Merciless EP
Artist: JustMe & Sintax the Terrific
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 6 Tracks / 19:32

One part playa, one part Puritan,
All parts Prodigal Son sent to return
(Sintax on "Compound Interest")

In a genre where albums regularly clock in over 15 tracks and at least an hour of playtime, EP's are fairly scarce - and even more difficult to ingest. Typically you have a boatload of beats and rhymes to ingest with which to assess the artists' heart and soul and style. To have just a scant six tracks and twenty minutes of playtime to accomplish the same feat is no small order.

This is particularly true when the EP in question features the dynamite duo of JustMe and Sintax the Terrific. Southern California's JustMe is known for his past work with early 2000's crew The SolSeekers and for his current run with supercrew Scribbling Idiots. He also has one solo record out (One Man's Trash) and another on the way. Sintax is best known as being one of the nine mouth-pieces in rap-godzilla-monster posse Deepspace 5 and for his two well-received solo albums, Simple Moves and Curb Appeal. Both emcees are well known and respected in the Christian "Triple H" (Holy Hip Hop) community. Thus, the combination of the two is timely and more importantly it promises good things.

As expected, good things abound on Merciless. The dynamic of doing a collaborative EP is one that JustMe and Sintax approach in a very fluid and manageable way that comes across as being anything but forced and results in some really remarkable intertexting and crossplay. The best example of this would be the first track, "Saturation Point", where they each have a distinct overall form of the same beat and the beat morphs back and forth between those two forms (and a multitude of subtle variations) as they take their turns - each one going for about 16 bars at a time. The effect is brilliant and it gives a perfect introduction to the rappers as well as to the EP; it showcases their distinct styles while drawing them together to highlight their united voice. The song's content itself is equally impressive, essentially capturing a fictional conversation's dialogue back-and-forth.

This united front proves to be a formidable strength throughout the record, as JustMe and Sintax have never really been ones to shy away from difficult or heady topics. Both prove themselves formidable in terms of deftly weaving meaningful orthodox theology and philosophy of life throughout their verses on Merciless. Topics include life and how to live it, death, the mysteries and wonders of God's justice and mercy in Christ, and quite a bit more. All of this is remarkable considering they cover this ground in a mere six cuts.

One song in particular which gripped me lyrically was the EP's fourth, entitled "Death is Real". The best way to explain why is to share some of the profundity with you directly. First, we hear the beginning of the first verse, from JustMe:

In the words of Paul - 'I'm the worst sinner'
Living it up while the starving get thinner
Dinner for the flies, Beginner to the wise,
Even God knows what it's like to die
Like sight to eye, that fades away
Some sooner than later, can't wait for the Day...
(JustMe on "Death Is Real")

Later on in the song, Sintax drops this bomb of a verse. This was pretty much the crown verse of the record in my mind, and really served as a beautiful closer on a beautiful, haunting track. Here it is:

Yo, I'm back from the dead to tell you that it's for real
Out-of-body born-again-believer appeal
I'm feelin' eager to peel back the ether intact
You might have read some CS Lewis but you don't know Jack
The brain's an artifact, body is a relic
But the soul is where it's at, in fact the new black velvet
Forget what you know, put your hands to the ceiling
Like I'm so post-modern my feelings have feelings
Living in a fantasy world living fancy
Pearls got us strung out on vanity - Girls,
It's like insanity's the rule, peace the exception
So I'm feasting on a diet of gruel and resurrection
Hyperbole the tool to wake you from the daydream
Genius is a fool and real rap is mainstream
Death is rebirth, but I'd have to kill you to prove it
'Cuz life really starts when you lose it (gotta lose it)
(Sintax on "Death is Real")

Musically, the beats are all very solid. There's a lot of variety in the sampling and a lot of depth in the layering of sounds throughout the beats. Production was handled by JustMe himself and I'd venture to argue that he outdid all the beats on his first solo record _One Man's Trash_ by a fairly wide margin on this EP (which I found a little strange - but I guess we can chalk it up to growing experience as a producer). The beats aren't tiring or annoying as beats can often be, and they generally pulse with a kind of chill and meditative vibe that can actually really permeate the skull and get caught up in it - or, in other words, they can get stuck in your head. That's always a good thing where rap beats are concerned.

It began on the wrong side of the tracks
Like the art of facts, and lack the art of laughter:
Exactly what I'm after - Not knowing, not showing
The signs of a grand design.
Find a fine rhyme in the silence like a pantomime
And to find letting my actions speak louder,
'Til factions of doubters 
Get crushed into powder (and raised again)
It's called 'grace', my friend!
(JustMe on "Rough Crossing")

All in all, this is a really fly EP - there's a lot of great moments and the back-and-forth verse-and-bar trading that JustMe and Sintax give a variety of takes on throughout gives the disc a lot of gumption as well as uniqueness. Many lesser joint EP's just have emcees trading off verses and maybe singing the chorus together, so it was great to see some new variations on old ideas.

Bottom line, it left me wanting more - maybe a lot of it. This is a testament to the quality and ability of these emcees, as well as to their ability to give hearers a unified conversation-slash-monologue to take part in and/or be in awe of. Both emcees bring their 'A' game, and this means that _Merciless_ isn't your usual second-rate afterthought EP, but instead an example of two artists coming together with one purpose and one vision to share one message in an impactful manner. It's everything a rap EP should be.

Here's a closing thought, on the topic of the mysterious co-existence of Justice/Wrath and Grace/Mercy as attributes of God in Christ, given from His perspective:

Every last breath makes reality true,
I'm unabashed in the way I feel love for you
'Cuz I dashed everything to make your soul renew
I was merciless the way I showed mercy to you
(Sintax on "Merciless")

JustMe and Sintax the Terrific are merciless in the best imaginable way on Merciless. Cop it.

Standout Tracks: Saturation Point, Compound Interest, Death Is Real, Merciless.

Jerry Bolton
http://bloodletting.blogspot.com
November 14, 2008