Dizzy Wright sets the stage for his latest EP, Wisdom and Good Vibes, with an eccentric intro that is spacey as it is lyrical adept. Opening the eight song project with the lines “Wisdom’s better than silver and gold, so you better take these good vibes with you and go hit that road,” is quite a introduction. He goes on to decree that, “You are the universe, you deserve the universe,” over paced clapping sounds and a sporadic guitar lick.
When the second track, and first song, begins with a virtuous twang, the listener is fully engaged for an EP that seems to have the sky as the limit as well as be outside the box creatively and sonically. From there, the EP is divided into a tale of two sounds.
This album is the first release that Dizzy has done since the “death” of Funk Volume. The indie label and production company and label founded by Hopsin had been Dizzy’s home since his career’s onset but its status is currently in limbo following a spiral of reported controversy.
The finer moments will convert the masses to believe that Dizzy Wright, a Las Vegas native, has what it takes to rise above the pack that is the long roster of up and coming emcees with at least a few solid tracks or a solid tape to their name.
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On the other side of the coin are the problematic moments where the production is more predictable and basic, stymying Dizzy’s lyricism at times.
From the onset Dizzy’s claim to DX that this album was highly musical was realized with a live band in the studio and help the project stand out by making the first third exceptional. Bars like “In 20 years you can/ tell my son his dad was a hippie/ Spirit like Bob Marley, that’s why we named you after Ziggy/ While the whole world getting trippy/ I was different, definitely psychedelic like Jimmy,” are equal parts impressive and explanatory. When listening to the marriages of instrumentation and wordplay on the first few tracks, you could imagine how this young rapper would be inspired by the likes of Hendrix and Marley.
Unfortunately this strong start gives way to the all-too-common dog days middle of a project. The quality drops and tracks muddle near the median of Good Vibes, where poor production by Alex Lustig and SDot on “Work a Lil Harder” and “I Wanted Mo” let the bottom out. The rolling high hats that have been made so stale by the likes of MMG or their ilk make the midway point all too forgettable.
Alas it is worth it for the listener to see things through to the end as “Zoovie” begins to resurrect the experimentation though without a fresh sound as it is very much quintessential trip hop. When the more organic sounding production revives itself prominently on the first notes of “Let Me Live” the energy and originality is back to stay for another strong couplet of songs that end on a high note much as it began.
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“Wisdom and Good Vibes” does a stellar job of implementing live instrumentation with hip-hop sounds and lyricism that fits the lights that funky sounds will shine on the front man. Dizzy Wright should keep working with live bands and be careful of overused sound compositions that are all too boring to those of us tired of heavy bass and electronic sounds that mask a lack of imagination by producers. With the right sounds surrounding him, he may just fulfill the prophecy on the penultimate track “Let Me Live,” “This the feeling you get when they promote ya/ I’m here to change lives and reboot the culture/ Surrounding myself around the positive people that keep me focused/ Confident and coasting taking a 215 in motion.”
