Reain - The Metaphorcast

Reain (pronounced Rain) is a British emcee hailing from West London, England and he's just about to release his debut album entitled The Metaphorcast. As well as being a solo performer he's also part of a Jazz band called The Mighty Jeddo... that's all I got... he's a hard man to track down on Google.

The fact that this is his debut album shouldn't let you be in any doubt that this is a rapper that lacks experience. Having been a battle emcee in the past he's now trying his hand at recording music and this is evident from the intro to the album which features some selected bars from previous battles... which reminds me of Def Jams policy where rappers don't get signed if they can't freestyle or battle.

The album boasts a variety of different beats, perhaps testament to the lineup of producers lending their talent to this piece of work. Producers such as K-zen, Gareth Johnson,* Jewelz and TE1. Reains ability to alter his delivery style to match said beats is admirable. From his philosophical rhyming on M.O.N.E.Y to the urgency of Super Lyrical.

The album itself is quite short, running in at just over 38 minutes but it should be seen as a single piece of work rather than 11 individual tracks. It's not a showcase of only Reains rhyming ability but also an excellent catalog of varying production styles from TE1s beat on Beauty to K-zen's contribution with Back II Back. Back II Back, incidentally, being the stand out track on this. To put it succinctly, it's fucking outstanding?the to'ing and fro'ing between Reain and Precise is adrenaline fueled. It's up there with the likes of Black Star's Definition.

The only problem I have with this CD is the album cover. Whoever did it needs to be fired. Definitely a case where the book should not be judged by the cover.



Tracklisting

01. Intro
02. Who Am I?
03. The Rap Game
04. For The Love
05. M.O.N.E.Y
06. Carnival
07. Capital City
08. Super Lyrical
09. Beauty
10. Back To Back
11. Dear Diary

For more information check out the myspace, home page and Stand Alone Recordings.