As I work on completing my 2nd Month of being cigarette free after 9 years of smoking up to a Pack a day, I sit down to enjoy and review the latest album from a brother who is familiar with the struggles of breaking bad habits. GHOSTS & SHADOWS 2 – HARAKIRI, the new ep from Canada’s LERICS DaLYRICIST is a return visit to the support group of recovering addicts who fight daily to keep their Ghosts & Shadows in their place. It’s also the 2nd time LERICS teams up with the infamous HANZO BLADEZ, and the 6 track blade they forged is sharp enough to slay unwelcomed demons from their past.

Listen to GHOSTS & SHADOWS 2 – HARAKIRI by LERICS DaLYRICIST & HANZO BLADEZ Here

I’ve covered many of LERICS’ releases and I always have to give the disclaimer, I speak next to no French. So alot of what DaLYRICIST spits (mostly in French) tends to go over my head. What I have always been able to report on is how the music and delivery makes me feel, and this record, although only 6 songs deep, gives me a wide range of emotions. The soulful opener ADDICTIONS conveys a feeling of constant struggle and striving. When I asked LERICS for a brief breakdown he explained,
“In these Ghost and Shadows projects I talk mostly about chasing my “ghosts” and hunting my “shadows”. This one is not different. I speak about my addictions and how I fight and live with them”
He follows this up with an ode to H.P. LOVECRAFT, where LERICS flexes his love for all things Horror and Gore, and his admiration of the Classic American Horror/ Sci Fi Author who created the Mythological Ancient God Cthulhu.  LERICS shared with me,
“In the 1st verse of Lovecraft I enumerate some Lovecraft books and in the 2nd verse i’m talking about Lovecraft’s life, the fact that he visited Québec city 3 times while he was alive, I speak about the fact that he was a loner, a tormented soul. I’m saying that he’s the king of horror, even Stephen King said that about Lovecraft. That’s a tribute song, I’m a huge fan of his.”
The title track HARAKIRI presents LERICS DaLYRICIST in the middle of performing a fully armed Kata Choreograph, training for the day of battle, keeping his reflexes sharp.  He explains,
“I called the song Harakiri because sometimes we need to hurt ourselves in order to progress and move forward. For example when we stop taking hard drugs our body suffers a lot, but it’s for the best. We give ourself pain in order to level up. Harakiri isn’t different. The warrior who does Harakiri to himself is doing it to purge himself from shame. So the Harakiri is a metaphor for killing all the shit inside us.”
This gives way to the 1st of 2 Features on the album, SLAY EM ALL feat G FAM BLACK & ECLYSE, who totally goes Johnny From The Insane Asylum on the last verse. You can check our whole review of the single HERE.
The Last 2 songs of the Ep are where the Gold is. Like fighting through a Night of temptation or getting through a day of the jitters, you feel great when you can look back and say, “I made it through another day”. That feeling of confidence and assurance is what I get from the Productions provided by the Double Bladed Boriqua HANZO BLADES, and the ease with which LERICS is gliding over those final beats. When I ask him about his experience building with HANZO, he replies…
“Hanzo Bladez is a good friend. I have a huge respect for this guy. He’s not only a great beatmaker/artist/emcee but also a really good dude. He’s doing awesome deals on the beats, is super accessible and humble. Passionate cat.”
I tell him MISANTHROPY is my favorite joint off the album and he replies
“Mine too. It’s about how much I hate people. Lol.”
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Hanzo Bladez Pic
Ghost and Shadows 2 Back Cover

His attack over the sharp Horns that HANZO pairs with a ghostly guitar pluck sample, bound by a perfect hook that had me saying “THATS IT THATS ALL….ITS LIKE I LIVE IN ELL!!” makes this my favorite song of LERICS to date. Then the soft seductive voices of Roxanne and Magalie announce the arrival of BLOOD, FLESH & BONES, a song that can be played on any Mix, any Radio Station, and you will def hear in high rotation on WVCC RADIO.  These 2 vocalist from Quebec City have made other apperances on LERICS’s music, You might remember them on SOUL DELIGHTS from GHOST & SHADOWS 1. Their contribution to BLOOD, FLESH, & BONES intro and hook along with HANZO’S production and LERIC’S smooth delivery makes this one of the best songs on the project, hands down.

On my last review I commented on LERICS’ need to work on his flow to be able to catch the ear even when the listener doesn’t speak the language. The improvement on GHOST & SHADOWS 2 – HARAKIRI is impressive. This leveling up in cadence delivery, paired with the slapping soulful production of HANZO BLADEZ makes the G&S2 project worthy of several plays, and worth a duo lingo subscription. While interviewing LERICS，I found out that we share a love for Stephen King and Lovecraft. I learned where he gets his flare for the Macabre from. And being that I dont have cable, I found out through him that the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanly Cup. He told me this by sending me 3 Middle Finger Emojis. I feel honored to be on his “people I hate” list for the week, and inspired by how far he has come on his personal journey. This album has been a great motivator to stay on my own journey to get sober and stay substance free, for that I send a big shouts to LERICS DaLYRICIST for making music that not only makes heads nod, but also makes them reconsider their own life dicisions.  I hope you give G&S2-HARAKIRI a coupe of listens and that it helps you fight your own Demons.

Follow LERICS DaLYRICIST & HANZO BLADEZ online

LERICS DALYRICIST @lericsdalyricist,  Bandcamp , Spotify

HANZO BLADEZ @hanzo_bladez, Bandcamp, Spotify

Written by 8ch2Owens

Founder of Vice City Cypher, WVCC Radio, PROFRESH Publicty. With over 20 Years in South Florida’s Hip Hop Scene 8ch2Owens has carved his name into the Miami Hip Hop history books, and now uses his talents to promote the best in South Florida Indie Hip Hop and Underground Hip Hop from around the globe.

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