Indie Hip-Hop Review: Rumorz "The Whisper Campaign"

I first discovered Rumorz online, I believe on H1 a little less than a year ago, and liked him so much off the strength of his track "Cryin" that I offered him a guest appearance on my album the idENTITY (Rumorz appeared on "Over & Over"). His voice tone stuck out to me, and his delivery was very on point, and it continues to get better on his new LP The Whisper Campaign.

The first track "You Ain't Really Want It" starts off strong with Rumorz coming hard on a Scott Storch-esque paino rhythm however the beat to me over powers the lyricism here as the instrumental seems to get played out. It kind of just sounds like one continuous loop, which is not bad all the time, but here did not work well.

"If You Wanna Ride" starts out very Epic like with a double-time drum pattern that suits Rumorz' flow very well. He begins killing the fast flow, something to me I have noticed as a fan of his that seems to be his forte. He really know what the track calls for, and delivers perfectly. This song transitions well into the next one "Show You What I Mean" which has a Kanye West-ish-Chi-Town-Twista-like bounce to it (lol, how about that for a description!). With lines like "Look at her movin', she like Shakira with them hips//Angelina with them lips, and Pamela with them shhhhh" shows that Rumorz has a playful wordplay that makes for a good mix of lyricism with a nice bounce. These two tracks set a nice tone to the album, and draws my attention further. Thus far, at first glance, he is passing the iPod test (a system where I listen to every track on a album, and rate the ones too keep on Pod).

The track that shows the broad ability that Rumorz possess to adapt to what a track calls for is displayed on "What's It Gonna Be." This pairs the East coast emcee with production that samples En Vouge's "Don't Let Go" and showcases a RnB singer on the hook that matches the track perfectly as Rumorz appeals to his audiences softer side with lines like, "I guess it took a heartbreak just to teach me//but if you change your mind girl you know where to reach me." So far this is my favorite track, bar none.

After that showcase of raw, uncut emotion we travel to a darker world of Rumorz in a song titled "Gruesome." The darkness of this track shows a different side to Rumorz as he intorudces his rhyme partner S.Money to the album. This song was perfect for a callab, and I believe he picked the right person to callab with, as they both contribute to a nicely crafted hook, nice track for sure. Rumorz hits with the fast flow again in the 3rd verse, and closes the track exceptionally.

Speaking of callab's, Rumorz calls on Young Cal to create "Game Set Match" over a Mister KA instrumental. To me on the first verse of this track Rumorz almost channels his inner Nas, and reminds me of Nas' flow on "Small World." Not as if he is copying Nas, but how the beat hit in that Nas track, and how he came off flowing on it, which is def. a compliment for Rumorz. I actually had to hit pause on my iPod to re listen to a few bars he spit as the beat dropped in this track. At about 1:17 he gets his Twista on with a tongue-twister line that will blow your mind. Wow. He spits some shit that I swear I would type if I could make it out. Shit I'm bout to e-mail his ass and ask him what he is saying, it's not like he is just babblin', he is saying some shit but it's so fast I ain't even gonna try and butcher his lyricism here. Just check it out, the part is crazy!

Now to the reason why I even fuck with Rumorz, "Cryin." This beat is perfect, his flow and message on this track is ill too. His voice tone and delivery is perfect for this track too. He spits a heartfelt apology about trying to make a change, and talks in depth about what seems like some deeply personal issues in his life. Not too many quote ables here, but on tracks like this a emcee doesn't need to wow you with their lyrical prowess. Tracks like this show versatility in a emcee, and I love it. To me this is what makes or breaks a emcee, cause check it, as a emcee, yeah we all good with the words, but can you make a song. Club song, check. Callab track, check. Lyrical track, check. But can you MAKE people FEEL your music, and to relate to your audience and to make them think on tracks like this is exceptional, and he did so, bravo Rumorz. Another note able track on The Whisper Campaign that explains further what I am talking about is "Stuck" featuring Rayne.

Other note able tracks on the album are the album closer "My Thoughts" and "What It Look Like." So what's the verdict. Well, the iPod test says 7/12 songs make the iPod cut off. Most of the songs I went into in depth coverage on are the ones that made it to the iPod, and nowadays a album with 7 solid bangers should be considered a great find. I say Rumorz has what it takes to make his mark on the game, and I recommend this album highly especially at the current state of hip-hop. With all these mixtape rappers releasing mixtapes every week and seeming to not put time and energy into everything they do, I offer you The Whisper Campaign. Shh, don't sleep, fuck it, don't even whisper, this shit is hot.

Purchase The Whisper Campaign Here
Album also available for purchase on iTunes (check iTunes Ministore)
Rumorz Myspace