Contact Lens – MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM

Recommendation: ☹


Contact Lens’ MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM isn’t too different from the rest of the artist’s discography. Like ICE IN THA VEINS, this album is an entirely ironic release of instrumental lo-fi hip-hop with a goofy 90s aesthetic. This work is like-it-or-hate-it; it’s the cheapest-sounding compressed beats mixed with anti-sly G-funk. Its potential charm is in how much one is willing to take the absurd level of irony that lies within, as MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM isn’t an album whose complexity and sound rivals that of J Dilla or DJ Shadow. There’s some mid-tempo trap that’s mildly stimulating (e.g. “THEY STAY”), but for the most part, MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM is simply too ironic and too self-involved in its cheap quality to be an engaging release. At nearly an hour in run-time and the majority of the thirty-five tracks being less than two minutes long, it sounds as if the focus were on the number of tracks rather than how they were fleshed out. And that could be the point, but there are plenty of other artists who do similar commentary, and MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM doesn’t stand out from that pack.

There are fourteen “bonus tracks,” but they’re not really that so much as they are another side to the album. These are considerably better in quality. That more polished sound might irk that extremely particular group of listeners to which Contact Lens’ appeals, but otherwise, they’re simply better songs. It’s also far more vaporwavey, with quite a few songs that lean toward easy listening (e.g. “TIMER UP”). However, with this newfound quality comes newfound expectations, and compared to vaporhop/vaportrap artists such as TASPO, Contact Lens doesn’t hold much of a candle.

MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM is one of those albums that’s made entirely for kitsch value. For a very select group, it’s perfect. But for the rest, it’s too sardonic for its own good.

 

Tracklist


1. KINGDOM EXPEDITION – (1:30)
2. MEDIAFIRE GENIUS – (1:53)
3. STREET SWEEPER – (1:51)
4. EDDIE BAUER – (2:03)
5. MEDIAFIRE TYCOON – (2:09)
6. STEEL CAGE – (2:14)
7. ZIP CODE – (1:54)
8. TRUE MOUNTAINEER – (2:23)
9. 2011 MARK CUBAN – (2:04)
10. LIL CONNOISSEUR – (1;55)
11. GRIP – (1:48)
12. UNDER ARMOUR GENIUS – (1:43)
13. BABY INERTIA – (1:53)
14. REAL CASE – (1:52)
15. THEY STAY – (1:59)
16. PAT CATANS – (2:30)
17. LIL POTTERY BARN – (2:15)
18. ALL I DO IS STAND – (2:46)
19. WHAT SEASONS – (2:12)
20. THE GOOD – (1:24)
21. MEDIAFIRE KINGDOM (OUTRO) – (2:51)
22. BONUS: TAJ GIBON – (1:18)
23. BONUS: NUTHIN – (1:25)
24. BONUS: SCENE CHANGE – (1:15)
25. BONUS: FULL NELSON – (1:25)
26. BONUS: RHINESTONE PILLOWCASE – (1:08)
27. BONUS: FRIDGE – (1:00)
28. BONUS: LIFT IT UP – (1:00)
29. BONUS: TIMER UP – (1:27)
30. BONUS: IM THE DREAM – (2:15)
31. BONUS: CALCUTTA – (2:09)
32. BONUS: ME AGAINST THE WORLD – (2:33)
33. BONUS: OLD RACKS TROPHY – (2:56)
34. BONUS: NEW BORN – (1:56)
35. BONUS: HEAVY DUTY – (1:51)


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