Ugly Heroes have come to embody the poetry that runs deep in Detroit’s abandoned infrastructure.
Comprised of Red Pill, Verbal Kent, and Apollo Brown; Ugly Heroes have swung back in with a new album: Everything in Between.
Man, I don’t even know where to start with this record. I was a fan of their last self titled release, which was home to “Desperate”, a track that refused to loosen it’s grip on my attention to this day. I also loved each member’s solo projects from the past year, witnessed clear improvements in Red and Kent’s rhyme styles, and noticed Apollo tweaking his damn near perfect production. So I should’ve expected greatness, and while my expectations were pretty high, the trio still surpassed them.
But let’s talk about how each artist stepped up their game. Red Pill amped up his flow, and has started to step out of his comfort zone when it comes to choosing end rhymes. Verbal Kent has found a perfect balance between emotion and annunciation in his flow. Apollo, still swinging his soul sampling instrumentals, has tightened the way he samples vocals which is pretty clear on tracks like “Choir Practice”.
On the topic of content, yeah it’s true that most of their songs are still from a similar creative vein, but that’s because Ugly Heroes is as much a concept as a group. These artists come together to embody the heroism and poetry found in your average lower-middle class citizen. With that intention, there comes a certain menu of song topics and to their credit, the trio most definitely cover it front to back.
To be honest, I don’t criticize the record’s sameness, in fact I love it. From start to finish, Everything in Between is unfiltered soul infused Hip Hop. This album is a hip hop head’s juice cleanse, it’s good for the body, and if you give it enough spins, you’ll really come to love it.
Pick up Ugly Heroes Everything in Between on CD or on iTunes
art by your homie, Arthur Banach
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