If The Expert’s name sounds familiar, think back to the 2000s when he released three albums with rapper Messiah J, chalking up Choice Prize nominations and chart placings for their earlier material. After a decade of relative quiet, Dublin producer Cian Galvin is in the midst of a creative renaissance, with two solo albums followed by a release last year with Atlanta’s Jermiside, and now a collaboration with Kansas-via-Texas rhymer Stik Figa.
The Expert is a consummate beatmaker. His sampladelic boom-bap calling to mind masters of the trade like Dilla, Madlib and Guru. Sweet soul vocals, jazzy horns and psyched-out guitars swirl in the mix with airy strings, dusty beats and 808s for an album that’s as lush as it is varied; a showcase not just for The Expert’s expert ear, but also for what must be an enviable record collection.
Stik Figa immediately anchors us in the present day on the convincing state-of-the-nation address BlacAmerica, but elsewhere his lyrics tend toward the personal and the universal rather than the specific with a manifesto for mindfulness on Uknowhut? And an examination of poverty and despair on Lonely Planet.
Ideas flow through the record like rapids: check the DOOM-esque wordplay on Slo Pokes and listen to Stik Figa go toe-to-toe with Chicago’s Defcee on the hard, minimalist groove of Service. Ritual is a true meeting of minds, and so for hip-hop fans of a certain vintage, those that had lost touch with The Expert and anyone that likes to get lost in a rich sonic stew, it’s worth getting to know.
Stik Figa & The Expert – Ritual
Words: Chris Jones
