Chicago, Illinois emcee and Top Dawg Entertainment affiliate Kembe X returns for his 3rd full length album produced by Sacramento duo Hippie Sabotage and his first in nearly 5 years. It started a decade ago with the debut EP Soundtrack II Armageddon & debut mixtape Self-governmenthis profile will continue to grow on the strength of his debut LP Talk back as well as a self-titled 2nd EP & the sophomore effort I was depressed until I did this. He's worked with the Saurer brothers a few times before, but they're finally rolling Sleep paralysis after working on it for a whole year.
“Fade the Sun” kicks us off with a lively dance opener telling anyone who wants a piece of it to get in line, while “Pole Vaulting” jumps over a trap that's a tool to talk about being above the bullshit. “King” works over a rubberier beat to remind you that it belongs in these parts before the synth-driven “Love Songs” takes a melodic approach, talking about how you've never seen a king of romance gone wrong .
To close out the first half, “Shallow” brings a cloudier vibe to the table, wanting to be called a visionary who did it first when all is said and done, while the atmospheric “Where Demons Come to Die” admits that it almost lost its his soul & sacrificed his peace. “Kill Everything in the Way” declares himself the new leader of the resistance with a slow beat, just before the wavy “Rolling Stoned” featuring Isaiah Rashad talks about keeping it cold, fresh and clean.
One of my favorites on the album is undoubtedly “Start a Business” from the groovy instrumental to the motivational lyric encouraging people to start their own businesses since they can't be employees for the middle man forever and finally, “Baby I'm up” he concludes Sleep paralysis with a 7.5 minute ode to his success after people tried to leave him for dead and drag his name through the mud.
TDE has been slowly but surely allowing the biggest artists on their roster to release new music in recent years after making their fans wait forever, so it makes perfect sense for Kembe to make a comeback and one that new listeners will be invested in. He explores new sounds with the help of Hidden Sabotage and the subject matter is much more personal than his early stuff.
Rating: 8/10
