I copped this jonker entirely based upon the features. Anyone who would aim to get Fat Ray, Von Pea, Lee Scott and Thirstin Howl the 3rd on their album is on a rare & refined wavelength, so I was curious to hear their wares.
As it turns out, this cat makes some of the best fundamentalist true school rappin’ I’ve heard in recent years. A lot of those guys try to blind you with science! Their bars are a labyrinth of references you have to get. Mighty Theodore takes the opposite approach: storytelling, clarity and relatability are his top priorities. It’s only if you’re hip to the encyclopedia of idioms & name-drops running beneath it that the true extent of his penmanship becomes clear.
While the aesthetic on the mic is all throwback, the production is a contemporary twist, broadcasting from the gently psychedelic sweet spot where Edan and Alchemist overlap. That’s all thanks to Custodian of Records, a New Jeru producer who keeps his ear attuned to a smooth, soulful blues. The sound here would be best described as gloriously fucking consistent. This set is the best overall work I’ve heard from him so far but if you dig this, check out his 2019 joint with Sleep Sinatra, too.
The Colder It Gets is a quiet, meditative album, a life testimony built around childhood memories of snowstorms past. Wisely, Theodore doesn’t get bogged down in fidelity to that concept. Many of these songs fit the vibe more than they recapitulate the same themes, and the tracklist is better for it. The interludes all help tie things together instead of interrupting the flow, and there are some downright beautiful hooks here, reminiscent of Black Thought’s knockout album with El Michaels Affair.
These comparisons are all accurate. This is bespoke cloth indeed. You’re doing something very right (and highly specific!) when I would recommend your work to fans of both Brother Ali and Larry June. I was already a fan before I burned this to CD, but I took a slow spin along some Vermont backroads in the aftermath of a late March blizzard with The Colder It Gets as the soundtrack. It was a great decision, one of those season-defining magical moments I’ll likely remember long after other memories start to go. All was briefly right with the world.
Repeated spins also reveal him to be equal to his head-turning guest list. Mighty Theodore cuts impeccable bars, and his chemistry with Fat Ray and Thirstin was particularly on-point. Every element works here, but for most of the finest moments, he’s carrying the show himself. Five Dickies. This is a diamond of an album.
