the beginning of the album, and discusses the gift of wisdom, and his place in the inevitable struggle of life. I could have listened to an entire album of this.  Spoken word albums are hard to do, but Haj and MicheleQJ could probably go platinum with one (hint, hint).  But a hip-hop album…well, the tracks are hot, but honestly, it left me demystified indeed.

 

Jason Reynolds