So this review might be a bit late, but what else is new, the shit still needs to be said. El Foto Grande is dope and if you haven't heard it you need to ASAP or risk being more out of touch than me.
Produced by Mike Gao (one of the more underrated producers out today--also reccomended "Mestizo & Mike Gao - Blindfaith") and Nick Sena, the album has a cohesive feel lacking in most hip hop today. It feels like a complete thought, in large part thanks to the mellow yet lush instrumentation.
Another thing missing in hip hop today that this album is filled with (aside from dope beats & rhymes) is love. Four of 16 tracks have love in the title and it's refreshing to hear someone deal with something so fundamental to humankind in such an honest manner, from the love for family and friends on "What Up Fam" to romantic love on "LL Robus T," it all comes across as sincere--no sap and no "I am the hardest" syndrome (which he skewers on a heavy beat on "Strictly Underground"). Robust manages to walk the line of life and emotion (i.e. The Big Picture) with skill and dexterity.
In one song he manages to discuss the absolute power of music (and accomplish what he is discussing!):
"cuz it all starts with a feeling/
from hearing a song/
and the singer saying something so real that it couldn't be wrong/
and it sorta steals the corner of your soul for the moment in time/
only to fill your heart with so much love that it opened your mind"
and the political environment we find ourselves in today as citizens of the world:
"half the world hates the other half/
the other half has all the food/
and everybody acts as if its cool/
cuz the gluttons laugh like fools for gold/
and they hold us down/
now this world feels like there isn't enough love to go around"
(both from "Love It All")
This album feels like a film you put on and the atmosphere takes you exactly where the director wants, making you forget your current time and place in favor of his. Robust is the director and El Foto Grande is the film--put it on and see where it takes you.
If you haven't heard it, get it today. 4.5/5
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