HALF GOD: ALBUM REVIEW
New Wiki albums drop from the sky like how storks drop babies. It’s been over a decade since Wiki and his group RATKING burst onto the scene, and years later, he still brings the exact same focused energy that drew everyone to him in the first place. Earlier this year, Wiki released the incredible project Telephonebooth with experimental producer NAH, and he’s already back with his newest album Half God featuring Navy Blue on production. Half God is a stunning project that highlights both Wiki’s artistic and personal growth. He has found his lane within the 2021 New York hip-hop underground and it’s great to see him thriving.
On the first track of Half God Wiki says, “Something told me this was different and it was,” which describes the ethos of this entire project. The album sounds a lot like Wiki’s older work, but he’s coming at this album with a brand-new maturity and musicianship. There are bars on this album that make the music he produced just a few years ago seem simplistic. Wiki’s lyrics used to slap you in the face, now they leave you thinking for a few hours, then slap you once you forgot about them.
The incredible producer/rapper Navy Blue produced all of the beats on Half God and worked closely with Wiki on the project. You can hear Navy Blue’s influence all over the album. His quiet production style forces Wiki to turn down his normal volume and almost whisper over some of the tracks. A great example is on the track “Roof.” Even at his most passionate, Wiki’s voice never rises above the level of a murmur. This brings you in as the listener; it makes you hang on every word Wiki says and amplifies his whisper to a declarative statement.
Wordplay is where this album truly excels. The track “Remarkably” features some of the most fun lyricism of the year as Wiki flows over a piano loop in rare form. He gets into a single rhyme scheme, using his thick NYC accent to make the word “remarkably,” rhyme with “ordinary,” “more to me” and “audibly.” He twists his words to create new schemes out of nowhere. This is a common theme on the album. Wiki seems determined to show off his skill and prove that he’s one of the best rappers out.
Wiki and Navy Blue’s journeys to underground hip-hop stardom have been eerily similar. They both found themselves at the center of a bubbling scene in New York City, presenting a sound that seemed novel to the world. Even though they are only a few years apart in age, they are completely different generations in sound. The project sounds much more like Navy bringing Wiki into his world rather than an equal collaboration, which presents an interesting dynamic of absolute trust between Wiki and Navy. This dynamic hits even harder when Wiki spits lines like, “Since high school, we had some fame, the type I gained… never wanted the type of fame where I can’t ride the train.” Wiki talks about high school like a past life now, and you can hear the distance in his voice.
Half God is Wiki’s best work, and that’s saying something. The project features the beauty of his early work with the maturity and lyrical ability of a seasoned veteran. Wiki and Navy Blue push each other to new heights on this project and craft an album that shows true pride in their craft.