Who would’ve thought that playing the nice guy role would trigger a series of events that ultimately causes your demise? You meet a fly chic and treat her like royalty, only to discover she wants nothing more than a friendship. After taking a different approach of conquering the feminine jewel, the next girl you cut right to the score with literally becomes the death of you.
Producer 88-Keys details all that unfolds on his debut The Death Of Adam (Decon Records), a follow-up to his recent mixtape Adam’s Case Files. Executive produced by Kanye West, the album features appearances from a range of artists lending their signature delivery to the investigation leading to Adam’s downfall.
With each song lending a piece to the puzzle, “Morning Wood” starts Adam’s story as he recognizes what better way to kick start the day. After finding the right girl and treating her with class and style, he quickly realizes that “Nice Guys Finish Last” and he’s fallen into “The Friends Zone”. The latter is an up-tempo Rock song featuring Shitake Monkey, which shows the range used on the album while still keeping the storyline intact.
The lead single “Stay Up! (Viagra)” features Kanye. The mellow repetitious beat tells how Adam and the new girl he meets cut through all salutations. “There’s Pleasure In It” which features no vocals on the electric guitar and organ infused track, describes their first encounter.
“(Awww Man) Round 2?” follows and you immediately hear a familiarity to Kanye’s “Spaceship” from The College Dropout. This slightly takes the focus away from 88’s story and you begin to pay closer attention to his style.
“Dirty Peaches” features New Wave/R&B group J*Davey slows things down highlighting that this girl may have motives of her own. “The Burning Bush” showcases Redman at his best, telling of how Adam contracted a hot STD. Bilal lends his voice to “M.I.L.F.”, adding soul to the organ and bass tinged track, where a baby is now thrown into the pot of consequences.
Things close with “Another Victim” where Adam turns up dead and no one knows the who’s or what’s. More than just a great orchestrated concept album, 88 did pretty well going beyond production credits; although you can tell where Kanye laid a heavy hand on certain tracks.
Aside from the story, the best part of the album is that each artist gave their own account of the decisions made by the character Adam. Like the perfect wrap to a season finale, you’re left anxiously waiting for the next episode.
88-Keys
The Death Of Adam
88-Keys "The Death of Adam"
