Send "Murs " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 f it weren't for the promise to release an additional nine records this year, Murs' first 2010 offering, ForNever, might look like a foreboding back-to-the-drawing-board exercise. After his lukewarm major-label bid Murs for President in 2008, it makes a lot of sense to see the diehard Californian calling on an old friend to help get him back into a headspace that produced some of the rapper's strongest records to date. 9th Wonder-- a producer's gold standard for understated, laid-back cool-- is back for a fourth time helming the entirety of a Murs project.Unlike the pair's previous efforts, ForNever feels less like a proper album than a collaborative airing of ideas, as both producer and MC breeze through beats and song concepts with a laid-back, Cali-minded approach. Unsurprisingly, ForNever is very much a California affair, with nearly every guest artist hailing from the Golden State (including album bookending features from Kurupt, far less dynamic here than he appeared on last year's collaboration with DJ Quik). From smoking kush on your momma's porch, hitting the 7-Eleven for chips and a Sprite, trying to convince your girl to wait until halftime to argue and getting in over your head with a porn star, each one of these little vignettes has a certain day-in-the-life appeal that work just fine as individual concepts. String them together and you might as well be listening to a treatment for the next Friday installment. Succeeding at their most humorous (including "Let Me Talk", which features some hilarious insight from the pimp-wise Suga Free), most of the songs are toss-offs, but it's plenty of fun to be along for the ride as long as some restraint is issued. Without it, ForNever alternately struggles to keep its head above water with washed-out cautionary tales ("The Problem Is...") or slums it in the shallows with mildly tawdry goofs ("Asian Girl")....full text |
| Latimesblogs |
| Gunning for the title of "hardest-working man in hip-hop," Murs has released 30-plus albums and EPs over the last 15 years, including collaborations with Slug of Atmosphere and his own crews 3 Melancholy Gypsys and Living Legends. Yet arguably his most memorable moments have arrived in tandem with the North Carolina producer 9th Wonder. "Fornever," the duo's fourth collaboration and the first of 10 albums that Murs plans to release in 2010, does little to expand upon an already established template. As consistent as the Southern California climate and equally affable, 9th Wonder's soulful, sun-kissed beats blend like barbecues and backyards with Murs' relatable raps about subjects as varied as his affinity for Asian girls and the perils of cigarette addiction and dating porn stars ("Vikki Veil"). Rather than broaden their sonic boundaries, the pair mix things up by wisely enlisting a spate of highly quotable collaborators, including seminal local staples Kurupt, Verbs and Sick Jacken. But Pomona's Suga Free contributes the album's most rewind-worthy bars on "Let Me Talk," inveighing against excessive flatulence and rhyming "Impala" with "Medulla Oblongata."...full text |
| Rhythmandprose |
| When they're each at the top of their game, Murs and 9th Wonder go together like peanut butter and jelly. All three of their previous albums followed the same formula: straight beats and rhymes, with no pop or R&B chaser. Fornever follows the same path, with no singers, no famous names, and no concessions to modern rap trends. They make music exclusively for the hip hop underground, refusing to make any attempt to catch onto the charts. When you have a producer as skilled as 9th Wonder and a rapper as good as Murs, that approach is appealing all on its own. Fornever follows the same pattern, but to less effect. The same formula that created a mini-classic in 3:16 is still here: Murs is telling his stories about life and women over 9th Wonder's sped up soul beats. But Murs has lost his edge; too often, his stories lack the twists and creativity that marks his best work. A perfect example is "I Used to Luv H.E.R.," where he straight rips off Common's song, only bothering to update some of the 90's references. It's a complete waste of time that only serves to remind us how good the original version is....full text |
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