Jhantu Randall reviews "The Conference of the Council" album by 2-Hye

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In the search for new music, lately, I’ve found myself looking through the streaming sites and giving certain albums a chance based mainly off their appeal and presentation. As I have pointed out in almost every article to date, the music scene itself is suffering from a flood of monotony but it’s due to this trend that more people have the ability to broadcast and or share their music to a wider audience and giving themselves the opportunity to let their voices be heard. It’s because of this I was fortunate enough to have a been sent a link to a project by rapper, 2-Hye entitled “The Conference of the Council.”

With a title like this, the bar has been set by the artist himself. Just the title “Conference of the Council” invokes an atmosphere in ones mind that is quite ambitious to begin with. The opening track, “Apartment Jam” immediately hits with a beat that brings memories of instances where you're getting ready for the night, in preparation for whatever may come. “The Meetings in Session” is laid out in such a way that you feel as if you’re viewing this whole thing from the perspective of someone who is in attendance but just out of sight. In this track it’s the verse by Souljah 100 at anchor that resonates as the song fades. “Spread the Word” gives context to the concept in which this album is following. “Till Your Eyes Roll Back” needs no actual breakdown as the title says it all. It’s the combination of 2-Hye and singer, Coco Avenue going back and forth between his lyrics and her melodic voice that makes this a much welcomed slow jam.

“To Miss the Moon” begins as a revitalizing track as it hypes you up after the previous track and motivates you to get yourself focused again. “It’s Sealed” featuring Bing Bing is the moment where you not only see the importance in 2-Hye’s persona, but actually feel the drive in his mission. This is only further solidified by Bing Bing’s verse, which adds another layer to the songs original context. “The Shoe Fits” pushes this along as it fills out a bigger picture through each artist words, further fleshing out the scene. “Inhale, Exhale” is the obligatory smokers’ track which prevents the listener from falling into this world too fully. It allows you to sit back and just enjoy a session as the beat, lyrics and production begin to align the listener with their own personal thoughts. The next 3 tracks push the story further with “An LA Second” and “A Million and a Half” complimenting each other perfectly. The music on them is almost intoxicating to a degree as those were the 2 that I found myself replaying numerous times.

“Amen” is a satisfying close out to this entire album. Some people may criticize by saying that this movie like concept is rather limited and has been done before, and while not entirely wrong (The Firm comes to mind when addressing this) it ultimately comes down to did they pull it off convincingly? In the case of 2-Hye, “The Conference of the Council” is definitely a meeting I hope to attend again in the future.