Here we have the 5th studio LP from Greenville, North Carolina veteran Supastistion. Making his full-length debut in 2003 after 7 Years of Bad Luck his debut mixtape Under the Table was welcomed to more mixed feedback & the sophomore effort Chain Letters recaptured the acclaim of his debut EP The Deadline under Soulspazm Records. Splitting Image following Leave of Absence gave us 2 different sides of him on wax while Gold Standard preceding The Blackboard & Honest Living came independently through his own label Reform School Music after I had graduated high school. Over a decade later, According to… produced by RJD2 succeeding Sacrifice as well as Every Last Word & All That Was Left Unsaid had me excited at the idea of possibly being a career highlight for Kam Moye that would reaffirm his longevity.
“Back Talk” begins with a bit of a hardcore industrial hip hop vibe letting him talk his shit whereas “1 Last Time” takes the boom bap route instrumentally to acknowledge that a moment like this might not ever come again. “Machines Like Us” moves forward by talking about never sleeping & working us until the day he dies just before “Wins & Losses” featuring J-Live finds the 2 explaining that they have everything to gain & nothing to lose.
J-Live sticks around for “Expiration Date” talking about how timeless their lyrical freshness will remain leading into the funky “Reset (Better Friends)” venting over his recent desires of getting a new group of homies. “Beasts Per Minute” on the other hand lively kicks off the 2nd half referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.
“The Mourning After” recalls the hardships he’s faced within the last couple years while “Bittersweet” hops over a boom bap instrumental telling a woman he’s no longer seeing that he hopes the world ends on her wedding day. “Carte Blanche” ruggedly dismisses any fool who thinks he’s on the same pedestal as them artistically & once “Rent Money” featuring STS jazzily talks about stressing over having a low amount of money, “A Beautiful Ending” concludes by proclaiming that we need to live every day like it’s our last.
Chain Letters has been my personal favorite entry in Supastition’s underappreciated discography for the longest time, but my hopes for According to…were significantly raised when I learned RJD2 was fully producing it because Deadringer sticks out amongst the greatest releases in Definitive Jux’s entire catalog & those expectations were exceeded needless to say. Both artists merge their distinct styles to push creative boundaries while staying rooted in classic hip hop sensibilities & deliver something that feels unexpectedly familiar.
Score: 9/10