Cymarshall Law – “I Still Love H.E.R.” (Album Review)

Cymarshall Law is a 40 year old MC from Burlington, New Jersey who emerged back in ‘04 as part of the duo Power Man & Iron Fist alongside the late Pumpkinhead. However it wasn’t until 3 years later where he branched out on his own off the full-length debut Hip Hop in the Flesh, which was followed up by the Hip Hop in the Soul trilogy & Freedom Express. He’s made a handful since, but is returning in full effect for his 11th album.

“Intro to H.E.R.” begins things with a bit of a plinky instrumental saying he’s still here because of his dedication to the culture whereas “MF Law” has a bit of a Tribe feel to it reiterating the JAY-Z line “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?”. The title track with Venomous2000 & Kafeeno is basically his own rendition of the Common joint “I Used to Love H.E.R.” just before the self-explanatory “4 Jersey” pays homage to Law’s home state on top of a heavenly instrumental.

Meanwhile on “The Innocence of Love”, we have Kafeeno returning alongside Dynasty for a sensual R&B-tinged cut leading into U.G. taking Dynasty’s spot for the tense “For the Love (No Cap)” talking about the future. After the “Voice of Hip Hop” interlude, “The Normal New (Growing Up in the Pandemic)” richly details how he’s been living with the post-COVID world & “Electric B-Boy” is fresh ass anthem for the breakdancers out there.

The song “The Incredibles” with Grafh finds the 2 on top of an organ loop to start going at their opposition’s throats while the penultimate track “Creators” is easily the most motivational one on the entire album & the production really kicks the emotion up. “Spit It Dad (King’s Revenge)” ends with a 3-minute barfest with a dusty ass beat.

For the 4-year gap between this & Cymarshall’s last album, I Still Love H.E.R. is definitely amongst his best. You can easily tell the dude was having fun spitting again given how animated his performances are & the vintage production is also much appreciated.

Score: 8/10