The HRS collective's eponymous debut, The Trinity, finds the HiddenRoad pros weighted under the cons of nature's strongest shape...
Review By: Ilu Ha-Binah El ⭐5.0⭐
Hip-Hop/Rap
In 2017's The Boss Baby, 7 year old Timmy Timbleton declares that "3 is the perfect number", and even goes on to add the interesting fact that the triangle is the strongest shape found in nature. Here in 2019, Hidden Road Stuios' emcees, Hidden (of HiddenRoad), M-Acculate (of Lucifer's Apostles), and Canadian born, Anonymous assemble their own triangle offense on the group's eponymous debut offering entitled, The Trinity. The 8 track EP is set to the backdrop of Illternal Beatz, who not only serves as the project's sole producer, but also as it's only featured guest, appearing twice (on "Ded Lee" & "Quick Strike") under his rap moniker, Markie4eyez.
For those not understanding why, the triangle is the strongest shape because any added force is evenly spread through all the sides. On this eightfold foray, that force is established early on as the rapper, Anonymous, whose abilities as a rhymesmith are flat out bar setting. That even spread is in full effect as both Hidden and M-Acculate (no slouches in their own right) are pushed on each record to really go for the gusto, making for an experience that doesn't want for technically sound bars. Having only Illternal man the beats doubles that upside by bringing sonic cohesion to not only each song, but the EP as a whole. Dope bars. Dope beats. Not half bad...but not all good. A triangular construct under strong force willing never collapse due to geometric distortion. No, its Achilles comes only in the form of material fatigue...
On the EP's hookless, piano laced opener, "Introducing", Anonymous, prefacing his verse, states, "We keep hearing shit like 'hip hop is dead, but that ain't true... It's a line being drawn in the sand". For the remainder of the neatly packed 29 minutes & 37 seconds, The Trinity retraces this line until what's clearly supposed to be a divider begins to get lost, leaving one to wonder if it's not would-be challengers, but our presenting threesome that fear crossing the threshold. "Pop Off", which could've very much been the album's intro, and the following "Crush" are both pretty much in the same vein: offerings in which all 3 barsmiths keep the content restricted to rapping about how good they rap. Unfortunately, no matter how good they rap, the lack of diverse material eventually drags The Trinity into feeling like the same record over different soundscapes. The only song to step outside of the box is track 4, entitled, "Still", which feels like it'd been right at home on 2016's oft introspective, N95 produced, M-Acculate's Conception. Coincidentally, M-Acculate provides the hook as the trio laces Illternal's smoothest production with tales of the struggle, regret, fear, and perseverance associated with chasing one's dream of rap stardom. If bar heavy gauntlet style posse cuts is what The Trinity holds as a stronghand, then the Markie4eyez assisted "Quick Strike" is a zenith of sorts. Replacing a chorus are Transformers™ (the 80's cartoon, not the films) snippets à la HiddenRoad's 2018 Conflict EP, and the verses here find our emcees at their most even keeled up til this point (on the EP's first 3 tracks, Anonymous is in Super Saiyan mode. He's bested by both his affiliates and the production on "Still", respectively). "The Specialist" sees The Trinity back in their battle rhyme comfort zone alongside a scratched in hook by none other than Lucifer's Apostles', Rez. Really sticking an understanding to "material fatigue" is the EP's ping-ponged 7th and official last song, entitled, "Ded Lee". Featured for his second & final time on what sounds like it could've easily been "Quick Strike 2" is a horribly assembled Markie4eyez, who's completely outbarred on yet another hookless song. Adding slight insult to injury, Anonymous has a moment during his first time up to bat in which a few bars sound eerily similar to ones he spits on "The Specialist". The Trinity more fittingly ends with the trombone blaring bonus track, "Storm Coming"...
When someone draws a line in the sand, it's usually a warning... "This is us, and that is you", "Over here we do this, and over there...". Should the proverbial line be stepped across, its illustrator will surely be ready to show why it was a faux pas on the intruding party's part. Can it be that it was all so simple? For just under half an hour, The Trinity serves up their side of that line: wordplay over dope beats. The problem is that while their mutual support of one another creates this super strengthened structure, they fail at creating a directed point. Why it's supposedly better this side of the game. Material is reiterated and regurgitated, sometimes better than before ("Pop Off", "Quick Strike", "The Specialist"), but always the same narrative. This line of ours... If you're looking for the personal reflectiveness and musings of M-Acculate's Conception, or the immaculate conception of The Way of The Warrior, you're not gonna find it here apart from the aforementioned, "Still". This is a bar fest. If for no other reason than because they can, the "3io" never strays from their backyard. This isn't bad, because they really rap... But it doesn't necessarily guarantee it to be good enough to call full attention to it either. In any living and breathing art, lines needn't just be drawn and boasted from behind, but defined and pushed... Without this, material fatigue of one form or another will always become a problem. Be it the artist tiring from applying the same pressure, or the material crumbling from being forced for so long; a trinity by any name would meet the same fate. It's science.
Pros: Short, Sonically cohesive, Bar execution, Virtually featureless
Cons: Lacks subject matter, Lack of hooks gives a "cipher" feel to a majority of the EP, Lack of varying features
