The untimely passing of Sean Price earlier this month was a significant loss, recognized by fans and industry peers alike as an engaging emcee with a lyrical penchant for both raw power and clever punch lines. A mixtape project he had planned to release ahead of a proper full-length record, Songs in the Key of Price works well in capturing the spirit and skill that the Boot Camp Clik member consistently brought to his work.
Despite fitting 30 tracks into a little over one hour, half of the mixtape's songs don't run more than two minutes, making each brief piece of work all the more important to savour; Price doesn't waste a minute in treating the glut of smooth sample flips and knocking drums to his gritty vocals. Short single-verse smashes such as "Garbanzo Beans" ("Peep the chess moves / The best writtens / Bars better than y'all / The barbarian") and "Planet Apes" showcase his celebrated lyrical dexterity, split up by a number of strong feature appearances, including six from Illa Ghee alone.
Though it wasn't conceived as a posthumous release, Songs in the Key of Price is an effort well worth seeking out as a final moment of remembrance for a quality emcee.
(Duck Down)Despite fitting 30 tracks into a little over one hour, half of the mixtape's songs don't run more than two minutes, making each brief piece of work all the more important to savour; Price doesn't waste a minute in treating the glut of smooth sample flips and knocking drums to his gritty vocals. Short single-verse smashes such as "Garbanzo Beans" ("Peep the chess moves / The best writtens / Bars better than y'all / The barbarian") and "Planet Apes" showcase his celebrated lyrical dexterity, split up by a number of strong feature appearances, including six from Illa Ghee alone.
Though it wasn't conceived as a posthumous release, Songs in the Key of Price is an effort well worth seeking out as a final moment of remembrance for a quality emcee.