ELUCID – Revelator

★★★☆

Released October 11th, 2024 on Fat Possum Records

ELUCID occupies an interesting space in the hip hop world right now. Few scenes are as storied as New York City’s underground rap scene. A constant in hip hop, the scene has given birth to guys like EL-P, Cannibal Ox, Homeboy Sandman, Melvoni, Dougie B, and the late, very lamented Ka. Of late, one of the groups getting the most attention in the underground scene is the duo Armand Hammer, mainly because one half of that duo is billy woods, currently one of the five best rappers alive.

ELUCID is the other half of Armand Hammer and he’s now on his second solo album, Revelator. The first one, 2022’s I Told Bessie, was a strong entry in the abstract hip hop sweepstakes. This one is much the same, although it incorporates a lot of the somewhat chaotic production that made Armand Hammer’s last album, We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, a giddy delight. There are some moments where that ‘do anything, go anywhere’ style is not advisable – as on the careening screech on “CCTV” – but for the most part the production choices are cutting-edge for abstract hip hop in the modern era. It’s a vibe that’s equally at home live as it is through your headphones, and ELUCID’s familiar voice cuts through the noise to anchor everything supremely well.

The only real problem with the album is that ELUCID is better with others than he is on his own. It’s no coincidence that the best tracks on Revelator are the ones where he’s teamed up with others, including the two where billy woods features. He’s got bars, never think that he doesn’t. It’s just that they seem to need others to prop them up. It’s possible that the issue is that woods is here in the first place. He outshines the album’s main star at every turn where he appears. Another thing that isn’t helpful is some of ELUCID’s lines are heavily reminiscent of things he’s done better on Armand Hammer records. For much of Revelator’s run time I can’t help but think I’d be better off listening to one of them.

With that said, you can’t go wrong slotting Revelator alongside other underground abstract records. Just because it’s not the best doesn’t mean it’s not a worthy component on its own. Don’t be surprised when you put on Haram directly after, though.

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