Substance810 “The Definition Of”

By P80 Parks

On The Definition Of, Michigan’s Substance810 resurrects his career with 11 tracks showing off his rhymes and production skills. The trajectory of Substance810’s music is, at the least, an interesting one. Having been in the game, with several projects since his debut in 2006, Substance810 has seen the change in the music industry, for the better and worse.

Substance810: “I was frustrated with the climate of the industry in 2016. It became work.. And when that happens the fun is lost. So I took a break and started riding bicycles.”

DRHH: What was the new found inspiration?
Sub: “While being on a bike listening to beats one day, inspiration just flowed back. In November 2017 I started back making beats on the MPC. I slowly started penning songs to those beats, inspiration grew until the point where I knew it was time. It’s 2020 now, bars are back and I’m here for it. I’m Creating selfishly; boom bap hip hop for myself and heads like me.”

Over a thumping track with digital effects, “All my life” produced by Know It, Sub’s focused flow is reintroduced to hip hop. On “F*ck You Talmbout?!” The track opens with a Lord Jamar sound byte and sports a MTK sample. Substance deconstructs the modern hip hop industry and his experience navigating the game. He spits about his clear dislike for mumble rap and fairy tale rhymes. On the production side, Substance810 brings a slight funk with the falling synths, bouncy bass and slight choir vocals in the background.

Sub gets quality Baltimore features with “Royal Rhymes” feat. Jamil Honesty and “Tunnel Vision” feat. Jay Royale. The top tier features continue with the banger “The Rising” featuring Daniel Son and Rome Streetz. Substance leans on the talented DJ Grazzhoppa to handle the cuts on the album.

On “Chop Suey” Feat Drip Matthews Sub spits lines like “I only know how to kick the truest, cold fit and my kicks is newish,” Here his personality emerges as the everyday guy, acknowledging this reality without playing himself.

The chopped synth organs of “Just Ridiculous,” pulsate as Substance810 delivers clever bars with some witty wordplay. Check out “Just Ridiculous” here:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/just-ridiculous/1507279026?i=1507279039

“Midnight Oil” sees Substance in his sweet spot, both as a producer and on the mic. The beat builds a bit of tension and maintains a haunting, nostalgic quality. One of the standout tracks on the album. The album ends on “Dark Clouds” with Substance810 writing about personal struggles and deals with his demons therapeutically, through the mic. He shows some vulnerability discussing his daughter’s autism, his own depression and how he creates amidst those challenges.

The Definition Of shows Substance810 as an emcee trying to elevate his rhymes above the average rapper and taking his polished beats to the next level with great usage of samples along with plenty of thump. We get a definition of Substance810 with this album. He shows us glimpses of his own pain and hardships but also his triumphs and some good old rap braggadocio. Substance810 brings the talent behind the boards and on the mic with The Definition Of.