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Saturday, 26 November 2005 11:22

SUPERNATURAL: S.P.I.T. (Up Above)

As an aspiring rapper, I can tell you one thing definitively: Freestyling is hard. To come up with a rhythmically precise, logical chain of words while being funny, poignant, and above all keeping with a tightly constricted rhyme scheme is one of the most difficult forms of improvisation. More impressive is to freestyle with such skill that you gain national—and international—recognition without even releasing a record. In fact, it is all but unheard of…until now. The rapper is Supernatural, and the album is entitled S.P.I.T., or Spiritual Poetry Ignites Thought.

Before I continue, let it be said here and now that Supernatural is un-fuck-wit-able on the microphone. Widely hailed as the king of freestyle, Supernatural has proven himself to be at the top of the rap game. He can perform a whole set of improvised material, often engaging the crowd by asking for objects or sheets of paper he will incorporate effortlessly into his rhymes. Before S.P.I.T., Nat’s only release in his decade-long career was a compilation of live freestyles. So needless to say, his first studio release was hotly anticipated the world over.

It is no surprise that Supernatural pulled some top-shelf talent for help with his first studio album. A slew of rappers and producers contribute, including Chali2Na, Vitamin D, DJ Khalil, Evidence, and Raekwon. The beats all make your head nod severely; the DJ scratches are all excellent, even if they play the same “Rhyme about what I see on stage, like Supernatural” sample a few too many times. All the guest artists bring their A-game.

Throughout the album, Nat weaves stories of his upbringing and struggle to become a great rapper—both in the savagely competitive rap world, and in his own mind—that attempt to convey triumph over adversity. But what is surprising is how un-Supernatural he ends up sounding over such a well-produced album. One of Nat’s greatest strengths is hyping a crowd, using their energy (and objects) to make opponents fall flat and even the harshest critic nod in approval. But when given all the time in the world and the best resources of production and guest drops, you’d think Nat would sound less like he was…freestyling.

That last sentence was distressing to write because, ultimately, I aspire to have even a tenth of the freestyle talent Supernatural possesses. He is also exceptional at telling a story—though again, the more obviously freestyled moments tend to follow an extemporaneous tack, which is often distracting when handling such complex social and personal material. Perhaps the best suggestion I have for to listeners is to not expect a lot of insane written material. When approached from the perspective that the brother is freestyling, the final verdict is infinitely more favorable.