EP Review: Effective Nostalgia

Project Logic certainly knows how to make the people wait. Effective Nostalgia is the first solo project release of his since Cerebral Logic and his first project release period since a previously reviewed album: Necessary Assassination by the group J.F.K. If there’s one thing that we learn about Project Logic with his music, it's that he’s an old school kind of cat who’d rather go for a vibe over what’s hot. He’s very consistent with the music he puts out for the world to hear. You can hear that he takes his craft very seriously, and I know that he’d rather go all in rather than put out mediocrity.

The production is great, plain and simple. He chooses a selection of low tempo, melodic beats with a variety of both wind, percussion, and string instruments. It’s what I like to call, Hip Hop Jazz beats. Anyone who’s ever listened to Tribe or Dilated Peoples knows what I’m talking about. Marv Won, Pec the Producer, and Street Gang did a wonderful job mixing and mastering the project. I heard a few of the raw cuts on the tracks, and it was very pleasant to hear it all put together. The project is definitely a vibe. If you’re looking to just chill and vibe out to some mellow music, this would be the EP for you.

Effective Nostalgia did exactly what it was I think Project Logic was aiming to do. Take us back to a place of reminiscing on what a lot of us millennials like to call “the better days of Hip Hop.” The tracks had me thinking of old school artists such as Kurupt with that “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” flow. “ His smooth but raspy tone has always made me reminiscent of that of Games with a delivery that’s impeccable. The track Cinematic gave me a vibe that I couldn’t really place to a particular artist, but a time in Hip Hop. It took me to the mid-2000’s when there seemed to be a very heavy fusion of Hip Hop and R&B. The tracks Gods Don’t Negotiate and Audubon Ballroom gave me a very heavy Royce 5’9 vibe.

His lyrics are quite refreshing as well. He uses his lyrics to tell a tale of the struggles of everyday life of being black. With Chariot he makes it clear that while he has the ‘same black skin you love to hate,’ he’s not folding. You won’t hold him down nor will you get over on him. Then comes Vices. A beautiful track with beautiful vocals from Melanie Rutherford in which she sings,

“...I would love to live my life without a vice/I struggle day to day to feel alive/I can’t wait to live my life without a vice.”

The song speaks directly to the vices a lot of us pick up as a means to cope with the stresses of life. Project Logic has once again shown that he’s not one for bullshit bars and wimpy metaphors. He gives us substance with his music. Sometimes, even something to think about.

The only critique I’d give speaks more towards Logic as an artist, and not so much the project itself. It’s that, at least for me, consistency has become predictability. When the first song Chariots began, I kinda already knew what I was in for. While the project was good, a little more variety in the tempo he used would’ve been nice. Especially after having waited for so long. I think it would have given us a great image of the range in his lyrical abilities.

Overall, Effective Nostalgia is a great EP. It was definitely worth the wait and the time it took to create such a project. I would encourage all to check out this EP and as always, make your mind up for yourself.