Today is special. The beings in control of the celestial laws have a message for us, the people of Earth. All we must do is listen. This is not, of course, without conditions. One does not simply become a celestial ruler by making foolish choices. Rather than make the human species privy to this information, these higher ups have enlisted an otherworldly messenger...space sourcing, if you will. So who has this sacred duty been entrusted to?
This is not Khalil Nova's first journey to our less than humble planet. His initial voyage, if you must know, occurred sometime in the year 2002; amazingly not even space visitors can circumvent man's self-imposed trials and tribulations for gaining legitimacy. Which is why - or at least I assume so - the ancient kemetic emcee does not begin deconstructing the heaven's codes for us, mere mortals, until 2011. Since then, this entity whose human has been reported to resemble a black version of the late Alice in Chains singer, Layne Staley, has amassed northward of ten official releases. In the process the likes of Gamera, Silkky Johnson, and Akumasanti have all been co-conspirators. Zone6 Sinister, as always, keeps the pilot company.
On "Shining Fingaz," Nova's trademark distorted vocals - that distant voice, a precious relic from a long decrepit ancient space civilization, nonetheless still light years ahead of mankind - are surprisingly absent. Does it take away from the overall track? Hardly. Lord Nova's strong suit, after all, has always been his skits and remixes; the purely instrumental tracks (see: "Aqua," "Divine P4r4d1se Island Trees Of Archanfel," or the very recent, "Aka$hic Records") are where he shows off. "Shining Fingaz" is no exception. A return to samples from his beloved Dragon Ball franchise was long in order, at any rate. And the biggest surprise is kept in the rhythm section. Signaling a continuation of the trend from his last two releases - F*I*N*D and 808s of Death 2 - Nova plays with the bassline as a source of melody. The ambiance, or everpresent "haze," is, as always, a inimitable tag but does not mug ears for attention. In maturity Nova is allowing listeners to appreciate the multiple facets of his compositions; even diversifying his percussion at around 0:52 by throwing some cymbals in the mix to provide a low-key drop inactive listeners will undoubtedly miss. At this point we can only hope to one day advance our feeble homosapien awareness to a point where we can fully grasp the Nova.
- John Noggle
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