Venice, California emcee/producer & former graffiti artist Evidence releasing a sequel to Unlearning as his 5th LP. Coming up in the early 90’s as part of the trio Dilated Peoples alongside Rakaa & DJ Babu. He’s also established himself as a solo artist along the way dropping his debut album The Weatherman under ABB Records in 2007 & making himself at home with the renown Minneapolis powerhouse Rhymesayers Entertainment for 16 years by now. Weather or Not ended the weather themes of his earlier stuff & is picking up where his last album left off on Unlearning 2.
“Plans Change” sets the tone with a funky Sebb Bash instrumental talking about the difference between him & everyone else is that he isn’t losing steam whereas “Different Phases” produced by Beat Butcha reiterating that he hasn’t read the rules to the game. “Future Memories” featuring Larry June has a jazzier vibe to it thanks to The Alchemist so they can talk about making shit happen leading into “Outta Bounds” talking about being judged for coloring outside the lines.
The drums get stripped completely on “Seeing Double” advising to trust someone when you love them because there’s no other way just before the lo-fi, self-produced “Nothing to See Here” talking about his position as a rapper who ain’t playing a part. “Define Success” work in a piano instrumental so Ev can break down what it means to be successful from his perspective while the soulful “Stay Alive” featuring Blu talks about something keeping them full of life.
“Nothing’s Perfect” taps in with Graymatter behind the boards likening his life to the music of a playlist while the chipmunk soul-infused “Favorite Injury” featuring Domo Genesis finds the 2 talking about staying impatient until their last breath. C-Lance carries the sampling onto “Top Seeded” himself a minimalist with a massive profile while the crooning “Greatest Motivation” talks about needing hate because love’s complacent.
The Step Brothers reunite for the jazzy/boom bap crossover “Rain Every Season” explaining that their patience thins whenever they’re waiting for inspiration while “Laughing Last” talks about beating up a brick to the point where it’s out of shape. “Dutch Angle” lastly chops up a weary vocal sample to end Unlearning 2 staying even ‘til he’s titled & stating the idea of him being past tense in his city won’t happen.
Focusing less on comfort & more on transformation, Unlearning 2 uses the opportunity of his previous album’s open-ending to his advantage pushing back against the concept of legacy by making a deeper & more instinctive exploration of his style. The production’s more soulful than its predecessor was 4 years earlier, creating an experimentally rooted sound with more determination than ever to turn pain into purpose through sharply intentional creativity.
Score: 9/10
