Constant Flow is an MC hailing from New Jersey who is one of the latest artists to be signed to the Viper Records label. But why should Viper’s acquisition of Constant Flow matter to us though? Don’t record labels, big and small, take in a myriad of artists from across the board and across all genres? Yes. But what if I told you Immortal Technique is also on Viper Records? Exactly… before my initial listen to Constant Flow and this debut album of his titled Ascension, I had more of an idea on what to expect when I realized he’d be label mates with Tech.
Constant Flow decided to sign with Viper because of it being a grassroots organization and the fact that he would have the ability to create music for the people and not entertainment run by a big corporate entity. This mentality parallels the thinking of Immortal Technique, but let’s keep the two separate instead of synonymous. Ascension may be CF’s first album release, but it gives him more than enough merit that he is an established MC. Keep in mind that he has been putting in work dating all the way back to 1993.
The album starts off with the self-titled track Ascension which gives the album an intense start. Immediately CF displays his prowess while his lyrics express the sociopolitical conflicts that continue to plague modern day society. If you aren’t asleep, you probably have an idea of the sociopolitical issues CF speaks on so I won’t delve into those. Just know that conscious rap is alive and well in this album.
My favorite track in this album is most definitely Anatomy of a Revolutionary which has more than appropriate production brought to you by Southpaw (a known producer for Immortal Technique and others). You’ll learn quickly that the title of this track goes beyond just words and takes on a literal sense. Constant Flow paints an excellent picture as he verbally constructs the physical anatomy of a revolutionary by stating the following: “The blood of Jesus Christ, the head of William Wallace, the heart of Che Guevera, the hands of Victor Jara, the eyes of Martin Luther, visions of Pat Lamumba, the legs of Jessie Owens, we marching to the future“. This is the Voltron of revolutionaries.
The features on Ascension were ones that I was curious to hear. With me being an avid fan of battle rap, I was greatly anticipating Swave Sevah’s verse on the track Dog Tags, my second favorite track behind Anatomy of a Revoltionary and in my opinion Swave killed his verse. The first feature track with Immortal Technique on Moment of Peace was another I enjoyed simply for the fact that I wanted to hear CF and Tech go in on the same track. In combination with the vocals provided by Melanie Fontana, Moment of Peace is now another one of my fave tracks on this album.
The last thing I must say is that Ascension is a very satisfying debut album from Constant Flow (also with excellent and telling artwork). At 13 tracks long, each track clocks in on average (I would say) at around 4 minutes. And these tracks warrant multiple listens. I look forward to seeing what Constant Flow gives us in the future.
You can follow Constant Flow HERE on Twitter and you can purchase Ascension HERE on iTunes or HERE directly through Viper Records.
Below you can watch the video for Ascension on YouTube.
I live in the UK and saw CF here in Brighton with immortal technique in July. He had a great stage present and he was fantastic live. The album is great and is actually one of my favourite rap albums this year. A great mix of life story songs regarding his life etc and a few gangsta songs. CF is excellent on both slow story telling tracks and faster paced songs. The songs with immortal technique are excellent and wish immortal rapped on the Devils maze and the moment of peace track was longer.. What a tune. All in all I hope to see CF again in the UK and this album to get more exposure, fantastic debut from a passionate artist.