Khimera Records

Cincinnati Hip Hop supporters, fans and artists know the feeling. We’ve got a diverse core of artistic talent, the majority of them are consistently putting out incredible music, and yet we’re still a small blip on the national rap radar. Projects like ProFound’s newly-released APE (Adrian Pierce Experience) throw fuel into that fire, reinforcing the strength of Cincinnati’s rap community while further begging answer to the question “why not us?”

It’s projects like APE that give us hope that the right ear will hear what’s been taking shape under our streets and pay mind to a quickly-growing Hip Hop market. ProFound’s fully-self produced album, layered with his thoughtful songwriting and nod-inducing flow present a complete project with a range of vibes that ensure an extended tenure in car stereo.

Two of the albums notable tracks feature Profound’s Khimera labelmate Monty C. Benjamin, a pairing as audibly perfect as Big Boi and 3 Stacks with a Midwestern twist, who collaborated fully on their prior album ProMo.

The first track the two emcees share on APE is the previously-released single “High”, which between the feel-good lyricism, summery flow and a chorus you’ll be humming later, comprises one of the strongest tracks on the album.

“I SHINE BRIGHT AND ALL MY HOMIES THEY REFLECT ME
NEVER COMIN’ DOWN GOT THE BEST DRINK, BEST WEED
BEST WEEK EVER, VH1 ON THE RE-RUN
WE DONE, EVERYTHING THAT WE WANT
RUN THE BEAT CUZ…BOOM!”

“High” follows the album’s intro “Experience”, where ProFound reintroduces himself while setting the tone and placing context around the following fourteen tracks.

“ALMOST SEVEN BILLION OUT HERE, I’M THE ONLY NIGGA LIKE THIS
THE ONLY NIGGA SPEAKING TRUTH AMONGST THE SO-CALLED RIGHTEOUS
I’M A FIGHTER, WAS BORN DEAD, UMBILICAL WRAPPED AROUND MY HEAD
IT’S A MIRACLE THAT I’M HERE NOW, LET ALONE A LYRICAL THOROUGHBRED”

The track “Planet of the APE”, which encapsulates the concept for the album received the video treatment slightly ahead of the albums release, complimenting the raw and primal track with visual accompaniment. Kicking off with audio from Planet Of The Apes, ProFound soon after jumps straight into a high-tempo flow with ruthless bar delivery.



Although found throughout the album, the “Khimera Cypher 20XX” is where the bars come out to play, as ProFound and Monty meet up again, with 222 over a minimal beat that keeps the momentum but doesn’t stand in the way of the bars. All three emcees perfectly simulate the experience of being smack in the middle of their cypher while they organically pass the flow to each other in the unspoken collaboration you can only find in a Hip Hop cypher.

“PASS MORE BILLS THAN THE WHITE HOUSE OR THE SENATE
I AM INFINITE, TURN AN EIGHT ON THEY SIDE
LIKE LAYING IN BED EATIN THAT CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES
YOU GET IT? WE ON THE RISE
WE THAT CONTINUE SCREEN YOU FACE, BUT YOU SALTY
YOU ALL OUT OF YOUR TRIES.”

The track “Winter” invokes a concept reminiscent of Eminem’s infamous back-and-forth track “Guilty Conscious”, as two perspectives sound off in response to each other, enabling the listener to experience the perspective shifts. Completely deconstructed, the debate heard in the track argues playing it safe versus taking a risk, as one voice explains the comfort that comes with playing it safe with a 9-5 job, and the other insisting to break the mold and take a chance at something more.

“YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY THAT YOU GOT A DAMN JOB
YOU SEE THE STOCK MARKET? YEAH, YOU’RE BEATING ALL THE ODDS
YOU DOING PRETTY GODO FOR SITTING BACK AT A DESK
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NINE TO FIVE, THEN YOU REST”
…
“FUCK THAT, PHONE CORD FEELIN SORTA LIKE
A FUCKIN NOOSE WRAPPED AROUND MY AORTA PIPE
I’D RATHER STARVE BY THE FOOT OF MY DREAMS
THAN LIVE MY LIFE BY THE SUM OF Y’ALL MEANS”

APE is a primal roar for Cincinnati Hip Hop, with the completeness and listenability to compete in the national market. Well-rounded music rooted ProFound’s own production, witty and meaningful lyricism, and the diverse and enjoyable delivery behind them form a solid core for the project and solidify ProFound’s place in the top tier of Midwest emcees. All this, while personifying the battle between man and an entity that is superior, yet not quite human, offers a full concept that is relatively absent in current Hip Hop. - Dopewax

ProFound: Adrian Pierce Experience(APE)
ON JULY 29, 2016 BY ANNEXX513IN UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP
Profound is an up and coming hip-hop artist from Cincinnati. Signed to Khimera Records, ProFound produced this project entirely on his own. Using a wide range of sounds, his musical influences vary and can be felt throughout the project. It is my pleasure to review this album. I will only expose a few tracks here though. I don’t want to ruin your “Experience.”

Track One: Experience

The First track opens with an explosion of lyrical realness. Blowing the track away with writing technicalities, ProFound employs a large vocabulary and an arsenal of metaphors. The beat selection here is well suited for what I feel the purpose is.

Track Five: The Prize

Opening with some smooth jazz vibes, his lyrics mesh well here. The hook is a perfect contrast to the rest of the track, vocally. His use of complex rhyme schemes surpasses what one would expect to come from an underground artist, but that’s because most people don’t know that the underground is where real hip-hop lives.

Track Six: Khimera Cypher 20XX

This track is included in my review simply because it is a cypher. If you don’t know what a cypher is, it is a collection of artists rapping over one track with no hook/chorus. This is a fine display of what the Khimera camp has to offer as far as lyricism. Each artist shows themselves to be proficient at writing critical bars. The beat features more smooth jazz piano mixed with some up-tempo drum selections.

Track 15: Outro

Excellent way to close out this album. This track exemplifies his love, not just for his craft, but for his people. The metaphors here are rich and endearing. The most memorable line from this track is “Love doesn’t end just because the relationship does.” He employs jazz horns here, creating a different feel from the rest of the project. Not that it doesn’t fit with the album, as this album is a showcase of his versatility as an artist.



Overall, this album is highly recommended to the reader and any hip-hop head out there.

4.5 Stars (Always room for growth and development) - The Vault