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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

More Than Just a Pretty Pun

Daniel Kohn |
April 10, 2009 | 1:18 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Rapper Termanology shows it's not "Politics as Usual" on his first LP.
(Creative Commons licensed)

As one of the more hyped underground hip-hop acts, Termanology recently released his first LP, "Politics As Usual." The Boston-bred, New York-based artist has an all-star cast contributing to his first studio effort. 
      
The record features a who's who of production royalty, including DJ Premier, Pete Rock, The Alchemist, Havoc, Buckwild and Large Professor, providing tracks for the album. Although only true hip-hop heads on the West Coast would know of him, Termanology brings the heat on this record. 
      
In addition to the all-star producers, he has tracks that feature Bun-B (but who doesn't these days?) and East coast stars Prodigy from Mobb Deep and Freeway. In a press release, Bun-B is quoted as saying "Termanology puts the MC back in MC'ing; he's a breath of fresh air in this dirty game." Even with such great producing and features, Termanology's tight flow outshines all on this record.

Termanology opens up the album by proclaiming "I see myself as the holy resurrection of Pun/If I ain't that, then name one." A pretty boast to say the least, but Termanology discredits himself by comparing himself to Big Pun. 

In "So Amazing," Termanology rails against the music industry by rapping, "I'm the most underrated, underestimated, unsigned new cat to rap/See I hit every label up/They said 'Damn you can rhyme'/Well you the best cat that we can't sign." These lyrics perfectly summarize the flow and gist of what is on Termanology's mind: pounding the pavement in order to ensure that he is a voice that cannot be ignored.

After releasing mixtapes on and off since 2002, Termanology appears ready to make the jump to the big leagues. The album is pretty solid for a debut with only a few weak tracks. With hard work and a continued hustle, Termanology could more than likely become the first big hip-hop star from the Boston area in a long time.    



 

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