Amethyst - The Album

Amethyst – The Album (August 21, 2015)

I’m not much of a Cartoon Network guy, but I did stumble across a show called ‘Steven Universe’. I thought the show would flat-out stink donkey balls, like all cartoons, but after watching a few episodes, one of the characters caught my attention: Amethyst. Why? Because of her rowdy personality, which reminds me of how rappers act. From that moment there, I thought, ‘What if Amethyst was able to spit a dope verse or two?’ That’s when I decided to mail a letter about making an Amethyst album, and blah blah blah, onto the review.

This album, released under the Cartoon Network-based label, Rhino Entertainment, received rave reviews, but lukewarm acclaim from surprised and dazzled critics, who praised the album's hardcore production, and never even knew Amethyst could even rap, but thought it did not bring the ‘Steven Universe’ flavor to the album, although it did contribute to how hardcore Amethyst is. Michaela Dietz, Amethyst’s VA, claimed she got help from Actual Proof, Evidence, Ras Kass, M.O.P., Nas, etc. (those are the rappers featured on the album, FYI) Cartoon characters rapping? Pretty cliché, but interesting.

THE INTRO

Michaela Dietz explaining the album. Maybe I should… skip.

WHO AM I? (FEAT. BUCKSHOT)

Oh shit! This 9th Wonder production make this song knock like the Devil at your door. And the lyrics? Don't ask, because fuckin' raw is what I should describe it. 9th Wonder & Buckshot strike again, people.

THE FUNKY FLOW

Now this is where Amethyst fits right into her Steven Universe element. Repeating the Giant Woman Fusion Dance melody and replacing the drums with a more upbeat underground hip-hop sound? Give it a listen, and you might be totally hooked on this. No joke.

BLACK NOVEMBER

From the Nicholas Cage movie of the same name.

KILL 'EM (FEAT. RAS KASS)
Meh all over the place.

TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT (FEAT. EVIDENCE OF DILATED PEOPLES)

Alchemist could not have provided a better instrumental for Amethyst and Evidence. The aggression and in-your-face-ness of the lyrics has you hooked more than the brilliance of the beat, making you beg for more. “Dance on your tombstone like Bojangles”? Fire!

HERE IT COMES (BOOM!) (FEAT. M.O.P.)

And our guests, the Mash Out Posse, are left on hook-shouting duties until the final verse while our rowdy purple-skinned host rides shotgun on two verses over a Khrysis beat, the second with Danze assisting. While the lyrics prove to be fuckin' badass, the whole track fails to impress... a little.

FAN-MAIL INTERLUDE

Follows the same vein as Gang Starr’s ‘Aiight Chill…’ and Public Enemy’s Harry Allen Message, except one, there are messages from fans about the album and them listening to it, and two, there’s no beat, let alone music.

AMETHYST LUV

A love anthem? Sorry. Not interested in listening to that.

SKILL WIT DA PEN

There is no other word to describe this song other than dopeness. Provided by the hardest of Khrysis beats, Amethyst provides the deadliest of all lyricism, and she has earned the right to be called the female Canibus.

WHEN WE CRUSH MICS (FEAT. CANIBUS)

Remember on ‘Skill Wit Da Pen’ when I called Amethyst ‘the female Canibus’? If you said I was right, beg for mercy while you can. Canibus and Michaela form like Siamese Twins, Batman and Robin, etc. on yet another of the dopest beats imaginable. Nice!

THE CHASE (FEAT. THE AWAY TEAM)

Oh. Hell. Yes! Abstract lyricism at its best, people! The beat is just straight killer, and Amethyst manages to outshine our guests. This rocks, period.

HARDCORE & ROWDY

The first and only single off The Album. Continuing the Steven Universe magic used in ‘The Funky Flow’. Nice to see Amethyst staying true to her roots.

THE ONLY OPTION

Is to skip. Amp's beat is settling, to say the least.

GASPIN' FOR OXYGEN 
No comment.

MICROPHONE CHAMPION

I am surprised. By what fact, you ask? This bland, all-over-the-place, unsettling beat by Alchemist, of all producers, which does not impress me in the least.

YOU'RE NEXT (FEAT. RAPSODY)
Rapsody and Amethyst make quite a femcee tag-team, but that doesn't mean it's good or anything. 

A TRIP TO THE WEST (FEAT. PLANET ASIA, KRONDON, EVIDENCE, KURUPT, OH NO, AND RAS KASS)
Jeez, why does it have a chorus? This posse cut has become a snoozefest. Night.

THE OUTRO

Michaela closing the album by thanking everyone who bought it and calls the featured guests on the album, the the second part consists of Amethyst and Pearl arguing about the album. Unsettling… and skipping, since it’s the end.

And before I end this, there were three bonus tracks, missing on some retail copies of the album…

HARDCORE & ROWDY (REMIX FEAT. NAS)
God's Son assists our host in the remix to the first single, and it's better than the original! At least they still managed to keep the beat, but damn, the lyrics are badass and rigid! It's hard to choose who destroyed it better: Amethyst or Nas? You be the judge.

BRING IT ON (THA RAW NOYZE)
On this Alchemist-produced gem, Amethyst provides the rawest lyrics know to fankind. Take one listen and I swear you'll be begging for more and more mercy each. Damn. Time.

BRACE FOR IMPACT! (FEAT. ACTUAL PROOF)
Do not tell me about this, because this song knocks.

THE FINAL WORD: The Album… shocked me. It shocked me because a) Amethyst proved to be a dominant animated femcee. B) Most of the album doesn’t have the Steven Universe magic that Rhino hoped for it to have (and for one thing, it failed to top the Billboard Hot 100.), and c) Although it has a few hard beats on there, a bit of it doesn’t appeal to me, but all in all, it has managed to impress me in a big way. Guess they really got my letter, huh?

BUY OR BURN? A purchase is definitely recommended, since only most of the album is just beast. Why? Because this hardcoreness can be a big step for Rhino Entertainment. Trust me; if you wanna hear true tomboyish hardcore lyricism, look no further: this is just for you, and spread it to your friends if they wanna hear it too.

BEST TRACKS: “Who Am I?”, "Take Your Best Shot", “Skill Wit Da Pen”, “When We Crush Mics”, “The Chase”, "Bring It On (Tha Raw Noyze)", "Brace for Impact!"