Loose Logic :: Logistics :: Passion Play Productions
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon

[Logistics] Loose Logic is not to be confused with underground rapper and one-time Demigodz member Louis Logic. In fact they couldn't be more opposite geographically OR stylistically as Loose Logic hails from Los Angeles and cites Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik as his influences, while his similarly named East coast counterpart sat at the learning tree of Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks) to develop his distinctive style and flow. Aside from the obvious differences, there's also an important one - Loose Logic has a new album out right now, while Louis Logic was last seen as part of the Spork Kills' "Beaches Love Us" EP in 2008. The metallic musical mashup got Louis some notice for creativity, but in terms of straight up rap music, Loose Logic may just steal his name and his spot on "Logistics." He's even brought back a blast from the past in the form of iconic Death Row rapper RBX on the track "Turn to Dust":

Loose Logic: "Step out the house and then ride, so many places
See the tourists checkin out the palms like they were leavin Vegas
We born to face this, problem that the world hides
Cause they don't want to see the pain, so they avert they eyes
I'm guilty of the same, when I was in L.A.
Ten PM I'm walkin home and saw the curdled blood and stank
after I saw the shot, but never saw the cops
So many murders that the news just ain't concerned at all
The corner pharmacy ain't got no walls or doors
Just a street light, a couple beggars, and a child that's yours"

RBX: "Livin the rap life is sorta like a movie
Curtain call, movie over, fade to black
And all he really wanted was fame, the parallel
Both rocks on the block like hot rocks'll sell
No matter how you get it, the mission is to blow up
Tell Toke and Poo-Poo, frontin get you to' up
City born, like he Wild Child X
Unorthodox plays like a Wild Style flex"

Loose Logic displays a wide variety of West coast styles on "Logistics," but the one his East coast compatriot would relate to the most is the hard-rocking "Stage Dive." The rapper he's most reminiscent of on this song though is Tech N9ne, another MC he credits with inspiring him to pursue a career in rap after seeing Tech tear up a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony show. The swagger and the fast lyrical delivery are definitely Nina's, although the beats belong to Bort Shrader, who produced this entire CD. He's a bit hit or miss musically. "International Cyberspace" walks that minimalistic fine line popularized by the New Boyz perfectly, and guest rapper C.E.O. fits the groove like a glove. This could be a big hit for Logic. "Drinks Up" is all over the map though - it tries to be minimal with a handclap beat for the rap, then adds a layer of screeching melody that sticks with the chorus even though you wish it would go away. Somewhere in the middle are songs like "Let Her Go" featuring Byg D and Ms. Toi, trying to be a smoother quiet storm sex style for the ladies, yet sounding like every cliche of that newer jack swing.

It's a little hard to get a grasp on what Loose Logic wants to be from this album. At times he's borderline to being a horrorcore hip-hop MC with creepy flows like "Losing My Mind," at times he sounds like the prototypical Big B "white trash rapper" on tracks like "This Letter," and sometimes he just wants to get the party started on songs like "I-Rok." While one can applaud his versatility, it's also borderline schizophrenic in conception, as though he has 15 different voices in his head and doesn't know which one to listen to. The flow is polished enough that Logic didn't start rapping yesterday, and the writing is acceptable even though there are no hip-hop quotables or drop dead punchlines, but his bio may be overstating it by noting he's been "killing rappers in battles left and right." If those cyphers included PackFM, Ras Kass, Eminem or Wordsmith he wouldn't even get out of the first round though, let alone kill his way to the semi-finals. Don't take this as hating though, because "Logistics" isn't a terrible album, just an unfocused one. If Logic sharpens everything up, he may yet become a bigger name than his East coast opposite - only time can tell.

Music Vibes: 5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 6 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 5.5 of 10

Originally posted: January 26, 2010
source: www.RapReviews.com