Elzhi- "It Aint Hard To Tell"

New video from Detroit's Elzhi, which comes off his latest mixtape: Elmatic. Watch a review of the Illmatic tribute here.

Elzhi- Elmatic

On Elmatic, Detroit's Elzhi rewrite's Nas' seminal Illmatic to fit his personal story. Thanks to his flow, lyricism, and some production help from the Will Sessions band, the project goes off without a hitch. I'm sure it'll be debated whether or not this album is better than the original. And, of course, Illmatic will reign supreme. I'm not here to put my two cents in on that one, though.

What I will say is from the perspective of a tribute, revitalization, or revamp, this thing is freaking fantastic. Hell, it's more enjoyable than a lot of original albums I come across. It's just a nice reminder of hip hop's best characteristics, and what a trip it's been since the '94 release of the original.

WATCH THE REVIEW

Elzhi's Elmatic

Download Elmatic Almost 20 years later, Nas' Illmatic only gains more critical acclaim, and rap artists love to tribute it. Though this isn't the first time a rapper has laid new lyrics to every beat from this seminal LP, the prospect of hearing Slum Village's Elzhi give it a go is exciting.

Though this mixtape doesn't live up to the original, it doesn't try to. Instead, Elzhi uses the beats from Illmatic as his platform to convey a lot of the same feelings Nas was when Illmatic dropped.

Thanks to Will Sessions, Elmatic is loaded with beefier versions of Pete Rock's archetype. Pete even makes an appearance.