When I received a copy of Stjörnuryk’s debut, all I knew about them was that they are from Ísafjörður, the capital of the Westfjords of Iceland. I hadn’t heard one song of theirs, so I really didn’t know what to expect. Was it going to be the East Coast sound, West Coast or even UK influenced? One thing I was not expecting was the semi-electro feel about the beats, which is a positive thing… but was it going to be enough?
The album in a whole is really raw from the beats to the rhymes and from the rhymes to the cover art. The rhymes range from being about enjoying a burger to partying, and from partying to judging the public’s opinion on how rappers should act and dress. Not bad, but nothing new. The production has some potential with my personal favourites being ‘Vertu sjálfstæður’ (“Be Independent”), ‘Sega Mega’ and ‘Marco Polo’ but the sound is just too raw—it kinda sounds like a radio rip.
Stjörnuryk have some good guests on this album, with cameos from MCs such as G. Maris, BlazRoca and Ramses, However, the standout guest performer is the 12-year-old MC Ísaksen from Ísafjörður, definitely one to watch if you ask me.
Even with all the good guests and the potential in production, it just doesn’t cut it all the way. I would advise them to step their sound quality game up for their future releases.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
