Album Review: One Day - Mainline

28 July 2014 | 10:05 pm | James d'Apice

The future’s bright – and the future’s here.

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In early 2006 Nick Lupi, then a chubby teenager, attended almost every rap show our fair city had to offer. Often he had a backpack full of mixtapes he’d made with rap partner Jimmy Nice, then known as Just Enuf. For $10 you got a handshake, a copy of the tape and a jovial conversation. The duo called it The Future’s Bright. How right they were.

James Flames is the best rapper we have.

If Lupi and Nice blazed a trail back then, Horrorshow’s Solo and Adit napalmed it in 2008, Jackie Onassis’ Raph and Kai paved it in 2012, and Joyride showed up for the party at the end. These seven men, the One Dayers, have created Mainline. It’s a stunning achievement. Each member has his moment to shine and each seizes it. Jimmy Nice cements his reputation. Style as substance, James Flames is the best rapper we have. Kai flexes and shows his total command of melody. Solo – part jaded cynic, part open-hearted optimist – shares wisdom with his trademark smooth, speedy delivery. Lupi himself, with his formidable intellect, is in his element as a wordsmith. And Joyride adds a light touch. No mean feat for a man mountain.

A major label is involved, yes, but that’s no reason for negativity. This is what commercial rap should sound like. Immediate, engaging, immersive, musical and – perhaps most importantly – fun. The future is indeed as bright as Lupi and J Nuf promised us nearly a decade ago. The future’s bright – and the future’s here.

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