Artist: Murs & 9th Wonder
Album: Murray's Revenge(2006)
Label: Record Collection
iH Rating: 7.6 out of 10
RIYL: Living Legends, Little Brother, soul-tinged beats, wit

“most of these rappers trapped in the hype/they makin whole albums only half of its tight/so they never really have an impact on your life”

-“Murs Day”

Murs is a rapper that makes albums that are tight from start to finish. 9^th Wonder is a DJ that produces tight albums. When they get together good things happen. After the success that was their first collaboration, 3:16 – The 9^th Edition, they reunite for Murray’s Revenge a soul-inflected, self- and socially conscious landmark on the hip hop landscape for 2006. Its brief (ten tracks, under 40 minutes, like 3:16 before it) but it is complete.

9^th Wonder’s production—string arrangements and smooth vocals sampled from 70s soul records—ties the tracks together into a cohesive unit. The songs are also loosely connected via thematic elements of the lyrics. The name of the album and title track is somewhat explained by the very last line of the album, “Success has always been the best form of revenge.” It implies a lifetime of trying to overcome naysayers, ignoring the people that will try to bring you down. “Murray’s Law” more specifically addresses other rappers, “I do feel the music so I kind of respect it/but don’t confuse ill lyrics with real street credit.” The very next track is “Silly Girl,” a take-look-at-me-now shot aimed at the girls who rejected him back in the day when Murs was just Nick Carter. “D.S.W.G. (Dark-Skinned White Girls)” is a delicate love letter to those women of mixed race that have to deal with life on the racial borderline. All three tracks are united by the idea that success has to be achieved despite the haters.

Speaking of which, I've heard people say that Murs doesn't have "smooth flow," but as far as I'm concerned Murs' flow is exempary in its smoothness. It is conversational and easy, he doesn't shove words together, there are no jarring juxtapositions, and most importantly sentence-to-sentence and verse-to-verse each line he spits is related to that which came before and that which will come after it. Is it too much to ask that a rapper have a reason for saying what he does instead of just trying to play the "I'm a bigger badass" game. Murs has narrative intution and that is, I think, the most essential element in having smooth flow. I don't want to hear otherwise.

The first track, “Murs Day,” quoted above, makes it clear that Murs thinks that he has finally achieved a level of success where he can turn around, stick his tongue out, and laugh in the faces of all those people who doubted him. And he’s right. This album is consistent from track to track in its quality and cohesiveness. It is the clear result of the long and arduous career of a very gifted artist, of two very gifted artists really because this album is as much the work of 9^th Wonder as it is Murs’. And don’t be confused by its brevity: just like its predecessor the album is succinct but it is also very much complete. But with two great musicians working together like this I would expect nothing less. Murs and 9^th Wonder make writing music reviews easy. Consistency will do that.

Peter Arnberg is a contributing editor for iHighMusic.com and a fine-looking man as well. For years he has amazed those who know him with his kazoo-playing and he will soon amaze the world on his debut album from Sick Puppy Records Shmazoo. He lives in Lexington with three plants named Tuco, Blondie, and Angel Eyes.