#ICYMIMonday: Whole Food - @gensudean & @DenmarkVes {Written by: @Natural_Nation}

On July 29th producer Gensu Dean and rapper Denmark Vessey released an album called Whole Food. These two came together and through Mello Music Group collaborated to make their first debut project as a unit. Although the two are not a group, Whole Food manages to escape sounding like something that was thrown together by two separate artists. Instead the artists manage to find a cohesive sound that compliment each other rather well. Denmark Vessey is an MC who hails from Detroit; still managing to escape the public ear of the masses but talented nonetheless. This MC does not shy away from social issues or feel too far removed to speak on political opinion. He was rightfully paired with Gensu's style, a producer who is known to  do some serious crate searching through his extensive collection of music to find the right sound. A sound that typically embodies hip-hop in its truest and most classic form.

After making my way through the entire album several times there were some songs that I took to and others I did not. There were three songs off the album that I tended to gravitate to and those were Ode to XX Chromosome, Saturday, and Black Love. I am sure that it is not a coincidence that in some shape or form they all seemed to have an old school feel to them. Ode to XX Chromosome jumped out at me from the rip with its blatantly funky sound. It's as if it was pulled directly out of the 70's. I'm not too mad at the theme either; it feels great to be appreciated. The song has a soap boxy echo and call sound to it. The track also feels more like a long interlude than a song, lacking the classic composition you would tend to hear in a song. Hints of the 70's style sound carries over into Saturday, the next track on the album, giving it that old school feel. It really does have all the vibes of a great Saturday so I'm all about that. It feels like waking up on a Saturday morning at 11:00am without any obligations.

Black Love is a love song with soul, good vibes, and simplicity with a drop of social justice trickled in between the lines. There's an electric guitar playing throughout the sound with a grainy filter overlaying the track. These simple features give the song a texture and character not heard anywhere else on the album.

 "My ego was bruised like/ I don't wanna fight, I just want you to feel the way I feel right now" - Denmark Venssey (Black Love)

Whole Food most certainly has some promise. Albums with this type of sound aren't for everyone and its not something I would go out of my way to listen to on a regular basis multiple times a week. For listeners who are in love with that early hip-hop sound this will be another album geared more towards you. I felt the album to be a bit slow and monotonous. No, it was not because the lack of up beat songs or drill beats. There are plenty of albums that do not posses these qualities which manage to keep hold my attention through the entire album. Overall Gensu put together some real gems and Denmark followed up with lyricism to match. You can find Whole Food on bandcamp.
Rating 2.5 out of 5