Will Kuhns
Staff Writer
“The Underachievers” bring more of what they are known for with their new album “Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium.”
This new album excels with entertaining beats and fast rapping, but lacks a strong chorus or meaningful lyrics to create a subpar album.
“The Underachievers” are a New York underground hip-hop group made up of two members, AK and Issa Gold. They recently released their debut album “Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium,” which received much praise with its hard hitting verses.
“Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium” is their first commercial album release, but they have gained a large following from mixtapes and single releases. Their style consists of hard hitting beats, well written hooks, good lyrical content, and fast and consistent rap flows. They also have a nice mix of thrilling songs with banger choruses and psychedelic transient tracks. They played it fairly safe, which ended up being their biggest downfall on the project.
“Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium” does have some of the major traits of an “Underachievers” Project. It contains good lyrical content with smooth beats and fast raps. The only thing that the album has in common with past tracks is the hard hitting and catchy chorus. The way that the group gained a massive following in the first place is by writing these great hooks and chorus.
The beats are one of the major highlights of the entire album. They give a noticeable distinction between each song and give off a unique vibe that the Underachievers are known for. There are major beats that both complement and enhance the verses that Issa Gold and Ak are rapping. The album also uses some jazz and synth samples that accompany the singers’ lyrics very well.
“The Underachievers” are a part of a massive underground hip-hop movement with groups like “Pro Era” and “FlatBush Zombies.” This movement influences a lot of their lyrical content. This is why the album gets a bit repetitive and where the Underachievers fall into a repetitive sequence. The ideas from this movement deal with inequality, police injustice, and the “third eye” ideal.
Most of the tracks on this album don’t have a concept or a main idea. These non-conceptual ideals repeat over and over until it becomes almost unmemorable. This is where the “Underachievers” play it too safe with their lyrics. They don’t take risks on the album like they do on their past mixtapes and singles.
The album itself has some amazing beats and great flow but is missing the hard hitting chorus and engaging lyrical content that makes it a semi-memorable Underachievers album.
“Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium” is available for $ 10.99 on iTunes.
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