Happy 10th Anniversary to Souls of Mischief’s sixth studio album Adrian Younge Presents: There Is Only Now, originally released August 26, 2014.
There have been many great things about the resurgence of an artist or group teaming with a single producer to record an entire album. It’s yielded a lot of “Why hasn’t this happened before?” revelations. And it’s brought about a fair share of “Huh… Why hadn’t I thought of that?” efforts. Souls of Mischief teaming with Adrian Younge to create their sixth full-length There Is Only Now falls into the latter category. Released 10 years ago, it’s an inspired and inventive project.
Oakland’s Souls of Mischief crew have always been long on ambition and heavy on skill. Comprised of Adam “A-Plus” Carter, Opio Lindsey, Tajai Massey, and Damani “Phesto” Thompson, they’ve stood out their entire careers as iconoclasts. The group, part of the larger Hieroglyphics crew, made its fame for their ability to deliver heavy-duty rhymes and sound fly while doing so. For over 30 years, they’ve been hailed as some of the best lyricists of any era of hip-hop.
Younge is a successful composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from San Bernadino County. He first really received accolades for creating the score for Black Dynamite (2009), the Blaxploitation/action comedy film. Though he received further acclaim for Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics (2013), he pursued his love for hip-hop music by collaborating with Staten Island’s Ghostface Killah, with the pair recording and releasing Twelve Reasons To Die (2013). Producing There Is Only Now was his impressive follow-up.
In an interview with the Passion of the Weiss website, Younge revealed that he decided to record the project with Souls of Mischief after A-Plus reached out to him on Twitter. Younge added that with There Is Only Now, he envisioned creating an album “that would take the listener back to a time when I was really excited about hip-hop.”
Younge decided that he wanted to do an album with Souls of Mischief because, like many fans of the crew, he personally identified with “a group of individuals that were just like myself. … They spoke to me as a person.” He envisioned an album that met at the intersections of Hieroglyphics, Native Tongues, Bobbi Humphrey, Bob James, and Herbie Hancock. He hoped that the musical backdrop would capture the passion that Souls of Mischief had exhibited in recording their debut project ’93 ’Til Infinity (1993).
Younge has always boasted a cinematic approach to his production and works to match the music with the mood of each “scene.” As he said in an interview with PopMatters, “[Y]ou have to understand what the different moods are throughout the album and once you understand those points of progress within the story are you compositionally illustrate music that denotes that feeling.”
Younge’s production can be a tough nut for hip-hop artists to crack. His musical backdrops are complex, with Younge playing much of the live instrumentation himself, at times composing and executing orchestral arrangements. Often, these tracks don’t obviously lend themselves to be rapped to. Twelve Reasons To Die was heavy on mood and grit, inspired by vintage Italian horror films, but was a bit off in its execution. The issue with both was on Ghost’s end, as he struggled to mesh his off-beat delivery with Younge’s intricate stylings. The album’s sequel, released in 2016, was even less successful artistically.
Listen to the Album:
In contrast, all four members of Souls of Mischief are up to the task for this undertaking. Well over two decades into their careers at the time, their ability to deliver complicated deliveries and syllable-bending lyrical wizardry remained as impressive as ever. Furthermore, the crew had always been gifted storytellers, and are able to navigate the project’s twisting narrative without signs of strain.
There Is Only Now is a concept album based on a true story: Souls of Mischief, along with manager Domino, fellow Bay Area rapper Saafir, and friend and Elektra A&R Dante Ross were leaving the Upper Room club in San Francisco when they were nearly robbed at gunpoint by a masked gunman. The unknown assailant fired shots at the crew as they escaped, nearly killing Domino in the process.
There Is Only Now is similarly set in 1994. It takes the basic framework of the incident and tweaks the details for dramatic effect: After recording an episode of Rap City, the crew go out for a night on the town. After leaving the club, they are nearly killed by gunmen in a black Silverado, who then abduct Tajai and hold him for ransom. The group must then locate their kidnapped crew member and seek revenge on their assailants.
Souls’ and Younge’s efforts are helped by Ali Shaheed Muhammed, the famed DJ for A Tribe Called Quest, who serves as the album’s narrator. As the DJ for the fictional radio station K-NOW, he acts as a more sympathetic version of his counterpart in the film The Warriors, which also served as inspiration for the story of There Is Only Now. Muhammed provides running commentary, converses with members of the Oakland community, and relays some key plot points.
There Is Only Now is the strongest at the beginning and the end, where the group deals with the attack, works to rescue their kidnapped comrade, and then seeks out revenge. The middle portion of the album travels into a few lengthy subplots, but these digressions generate some good to great material. There are other songs which didn’t fit into the album’s story arc, but touch on the themes present throughout the album.
There Is Only Now works best when Souls use their ample verbal talents to describe situations, feelings, or sensations. “Time Stopped” features each member of the group breaking down their own perspective of their near-death experience, reflecting on how reality seemingly grinds to a halt once guns are drawn. On “Panic Struck,” Phesto vividly describes the physical and mental sensations in the immediate aftermath of serious trauma, while Tajai provides a first-hand account of his brutal assault and abduction. With “Miriam Got a Mickey,” all four members capture the muddled and impaired thought process of someone who’s been drugged without their knowledge or consent.
Along with Muhammed, Souls and Younge make good use of its guests. Busta Rhymes appears as the abductor’s ringleader on “Womack’s Lament.” Directly invoking his verse on Tribe’s “Scenario,” he vents jealously and unabashed hatred for the Hieroglyphics crew, revealing that he chose violence after getting served by the group in a cypher at the club. Snoop Dogg lends his smooth flow to the album’s title track, introducing Miriam and Stoney, two doomed lovers who’ve involuntarily entered Womack’s orbit. Scarub of the Living Legends delivers a solid sixteen-bar verse on “Stone Cold,” as he struggles to contain his pent-up fury, seeking revenge on his and Souls’ common adversary.
Younge does an excellent job in providing the appropriate musical accompaniment throughout the project. He creates an appropriately disconcerting backdrop for “Miriam Got a Mickey.” He begins “Panic Struck” with a single flute and stark drums, slowing building tension with the basslines, keys, and strings to compliment the feelings of fear and isolation that Souls express.
For an album that tries to recapture feelings of the past, it holds up plenty damn well in the present. Souls’ and Younge’s contributions complement each other, with each allowing the other to fully cut loose. Despite the high degree of difficulty that goes into creating a cohesive concept album, everyone involved brought their A-game and gave their listeners something that’s both entertaining and enduring. Its stature has only improved during the decade since its release.
Listen: