Posted on 07/21/2008
To be totally generalizing, Storyville is probably a big fan of the Spitkicker crew, J-Live, Dilated Peoples, the Def Jux crew, and all the other emcees who have been classified as “underground,” or “true school.” His upcoming release, Escape Plan, is another testament to those emcees who “do it for the love,” even if it’s sometimes “plain ol’ uncool.”

Not that Storyville is uncool. As a matter of fact, there is something very cool about substance, purpose, and sincerity. Storyville possesses these qualities and displays them overtly in songs like the socially charged “Broken Glass,” the clever tribute to women, “Don’t Look Back,” and the daunting tale of self-destruction, “Black Magic.” He even discusses the meaning of life, in an impressive freestyle.

He’s also fairly versatile when it comes to his ability to switch his cadence and style, heard best on the drum and bass, sonically sci-fi song, “Secret Society,” which is the shining star of the album.

Simply put, if you consider yourself a backpacker, or b-boy/girl, you will love this album. It’s passionate, smart, and pretty musical. But I can’t help but find irony in the fact that the purpose of Escape Plan, is to help people “escape” from the mainstream, but the people who are most likely to listen to this are those who already despise it. Storyville delivers quite the sermon, but only to the choir, known to most, as “uncool.”

- Jason Reynolds