'4 out of 5 stars'
The music of Lazy Mane & Kosherbeets grows into a movement. Upon first listen to the duo's previous, self-titled work, it occurred to me that maybe the electrified funk-hop of Outkast should have expanded beyond that of their D.F. cohorts, that the same sound had not been fully blended with other Southern styles of rap, and most of all - that the awesomeness of 'pimp-tight-slang' over 808 basslines will perhaps never die, be it already aging. Needless to say, with HowDoThisHappen??, Supreme I.N.K. only expand on these notions.
Opening with a brief, spaced-out introduction, the album soon dissolves into one of the record's highlights - the soulful "Born Fly," featuring only Lazy Mane. "They still call us monkeys, now they claim that they evolved," he spits, and beyond just this song - the whole album is perhaps highlighted by the Mane's talents, as he produced the vast majority of the record himself. Impressive, considering the wide range of styles on display; these first two tracks are the most opposite of any consecutive cuts on the record, and yet the blend is seamless, guitars and saxophones throughout.
The I.N.K. also offer here a solid handful of guest-appearances. Nesby Phips (collaborator of Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa amongst others), teams up with K-Beets on "Toughen Up," and delivers one of the album's sharpest verses. And Killer Mike, in a gesture of solidarity from a fellow Atlanta great, brings his signature bravado on "All I Know." "That's a legacy, destiny steady blessin' me / I'm pushin' past petty shit, blowin' on somethin' heavenly," raps Mike, and the song manages to find some nice territory between 'single-worthy' and 'album-appropriate.'
Indeed, many songs on HowDoThisHappen?? reach for new musical ground - "Playing" is like something out of the Twilight Zone, and "World With No Eyes" could almost be a movie. On the latter, Kosher really finds his element, offering up the possibilities of a world bereft of all sight: "my stomach rumblin' there's no need to dine on fine China / all these hoes got mind's eyes now instead of eye liner." The album's most complete moment though, is not new territory at all. "Rollin' In Doja," weed anthem #346 for the duo (that's an unofficial estimate), is the musical equivalent of being sucked into some kushed-out black-hole for 5 minutes. Sonically, at least, it could very well be the closest any rap song has come to capturing the feeling of being stoned out of your mind.
Great as it often is, the album is not without its detractions. Those who have already had their fill of "DeepSeaGumpShrimpin'" (as it appeared exactly the same on the I.N.K.'s last LP), or are yet unused to what could be described as 'mixing/mastering deficiencies' may indeed have their qualms; the overall feel of the record does suffer from an apparent lack of mastering. These points aside, it is clear that Supreme I.N.K. have begun to grasp at a musical plane for which few rap acts strive. More importantly though, this 'pushing of the envelope' feels at no point forced or fabricated, which is very rare indeed.
Derrek Finch
All Music Guide, 2010
January, 2011
From two of Terminal City's most undersung veterans of the rhyme game comes HowDoThisHappen??. It's the second official full-length release from Lazy Mane & Kosherbeets, now operating under the joint alias Supreme I.N.K. Mane & Beets actually have a wealth of albums to look back on, but this marks their second in a slowly-brightening limelight, reflective of the notoriety that comes with increasingly-frequent performances and promotional output in the form of some undeniably fresh videos (the visual accompaniment to "DeepSeaGumpShrimpin'" is an absolute must-see if you haven't already indulged).
Displaying a wide and wild lyrical variety, Mane & Beets take us from ruminations on heavy—and elegantly glorified—cannabis intake ("Rollin in Doja"), to the never-tired hypothetical contest between Robocop and Rambo ("Take Over"). There's so much of the comedic and flippant on this new joint that is a true testament to the strength of HowDoThisHappen?? that there are also such rich articulations of the bittersweet and remorseful, when the darker shades of life get waxed poetic by the perceptive duo and magnified back out to this "World With No Eyes." The music is just as textured and layered as the vocals; the smooth and the jazzy meets the cinematically orchestral, and everything is punctuated by a rich and satisfying melodicism.
Part of the exciting depth and variety comes from over ten years of writing and production experience, but mostly we are pleasantly reminded that with Supreme we get two very different rhyming and writing styles. Lazy Mane could be characterized by wild but smooth pitch and intonation shifts while Kosherbeets' percussively talky, staccato style is continuously evolving. The emotional complexity of verse often comes from Mane, who likes to put in stark relief the harsh realities of dollar-crazed world, while Kosher's onslaught of media and pop culture references keeps us on our feet.
You know something special is going on here when there is such a strong variety of content and vibes, when glossy beat production meets do-it-yourself mixing sensibilities to bring us vocals that aren't watered down or over-processed, when aspirations for mass appeal are contrasted with a deep lyrical and musical integrity that refuses to pander to the sad dime-a-dozen synthetic club anthems of the day. HowDoThisHappen?? is as southern as it is West Hollywood styled, as jazz-informed as it is radically new and fresh, but it is never without emotional complexity or witty surprises. If one gets the sense there's a lack of focus, that is only the sign of truly thoughtful and experimental work that nonetheless achieves being accessible and inviting to new ears. And it's new fans that comprise the frontier for Lazy Mane & Kosherbeets, because there is an impressive number of listeners who've been tuned in to the Mane & Beets for some time now, for whom it's only a question of what's next.
Jack Case,
The NYCritic