Like his 2007 debut LP Don’t Quit Your Day Job (GOOD/Columbia), emcee Consequence’s second studio effort, A Good Comeback Story EP (Jan. 16), took longer than some wished to come to fruition, but no one who really loves hip-hop forgot about him after all these years. Quence initially got a name for himself by appearing heavily on A Tribe Called Quest’s Beats, Rhymes and Life album of 1996 and was one of the first signees to Kanye West’s Getting Out Our Dreams label but left in 2011 after beefing on record with West and labelmate Pusha T. The grudges (on both sides) are now resolved, and Consequence is ready to move on. This EP and its insides are proof.
The hard, Queens, New York side of Cons guarantees enough bragging and intimidation to spread around and last. He’s incessant with his top-talk of brilliant rhyme wordplay, and at all times he is no shrinking violet. Still, he is a caring provider for his four years old son Caiden in “That Dude,” a special father/son tribute and a sign of Cons’ maturing value set. In the thick of Story is “No Matter What,” a deep humble reflection on the tragic despair of the seemingly impossible to change circumstances of America’s ghettos, Poverty, USA.
Always strong in presence, Consequence can be either quite aggressive and combative or a bit more chill, focusing instead on stretching his rap muscles and showing clever ways to spit. Everything is pretty solid though, and Cons is for sure a real OG in the game at this point. Features come from Ryan Leslie, Kam Corvet, Q-Tip and Caiden (as mentioned before), Lupe Fiasco, and Chris Turner. It was produced by Cons and Mike Cash, and while the beats may not stand out extraordinarily, they are all fresh original pieces for any palate. To be clear, Consequence’s comeback has been successful. This EP really is a good comeback story, but since it’s basically three or four songs of vast meaning and four or five without that much, it’s probably best to not call it an amazing comeback story. So has Cons reached high enough in spite of that? Yes. A Good Comeback Story is a safe stable springboard for Consequence to launch an adequate resurgence.
