Miele Isa

Hip Hop music’s most blatant (and detrimental) truth is the lack of female participation across the board. The gender imbalance has famously nurtured a division that continues to grow as misogynist lyrical content and violent imagery offer little in the way of contrast. Thankfully, there are female proponents of the genre who choose to go against even their respective genre’s grain, so to speak, and offer a shift. Thus enters Baltimore, MD native Milly July and her experimental, fun, and original mix CD Sneak Chamber.


The title track serves as the intro of the LP, and Milly July’s busy rhymes entertains and astounds from start to the end. The chaotic backing track threatens to overshadow her, but she remains focused. The following track, “Sundown,” continues the left field beat selection and finds Milly July embarking on a bit of crooning. There’s a density present in the lyrics and while the singing is more of a rap-chant, it works in favor of the song’s mood. “Good,” featuring vocalist Kaui and production from DJ Curious, is a wonderful piece of poppy Hip Hop. Milly July’s inspired rhymes mesh seamlessly with the track. “Toast,” produced by Brey, begins somberly with a spoken word piece from Milly July and launches into emotionally heartfelt verse – an early highlight on the disc.

“Hey Love” picks up the tempo with a more straight-ahead backing track. Milly July’s lyrics are as sharp as ever, although the hook isn’t as precise as it could be – a minor snag in an overall great song. “Summer,” (the beautiful goodbye song), finds Milly July over a sparse yet deceptively busy track proving more potent lyrics. The topic of a love lost isn’t readily apparent, as the song is busier than it seems. Focusing on Milly July’s performance and lyrics becomes a task worth undertaking, however. “Hello Paper” is perhaps the hardest track on the release and Milly July is in top-notch form here. The concept is buried deeply in the lyrics yet again, but the production helps the listener keep pace.

Throughout the CD, Milly July employs various patterns and takes plenty of risks other MCs wouldn’t dare. Some of the platforms she chose to rhyme over could be considered anything but Hip Hop and yet she pulls it off each time. The most evident knock against the disc is that many of the songs that go away from traditional fare tend to sound the same. There are also moments where her lyrics are far too esoteric and layered, thus making it tough to connect to the work. Her versatility and ability to fit any style of track is what stands out amongst all. With the album’s closer “Emphasis,” produced by Judah (who also serves as the Executive Producer for the project), is amazing in the fact that the track isn’t Judah’s sharpest but it allows enough room for Milly July to save the day once again.

Sneak Chamber isn’t going to be for everyone. The lyrics are deeply metaphorical, the beats are sonically challenging and Milly July’s rhyme schemes aren’t conventional. But if one wishes to break away from the standard, they could make a poorer choice than this release. - Okayplayer.com