What's good folks! I'm back again with yet another salute to those albums that were impactful and helped change the landscape of hip-hop as we know it. This particular album is slightly different. Although it's not widely considered a classic or a game change in hip-hop, this album is however seen as one of the better albums of '96 and doesn't receive the props it so rightfully deserves from a ferocious Long Island emcee considered "the most beautifulest" emcee walking.
In '94, we got exposed to this hungry new jack hanging with Erick Sermon and Redman for E-Double's highly slept-on No Pressure album on a track called "Hostile". This cut opened lots of ears to a young dude named Keith Murray (real name, no gimmicks). Similarly to an emcee named at the time Nasty Nas (you may have heard of him), heads were very much awaiting his debut based off that one verse he spit. He finally delivered with his debut single, "The Most Beautifulest Thing in This World", which incorporated the same "Between the Sheets" sample that Biggie used the same year for his crossover hit "Big Poppa". In the video, we see him spitting lyrics to another cut that would be featured on the album by saying: "From New York to the world over/I walk emcees like Jesus walks the waters". The ugly face appeared on many cats just hearing him spit that. Then the cut comes on and we're exposed to some lyrical butchery. When he dropped his debut album of the same name, the wait was worth it. This was gritty, very street, and more than exhibited how insane his lyrical abilities were behind Erick's tremendous production. His second single, the weed dedicated "Get Lifted", proved the point even more for those who didn't think he could do it again the second time with another single. The album was among the hottest of the year in '94 (keep in mind, this is the same year Illmatic, Ready To Die, Tical, The Diary, and Hard To Earn dropped among other classics), and we saw a star emerge to further solidify the Def Squad camp.
Heads were soon checking for his sophomore album, wondering if there would be a sophomore jinx. Of course not many were expecting that, as Erick was among the top five most sought after producers in the game at that time. The first single, "The Rhyme" put any notions of sophomore slump to rest with this thunderous single, which had Murray rhyming over more polished production from Erick. This was only a small taste of the fire to come. He delivered his second effort, Enigma, one month after the single was released. In short, this album walked the line of exceptional. Lyrically, he wasn't as angry or zooted, but he was every bit as much of a savage as before. The production was just as big of a story. While we heard Murray spitting over rugged, grimy Erick Sermon beats, Erick gave him more melodic, polished and accessible production, only being joined this time by the production squad, The Umma, which consisted of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed, and Dilla, on three tracks (their production on the remix to "The Rhyme" is LIFE). Still hood in every aura, Murray blisters standout tracks like "Love L.O.D.", "Manifique (Original Rules)" (the original pressing of this cut had him calling out Mobb Deep based on the beef between he and Prodigy at the time), and the insane posse cut "Yeah", featuring Red, Erick, then-Def Squad member Jamal, and Busta Rhymes. He gets deep and personal with the ode to deceased family and friends on the melancholy Dave Hollister-assisted "To My Mans" to put more substance to an overall tough talking, shit-spitting rhyming.
Some have stated that the production would become a little monotonous towards the end and his aggressive flow could grow tiresome, but with that being said, this is regardless the best album he has put out. While his debut was a fire introduction and his third album, It's A Beautiful Thing, was simply excellent ("My Life" is still one of my top five fave cuts ever from him), Enigma stands alone as his championship album. This was hard-hitting, melodic, boom-bap hip-hop at its finest, and deserves to be mentioned among the truly best moments of '96. To that, we salute Keith Murray for delivering this SICK album.
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