GM – “Audio Vérité” | Album Review

Tags

Album Review, Audio Verité, GM, K1ng Eljay

Words By | Leon Sullen, Jr.
Pen Name | K1ng Eljay
Twitter | @K1ngEljay

The Favorites

“Commercial I”
“Mouf (MTV)”
“Uncle Luke”
“J-Zone Emergency”

GM’s Obnoxious showed flashes of greatness; it was enough to make me keep an eye on the Upstate rapper and follow his moves. The #GMEP put all of those flashes together, giving us an accurate sample of what he’s capable of doing. Even though it felt like more of a mixtape than an EP, the end result was more of the same. I was personally a bit surprised to see that he was that consistent, and as his mixing and mastering improved, so did the quality of his music, and it was clear to see.

That leads us to this moment, right now. Audio Vérité is his latest entry into his long-running discography, and to be honest, it may be his best one yet. Hinging on a loose theme for the entire project, the songs display his ability to vault onto various styles of instrumentation (similar to #GMEP in this way) while not sacrificing his flow or his sheer ability to rap. From clever punchlines to flow-flipping, it all still remains decidedly gritty, decisively Hip-Hop, and undeniably GM.

STREAM | GM – “AV Commercial I” (Produced by The Vinylcologist)

The best thing about Audio Vérité is how it flows. There are a couple of songs that seem to draw on a bit (case in point? “The Messenger” has him spazzing in his verses, but the execution of the song is a bit mundane) but aside from that, there’s a nice rhythm to the gritty rhymes which are appropriately interrupted by “Commercial Breaks” and even a dope “J-Zone Emergency” that has GM getting busy over J-Zone’s production. The inclusion of an interesting narrative on “1^st 48” shows another side his skills that can be appreciated as well. And as the cherry on top, the production is all handled by Po Safe and Dr. Khil, and ranges from grimy, Upstate NY style tracks to one or two sounding as if the sample was cut right out of a carnival loop.

No, seriously. But it works somehow. I can’t really explain it, to be honest.

STREAM | GM – “Uncle Luke“

There’s a couple things that we can say for sure concerning Audio Vérité. Firstly, “Uncle Luke” is a banger. Secondly, GM continues to put his best foot forward when making music. Even though this project is his best so far, it still won’t be accessible to some due to that same, underground feel that GM exudes. It’s his style, and it’s been his style for a while now, but some won’t be able to vibe with it (and honestly, that sucks). However, for those that can, you’re in for an enjoyable listen crafted with care, and there’s more than enough here to prove – yet again – that GM’s a different type of artist that’s worth keeping an eye on.

Here’s to hoping that we get to see some decent visuals for some of these singles.