Sy ShacklefordHaving east coast-sounding beats almost seems like an audio taboo for a down south rapper. On paper, there are certain panaches between both which make them incompatible to one another in terms of sound. As stated, though, those notions are only on paper. The team-up of Brooklyn’s Buckshot with North Carolina beatsmith 9th Wonder twenty years ago broke down that barrier, showing that both hip-hop regions have much to offer one another. Enter literate rapper Lukah. Hailing from South Memphis and bringing with him a sound that’s unlike fellow hometown rap artists Three 6 Mafia and Project Pat, his latest offering is a collaborative effort produced entirely by well-known Boston-based producer/DJ Statik Selektah. With “A Lost Language Found”, Lukah is lyrically exploring the concept of language and the lasting effects of this mode of communication, especially with how it pertains to him as a Black male born and bred in the south.
“Words Drenched In Acid” begins with a sample about American dialect before Statik’s boom-bap drums and distorted guitar sample set in. When Lukah paints the sound with his words, he’s relentless. He flows like it’s an exercise with back-to-back multis and caustic words. It ends with a spoken word about the history of Memphis and shades of things to come for the city. Statik adopts a slowed eerie sound on “South Still Speaking”, allowing Lukah and guest emcee Killer Mike to bid listeners welcome to the region of the red states. On “Broadcasting”, Lukah goes into storytelling mode, rapping a narrative about crime in his home city. The production here is very cinematic, like an audio version of film noir. The lead single, “Mirror Discussions”, comes after a sample from the previous track about the language of colorism in the Black community. As far as the track itself goes, Lukah raps accounts of his youth and feelings of being set apart over hard drums and moody bass:
The issue of code-switching in the Black community is examined via sampled dialogue before giving way to “Native Tongues”, where Lukah gives tongue-twisting rhymes oft-delivered in alliterative form all while maintaining his flow. Frequent Statik Selektah collaborator Bun B is featured on “Shredded Speach”, and his verse and presence evoke imagery of bridging the gap between his generation of rap and Lukah’s own younger demographic. Lukah flexes his storytelling muscles once more on “Talk of Mane & Bruh”, providing a vivid third-person narrative about two characters intertwined in a life of crime. “Strange Slanguistics” is marked by its psychedelic sound and echoing vocals in the production. Lawrence, MA rapper Termanology provides the second verse and honestly, his raps were better than Lukah’s, likely due to the chemistry already established between Term and Stat.
“Concrete Idioms” features Passport Rav & Propain, with the latter spitting like he’s trying to save his own life. For “Wine Glass Remarks”, Stat reconfigures some lush samples into an atmospheric beat. Jay Worthy lends a hand for the raps, having a lackadaisical and slightly slurred delivery. “A Love Language” features Evryday Saints over a smooth, almost New Jack Swing beat. For the last three tracks, “Monologue 4 My Doggs” is an ode to friendship over a piano loop featuring Stooky Bros. & Evryday Saints; “My Sermon” features fellow Memphis rapper 8Ball (of 8Ball & MJG) repping their home city; and finally “Power Dialogue” which, instead of a skit coda providing a naturalistic dialogue that contrasts the sampled informercials about language, contains a gospel choir. I wasn’t expecting that for the album’s end, but maybe defying expectations was the point. On that note, I had expectations about the combination of sounds from Lukah and Statik Selektah and on “A Lost Language Found”, and the majority of them were met.