Reks is a rapper from Massachusetts who is quietly making great music. Backed by DJ Statik Selektah and a plethora of veteran rappers such as Lil Fame of M.O.P. and Styles P, Reks brings us Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme. Personally I’m familiar with some of his work, such as Grey Hairs which was a very complete album, so I can’t wait to listen and review this album. Mind you I haven’t listened to that album in a while so this review should be unbiased. Let’s get to it!
Track 1. 25th Hour
The album starts off with some sparse keys and a little skit and then gets into a classic DJ Premier beat. Reks hits the beat with some aggressiveness. Reks is on his “Gotta get before it’s now or never” flow. His wordplay and his flow is top notch in this track. This is the first listen and the only track I’ve heard but I can tell that this will be a standout track on the album.
9/10
Track 2. Thin Line
This is a Pete Rock beat and Reks definitely has a good concept for the track. The thin line title is prevalent with the lyrics and how there are thin lines between decisions that people make. Reks says “I’m my best when I tell it how it is” and that couldn’t be more true. Oh and I love the Jay-z Friend or Foe sample in the chorus. Also it’s good to hear rappers rap about something that isn’t one of the usual topics.
7/10
Track 3. Limelight
A Nottz production is the next endeavor for Reks and he starts off with some potential shots at Nicki Minaj. He asks her why she hasn’t heard of Rakim. I didn’t think that I would like this song with the chorus, but I like that he speaks on how he’s sharing the stage with all these popular acts such as Taylor Swift. He also shouts out J. Cole on this track. Lyrically the track is there and it actually gets better as the song progresses.
6/10
Track 4. Kill Em
This is that Murder Mass music. He starts out the track saying how he will kill rappers such as Termanology and other underground artists. This is definitely a modern day 50 Cent “How to Rob” but he’s killing the underground artists. It’s a very clever concept and the Sean C & LV beat hits hard. Another good track from Reks keeps this album moving.
7/10
Track 5. This or That
This beat is hard! Statik Selektah provides Reks with a great beat to compare this or that. Reks has done a lot of name dropping on this album up to this point and he doesn’t stop on this track. This is another track that calls out the mainstream music industry. To me the beat is carrying this track; however he does kind of call out Kanye and Wayne in consecutive bars. Nonetheless it’s a decent track and it gets a 6 for the beat alone
6/10
Track 6. Why Cry feat. Styles P
Another banger from Alchemist and this one features Styles P. Reks has a decent first verse and Styles hits the second verse with his trademark flow and he has some pretty good lines. This is exactly the type of verse I expected from Styles and that’s a good thing. Styles P provides a solid feature and this is a good track despite it only being 2 verses.
7/10
Track 7. Face Off feat. Termanology
A Sha Money XL beat which is not something I’d expect on this album because of the other producers. Nonetheless this is a good beat and Reks has a solid first verse. This sounds like a battle type track. Termanology is on the second verse and he starts off the verse with a non-stop flow and switches the flow up throughout his verse. Another very solid guest verse. Oh wait Term has 2 verses, actually Term and Reks both rap the third verse and switch up after every 4-8 bars or so. This is a typical Massachusetts rap track which is good if you like straight lyricism of gritty beats. I do.
7/10
Track 8. The Wonder Years
This beat starts off like something I could hear 2005-06 Eminem rapping on even though Hi-Tek produced it. This is another hard hitting beat and Reks does it justice. This is called Wonder Years but his wonder years are his “come up” years and how he was brought up. This is a lyrical from rags to riches type track but a little better. Another decent track, Reks isn’t disappointing on this album.
7/10
Track 9. This is Me feat. DJ Corbet
I’m assuming the guy “singing” on the hook is DJ Corbet but I didn’t know DJs sang unless those are like initials or something. Whatever; this is another track about his past and how it defines him. This is produced by unknown (to me at least) Mike Frey. This is a nice production with some keys and the beat really allows Reks to do some storytelling. A solid track once again.
7/10
Track 10. Mr. Nobody
First of all I have no idea who this girl singing on the chorus is and I don’t know who the guy singing is either. Statik Selektah provides another great beat and Reks has another vivid story for us to listen to. Verse-wise this is the way to tell a great story. He speaks on how he was brought up and how his family made things work with the death of his father and the lack of money. I like this track also. The last 3 tracks have been similar but they’ve all been consistent.
7/10
Track 11. The Underdog
This particularly track starts off with a hard hitting kick and Blaze P provides Reks with another great production to rap on. For the hook Reks states that he’s “The rapper no one’s heard about.” This could be true but lyrically he’s been better on the other tracks on this album and this is not my favorite track on the album.
5/10
Track 12. U Know feat. Freeway
Hi-Tek on the beat and I can definitely tell it is. Nice intro verse for Reks and he always has something to say about his past and this time it’s about him drug dealing and his life on the streets. He also says he’s “Never seen Santa till Kool Moe Dee rapped in Christmas image.” This is another “in the hood” track. Freeway is on his gangster flow for the third verse and provides a decent but not a show stealing feature. The beat carries this track in my opinion.
5/10
Track 13. Cigarettes feat. Lil Fame & Atticbarz
This is a Fizzy Womack production with Atticbarz on the hook (I think.) A decent first verse by Reks and Lil Fame starts off the second verse by proclaiming that he probably smokes more weed than Snoop Dogg. This isn’t the type of track I’d expect Lil Fame to be on but I’m used to the “Ante Up” Lil Fame who is high energy and very loud. Regardless this is a nice verse from Fame. I didn’t really listen to the third verse in depth and maybe that’s because I’ve heard it all already on the album’s story telling tracks.
5/10
Track 14. Mascara (The Ugly Truth)
This is the first of the last 3 Statik Selektah productions. It seems like Reks is at his best over Statik’s beats. This track has a nice concept on how women are portrayed on what the general population sees as opposed to how they really are. This is a great track and I really like the underlying message behind it. Also the drums are incredible on this.
7/10
Track 15. Like A Star
A very nice transition from the last beat into this one and this sounds like another story telling track. This is one of those sit back in your seat and just listen type of tracks. I like the Nas sample on the hook and it fits the track perfectly. Reks has some great lyrics on this track and I think this is another stand out track on the album and I’m not even done listening to the track yet.
8/10
Track 16. Self Titled (Bonus)
When this beat first started I didn’t think I would like it but this IS Statik Selektah and he always delivers. Reks takes a few lines from Biggie’s Juicy and it sounds like another Nas sample on the chorus. Statik must’ve been listening to a bunch of Nas when he was producing this batch of music. Enough about the beat and more about the lyrics. Reks is his usual self on the beat with some solid lyrics and this is a nice way to close out the album.
6/10
Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme by Reks is a nice effort from the Massachusetts emcee. While none of the songs were horrible on the album I found that some tracks were very similar in subject matter. I also feel like the production carried the album somewhat. Although Reks never disappoints with his lyricism but honestly I can see why he hasn’t blown up into a huge rapper yet. I’m not knocking his skills one bit but there are definitely some things that could be improved moving forward. The 25th Hour is by far my favorite track on the album. With all that being said this is a solid album but to be honest it’ll probably sit in my iTunes until that one day when I’m browsing through searching for something to listen to.
6/10
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