There must be something in Seattle’s water. A.S.H.E.S The Chosen is yet another provocative and promising voice coming from the Seattle hip-hop scene, which is currently pumping out quality rappers like Starbucks pumps sweetener in coffee.
First thing to note, A.S.H.E.S (All Songs Heard Echo Solidarity) The Chosen’s new album ID, Ego, Superego is damn near half sampled sounds and tunes. I don’t know about y’all, but this is something I appreciate about hip hop. Some of the more notable samples include Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and James Taylor’s classic “You’ve Got a Friend.”
To start we’ll look at “50 Ways,” the Paul Simon sample that gives A.S.H.E.S the platform to break love down in its many painful and joyful parts. Through the clear delivery of lyrics, A.S.H.E.S reminded me of the solace I have found in the fact “tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” But A.S.H.E.S isn’t telling us to give up on love, he stresses the importance of fighting for love when we are blessed enough to have it. This track is intimate and deeply emotional. Best of all, I can say the same thing for most of the tracks on this album.
A.S.H.E.S raises some important issues in these songs. The track “Never Let ‘Em Break You Down” brings up the reproduction of the teen pregnancy cycle. A.S.H.E.S tells us “thirst” may be a symptom of someone in need of love looking for it in the wrong places. “Tears in Your Eyes”, the track opening and closing the album, vividly describes an abusive relationship from multiple perspectives (victim, abuser, mother of victim). Coming from a male artist, I wasn’t comfortable with this song on the first listen, but I found after a while there was an authenticity in the song and this means something deep down for A.S.H.E.S.
As for the rest of the tracks, they all come with hard hitting bass and solid production. A.S.H.E.S’s smooth and Tupac-esque flow leaves little to be desired.
An album titled in reference to Sigmund Freud’s theory of the id, the ego and the superego would have to be as conscious as this album is. The intro track “ID-Ridden” sets the stage for an introspective opportunity, I think you should take advantage.
You will hear these songs and more with THE AJ Taylor, Tuesday nights from 10-11 PM on KSSU.com.
KSSU The Blog 
[…] you’ve read my album reviews earlier on Hologram Kizzie’s ‘Hug Life’ and A.S.H.E.S the Chosen’s ‘ID, Ego, Superego’ you can see that I like in my hip-hop trancy beats or some electronic production, loud and driven […]