Album Review: Venomous2000 – “Fresh, Amazingly”

Very Energetic Nubian (New-Being) On Mics Opening Universal Sounding… is Venomous2000 the Ultra Emcee. Repping New Jersey, this 29-year-old has been freestyling and writing rhymes since the early 90s. Connected with Delinquent Soundz Entertainment, Venomous2000 dropped his latest album this year called “Fresh, Amazingly“. The album is 16 tracks deep (a little under 1 hour) and was produced by DJ Priority. Thanks to V, I had the opportunity to listen to the album and give my review (to dissect and interpret). And before I get into each track, let me just say that Priority came with it. Every beat is clean and crispy, and pairs perfectly with each track and the lyrics laid on ’em. Boom bap goodness! And out of all the stuff I’ve heard of V’s, this is my favorite project. Fresh amazingly all the way through. Now let’s get into it…

01. Intro (Fresh)
Starts off with some Fresh beatboxin’. Can’t really rate this, but I dig it!

02. The Takeoff (video)
Boom bap backdrop by Priority, while Venomous gets in his can’t-stop-won’t-stop mentality. This track is basically letting you know that this is only the beginning, and that V will strive to rise to the top. And if you watch the video, he pays homage to the greats in his life… those that have had some importance to him. The people that kept on pushing on to achieve their dreams.

03. Five on the Black Hand Side
At first I thought this was a straight-forward track to someone, and the relationship and love between him and another person. A friend, a lover, or whoever. Trouble in relationship town type track. And maybe it is, but the more that I listen, I think it’s a metaphor. I’m thinking Venomous is speaking to and about hip hop. That’s a different type of bond. “Love having sessions // Love the rhyme presence // Love having your circle surrounded by the essence // Love being different, right? // Not finna copy cats // I analyzed up on your size, and I decided that // If we can’t be together, stay in contact // Keep the pen and paper, I trust the oral contract” Really diggin’ this track…

04. Hip-Hop Does This (ft Cymarshall Law)
If my interpretation of the previous track is true, this is a nice transition. It hits the nail on the culture and movement of hip hop. And how hip hop flows through his body. Drops names like Gangstarr, Premier, KRS-One, and Jay-Z. Appreciating and repping hip hop. “Emcees, DJs, bboys, graffers, Black Thoughts, Rakims, Ol Dirty Bastards // Heads don’t think, like they slave to the masters // Time moving in quick, so think faster” And CyMarshall comes through on the second verse. Talks about being ignored in the beginning, being able to adapt to different beats and tracks, and that he has a vision while others are sitting idle.

05. Sparkle (ft Twilight, Phonetic, Skitzo)
This song starts out with a… sparkle. The spark of a conversation, by sparking up a smoke with a summertime cutie. I assume the girl and the guy from the first verse stays the same throughout. Second verse jumps into a club scenario. The girl is dismissing all the attention she’s getting from a group of guys, until she spots the dude from the first verse, and chases after him. Jealousy and anger build up within the group of fellas that didn’t get her attention. Verse three transitions into another type of sparkle… that of gun-fire. Won’t get into what happens, just listen to the song. Nice story-telling.

06. Soul Sensation (ft M. Josephine)
Head-nodding, feel-good beat that’s driven by hand claps. The song has a good energy… that nothing can take the smile off your face type of song. M. Josephine blesses the chorus with her soft, pretty voice, and also on a verse. “It’s like a sun breaking through the blinds // Kissin’ you good morning, pretty sunshine // Get on your feet, it’s time to rise // Get up, get out, and claim life’s prize” And together they both try to pick your spirit up, encouraging you to give it your all. Don’t settle, don’t sit idle… go and get yours. Thumbs up for positivity and motivation. Nothing but good things…

07. Omni-Dimensional
This beat reminds me of an old sci-fi, action movie (Star Wars style)… I’m hearin’ shooting lasers! “I can’t say like Mickey D’s, I’m lovin’ it“, while it’s not my favorite track on the album, it still sounds good and the energy is there.

08. Where Have You Gone (ft Twilight)
That soul-infused beat! So good. And I am reeeeeally feeling this song. Unlike the third track, I think this is more towards relationships with females. Venomous and Twilight each hit topics of relationship complications (self-destruction of good things, jealousy that plagues the mind, constant arguing, break ups and wanting ’em back, etc) and try to think about it all and the path of those ‘ships.

09. Rhymes Could Do It (ft John Robinson, Tah Phrum Duh Bush, Thaione Davis)
Chill, night-time type vibe. Rhymes about rhyming. “They say that rhymes could do it right, they say that Scienz is the life…” Yeah, John Robinson takes a verse. With music being a passion of theirs, it’s like the rhymes breathe life into ’em. It’s a huge part of their life, and if you’re doing it for the right reasons, you’ll always try to reach for new heights. Writing, hittin the studio, hearing the making of a banger, the energy it brings, etc. Great track. “It’s constant elevation, never lazy on a mission”

10. Amazingly Fresh (video)
“Rock with my daughter on sets, the rhyme duo” Yooo, the cute little voice in the track is his daughter’s. So cute. After listening to this song, can you guess what I did next? You probably guessed wrong… but I had to google the world “jalopy”. Hahah. “Spit like Kweli, P cut like Roc Raida” Not my favorite track on the album, but it’s still good.

11. Yes
“Is it our time? Yeah. Are you feelin’ this? Yeah. Can I keep it going? Yeah. Then let me hear you say, yeah. Is this hip hop? Yeah.” I’d give those same “yeah” responses to those questions. And that intro to the beat made me melt, oowee. Good beat, good rhymes.

12. Better Than Blues (ft RealEyez, Marie Kanu, & Silent Knight)
What I like about Venomous is his continuous talk about positivity and the good things in life, rather than focusing on negativity. That can be heard all throughout this album, this song included. “Instead of retreatin’, start bobbin’ and weavin’” makes me think of the fight-or-flight response. And in the sense of this song, don’t run from your problems… approach them head on and get passed them. Finding the beauty within the struggle, Marie Kanu has a voice that reminds me of Erykah Badu a little. And I love the chill, jazzy beat.

13. If (ft L.I.F.E.Long)
A song with questions, no answers. The what-if, what-would-happen-if, type of questions that float through wondering minds. “What if this planet stopped spinning?” “What would this world be like without terror?” “What if money stopped working?” “What would it be like if no one was different?” “What if I didn’t have a passion for art?” “What would man be like without race?” “What if the revolution was really televised?” “What if Santa Claus really wasn’t a myth?” You know, that sort of stuff…

14. Emcees Ultra (ft Tone Liv, Respect Tha God, Rhymageddon, Sol Zalez, Poet, Fenalm, K.O.N., & Juga-Naut)
UGHHH! This beat knoooocks. Go hard or go home! …And none of these rappers went home. This track is fire all the way through. “Emcees Ultra” has a total of 9 rappers on it and they all tear it up. Bars and punchlines for days. One of my favorites.

15. Life
The title is just that… a brief track that weaves in and out of points in his life; the highs and lows. He mentions throughout that emceeing has played a key role throughout his life. From when he was a kid wanting pens and notebooks for Christmas, all the time and years he put into his music, the things that he passed up, etc. He questions if people will remember him when he’s done with the mic.

16. Outro (Alien As I)
“You’re not as alien as I…” V unzips his humansuit to reveal an alien — different from the others. Travelin’ galaxies and spittin’ that spacey stuff in the last track.

So like I said at the beginning, it’s my favorite release from Venomous2000 so far. And based on the rates on each track, I thought it was a solid album as a whole. There isn’t one track that I’d skip or wouldn’t want on the album. Go get it…

PURCHASE: iTunes

Website | Facebook | Twitter