With this, Gerald’s Field, Hip Hop artist and producer Mark Cooper has completed his 5-LP Player One Saga in epic, thumping fashion, cementing himself as one of the all-time greats in his native Detroit, in Hip Hop’s nerdcore subculture, and wherever you are right now while you’re reading this.
Throughout the series – I Am Player One (2018), The Allspark (2019), Test Drive (2020), and Success and Failure (2021) – the villainous Major Label attempted to stop Cooper from escaping the nerdcore game he’s trapped in all whiles targeting his confidence and deterring him from freeing other lost players.
The more I listened to Gerald’s Field the more I got lost in it. Songs “Same Plot, Different Anime” (featuring Nikki Trakks and Jamar Rose), “G.I. Joe” (featuring Wordbugular, Nonsenze, Prowess The Testment), “C.L.O.U.T.” (featuring Anna Moore and Ace Buchannon), and opening track “Nintendope” (featuring Mickey Factz) got numerous consecutive repeat listens. The soulful “80’s Babies”, my favorite track on the Field, brought tears to my eyes.
A masterful mix of nostalgia, Boom Bap, emotion, and cultural references, Cooper went all out on this grand finale which includes weaving in sonic elements from each previous LP’s unique feels. He also reached the final level lyrically. Each of his rhymes glowed.
Telling an intricate original story that’s articulated with music across the span of five albums is a tremendous creative feat. Mark Cooper did it and I think he did it exceptionally well. |THIS ENT
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
