Brand new LP & the 16th regarding his solo material from Lynn, Massachusetts emcee/producer Estee Nack. Breaking out as a member of the Tragic Allies, he also branched out on his own my senior year of high school off his Purpose-produced solo debut 14 Forms: The Book of Estee Nack & has since built a lengthy yet impressive discography for himself. Other highlights include the Sadhugold-produced Surfinongold.wav alongside its sequel The Order of the Golden Fleece, the Giallo Point-produced Papitas duology, his collab efforts with al.divino, the V Don-produced B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties), the Griselda Records debut Nacksaw Jim Duggan, the Mike Shabb-produced Live at the Tabernackle & the Futurewave-produced Stone Temple Pyrex & B.R.A.P. 2 (Big Rifles & Pistols). But upon hearing Cookin’ Soul was fully producing Al-Andalus, the chances of it becoming his best material in almost a year were increased.
“Santeria” opens up with this luxuriously mafioso boom bap intro talking about hustling by serving customers to get the dreams right whereas “Inbound” brings a funkier vibe instrumentally so he can detail the gangsta lifestyle. “La Bomba” has a jazzier boom bap approach to the beat talking about him being meant to have the world in his palms just before “Touchin’ Base” turning up the grittiness for Nackie Chan to get on his coke rap shit topically.
Yung Beef appears on the bilingually jazzy 2nd & final single “Telex Free Trap” talking about shooting bums in the face leading into “More or Less” reaching the halfway point of Al-Andalus emphasizing the boom bap elements boasting how fat his pockets have become. “Bread & Wine” featuring Lil Supa finds the pair talking about their unstoppable profiles even if Estee’s verse stood out the most personally while “Carlito’s Way” takes inspiration from the Edwin Torres novel of the same name.
“Hear Me” winds down the last few moments of the album talking about overcoming all the odds being stacked against us regardless of where you’re from while “La Poli” takes a few minutes to express the amount of disdain her has for the pigs. Planet Asia saves my favorite guest appearance for last during the outro “Ghost in the Lab”, going at the throats of those acting like the bread didn’t come with their penchants & not to get their statuses twisted.
It’s already been over an entire year since Big Size fully produced Ankhlejohn’s 7th mixtape The Michelin Man to widespread acclaim across the underground & despite both teasers being admirable attempts at showcasing a couple Spanish hip hop artists Estee Nack fucks with, the rest of Al-Andalus surprised me by delivering what could be my favorite thing he’s done this year considering how well he & Cookin’ Soul compliment each other’s styles excellently from the superb boom bap production to the gangsta-themed lyrics.
Score: 8/10