Posted on 06/12/2009
More prolific than Travis Henry, Moka Only is back with his twentieth something album, Lowdown Suite 2: The Box. Despite his Madlibian rate of output, this album is dripping with quality. Once again, the former Swollen Member [don’t hold it against him] holds down the production and rhyming duties with ease. Moka’s languid, liquid flow fits his sloppy, neck snapping drums like a pair of damn sweatpants.

His lyrics lack content and focus, but his brand of monologue had more than enough dry and quirky personality to keep me interested. Compared to past releases, this one is sparse on the guest spots, though Pharcyde fans can catch Bootie Brown on “Hardly Say.”

I bullied 2007’s Vermilion, for sounding like one big Dilla masquerade. (It was.) Two years (and EIGHT albums) later, I’ve forgotten what part about that was supposed to be a bad thing. Truth be told, Lowdown Suite 2: The Box is the first Moka Only record I’ve heard since Vermilion, but it’s good enough to make me want to go back and connect the dots. Granted, Mr. Yancey’s influence is still the life force of this record, but I dare you to be mad about something like that. The end result is phenomenal production. Phe-nom-en-al. End of story. If your ears thrive on dusty samples, hypnotic drum programming, and lo-fi excursions into left field, Moka’s got you covered.

- M. Steve Hammer