Murs
Captain California
Release Date: Mar 10, 2017
Genre(s): Rap, Alternative Rap, Underground Rap, Political Rap
Record label: Strange Music
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Captain California from Amazon
Album Review: Captain California by Murs
Excellent, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Murs (born Nick Carter) has been around the proverbial block when it comes to the rap game. Not only has the veteran been involved in the music industry for almost two decades, he also happens to hold a Guinness World Record; last year, Murs rapped for 24 hours straight, the longest rap marathon ever. Now, the 38-year-old adds Captain California to his ever-growing body of accomplishments, a socially conscious album infused with groovy cuts and adept storytelling.
Based on rating 8/10
Murs' tenth solo LP is more of the same from the California rapper, which is to say Captain California is a wonderfully engrossing ride through dense lyrical storytelling and chunky beats. His second release for Strange Music, it's a lighter affair than what the label is used to promoting, opting for winsome nostalgia and mostly affable tales from the city. On the humorous side, "Lemon Juice" is one of the funniest in Murs' songography, a diss-trading battle with his friend Curtiss King that trades zinger after zinger in the spirit of Positive K's "I Got a Man" and Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine.
Based on rating 3.8/5
When Los Angeles MC and longtime member of the Hip Hop collective Living Legends Murs signed with Tech N9ne’s Strange Music in 2014, he didn't seem to fit in their wheelhouse. Not on paper, at least. He didn't wear face paint when he performed and typically avoided the horrorcore genre of rap. But being the mastermind behind the construction, Tech N9ne knew he could spit solid bars and represented "everything Strange Music is about," according to tidbits from a 2014 interview with Sway Calloway.
Opinion: Excellent
When it comes to California crusaders in hip-hop, Murs isn’t always the first name on the tip of rap enthusiasts’ tongues compared to lauded names like the late Tupac. While titling his 10th solo album Captain California may come as surprise to most, the project isn’t necessarily an ode to the West Coast or a declaration of California conquest. Instead, Murs’ new project is more so a return to his vivid storytelling - most of which revolves around his life and times in South Central Los Angeles.
'Captain California'
is available now