Remember, back around ‘03/‘04, when Quannum could do no wrong? What happened, guys? It seems like everything the past couple of years have been decent to disappointing. Also, production seems to have slowed down and their website is not great. This saddens a guy who wore his Lyrics Born hoodie every day for years until the holes were big enough that he finally had to retire it this year. 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up was one of my sleeper favorite albums of 2004. Unfortunately, Escape 2 Mars seems to suffer from either bad production (thanks DNAE Beats) or weak lyrical schemes, or on the worst songs, both. I have a hard time taking a track titled “El Gifto Magnifico” seriously. The brightest spot on the album is far and away “Dreamin’” which features some absolutely killer verses from Del the Funky Homosapien and Brother Ali, along with some great production from Headnotic, who spins some cello loops over a nice syncopated drum beat with a great female soul sample that I’ve yet to identify. Unfortunately, that track is followed up by the only track worse than “Ill Vacation,” from the Mighty Underdogs album - “In Las Vegas.” I’m sorry Gift, but rappin’ about escaping to Vegas for a weekend to clear your head does not make for a compelling song. All it makes me think is, does Vegas really clear your head, because I’m always overwhelmed by how you can’t escape the opportunity for someone to rip you off. Also, it just makes me think that you’re losing touch with your fan base. It seems especially odd considering that a few songs later he features a song titled “Richman, Poorman.” Doesn’t this seem contradictory to you, Gift? Really, the thing that bothers me the most about this album is that someone who had released such high quality releases earlier in their career would be content to release something so subpar. I mean, did he really listen to this album played back and think that this shit is on par with Blazing Arrow? I’m afraid of what the answer might be.