We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
“The music industry has imploded,” a sarcastic male voice says seconds into Poem-Cees‘ new album, Everything You’ve Always Wanted. “The economy sucks, and you want Poem-Cees to release a record now.”
Just when that statement was recorded is a mystery. For whatever reason, the D.C. trio of D.P., Black Picasso, and DJ Stylus recorded this full-length project and never released it. Instead, the group dropped The Solitaire Mixtape: Everything You’ve Never Wanted last September and kept this album on the shelf. Until now.
“A lot has changed between when we first started working on it and today, so there’s really no reason to sit on it anymore,” Stylus wrote in an email announcing the album’s release. “Go free, formerly imprisoned album!”
The recently released album—-although the group’s Bandcamp displays an Oct. 23 release date—-is full of original music, with appearances from an impressive roster of local names: The record has chorus work from Raheem DeVaughn and Tamara Wellons, scratchy break beats from Kokayi and Oddisee, and inspired verses from Asheru and Priest Da Nomad, among others.
Don’t expect any glossy production or overly simplistic rhymes on this project. Poem-cees, once a staple of the State of the Union bar before it closed, are a throwback to the ’90s “rappity-rap” era of hip-hop, opting for complicated rhyme patterns over a lively soundtrack. It may not go over so well with the younger, skinny-jeans crowd, but the album will surely please rap fans who are a bit more nostalgic.
Everything You’ve Always Wanted is available for free. Or you can listen to the album below.
