This review is long overdue. On August 20th, the Miami Super Duo known since 2011 as the S&M PROJECT dropped their 3rd official full length, TERRAFORMING. I’m sad to admit that at the time when my PROFRESH Brother, MC SERUM, sent me the link to his latest release I was neck deep in mourning the death of my Grandmother, who had just passed away 2 days before the album dropped. I do not apologize for taking time to properly mourn and get my head right after her passing, but I do apologize for not reporting on this stellar project before now. This album deserves to be promoted on the sides of buildings in the Brickell District, and from billboards along the 836 and I95 Expressways.
This Album is pure Miami hip-hop in all of its forms, all except the cookie cutter imitation played on 99 Jamz.If you are a follower and fan of Miami Indy hip-hop and are not familiar with the names, SERUM & MANIFESTO, I invite you to crawl out from under that rock you have been burrowing beneath .You got some catching up to do. Hit, play and get ready to be taken to the S&M School of Hard Knocks, South Florida campus
Listen to TERRAFORMING by SERUM & MANIFESTO here
TERRAFORMING, The follow up to 2023’s ELEMENTS OF ENTROPY, is a 9 track audio assault by the 2 man “Circle of the Masters”, completely produced by Detroit MI. Beat Chef ELED, who contributes almost as much of his artistic flare to the album as SERUM & FESTO do on the mic. MANIFESTO sets off the album opener “ESSENTIALS” accurately describing his cadence and purpose behind his penwork as a “Rhyme collage/ Patterns concealed camouflage/ Will to reveal Prophecy/ Open Seal”, before the RhinoSERUM charges in on the 2nd verse with lines like “The Pen and Pad we take it like Bushido Code/ Golden Armor and Katanas but we peaceful tho/ Make incisions with precision of an Eagles Toe/ Niggas programed like they’re bitches, C3POs/”. The 2nd track on the album, “RISE” is my personal favorite joint on the project. Sounding the Alarm with an opening sample like a warped siren as SERUM proclaims “Say Yeah Motherfucker if you rose out of bed/ This is a song about life, Too many homies are dead/” and proceeds to introduce his listeners to our fallen brother FRED ROCK, who he credits with producing the 1st beat SERUM ever recorded a rap over.
I asked about the motivation behind RISE, if the song was dedicated to the memory of their deceased brethren (since SERUM mentioned FRED ROCK), and about the amazing 3rd verse layed down Miami Indie starlette VIE ONIERO.
MANIFESTO replied….
“The song ain’t really about nobody specific, because the track is about all humans and our journey of personal growth. It’s about growing the fuck up. As far as VIE goes, she always writes great lyrics. She definitely nailed the assignment on that track.”
SERUM made sure I remembered he was one of the 1st Miami artists to feature VIE ONIERO on his singles.
“Thats Kathy from The NEW ERA STUDIOS crew’s little cousin. That’s my little sister yo. I had heard a few things she did at OZNY’s lab, and was I was like yooooooo. So we had her do the hook for “Stranded Ovation” feat. Her, Dynas, and LMS.” She has been on multiple SERUM releases ever since, including this new banger that is sure to catch ears across the map.
Another burner off the TERRAFORMING project is the marching cadence, FAR FROM HOME, which is currently making its rounds throughout the Online DJ & Blogger Community. Breathtaking Back and Forth bar work is displayed on this story of a youngster deployed to a war he doesn’t agree with, only to return to and be forgotten by the Country he no longer believes in.
“Far From Home is inspired by a book I read of a child soldier from Sierra Leone called “A Long Walk Home” written by Ismael Beah. Keen-I from Mind Control gave me that book.” – SERUM
Digital Drugs is another outstanding trading of lines by the S&M Dungeon Masters. SERUM & FESTO drop nothing but knowledge as they volley bars like “Give a Caveman an Apple and you can track their Sin/ Use the Data, Snatch the Cash, then you watch the Devil Grin/ Digital Dementia got your mind on heavy spin/ Need a helmet to reject the waves they try to get up in/”, to which MANIFESTO replies “The Strange Wind, Strange Fruit (as in the song by Billie Holiday about Black Americans being hung from trees in the South)/ got blood on the leaves and the Root/ Til this day can’t compute/ How they killed and slaved/ So we yeald and behave/ All Lights will shine, All pain will fade/” #BeastBars.
MANIFESTO explains the track as follows
” Digital Drugs is about modern technology being used on some MK Ultra shit..”
Then the duo transforms a Metro Rail Car into a Time Machine taking us back through the History of Miami Hip Hop on LINOLEUM & VINYL & MINDFUL INSIGHT . MANIFESTO sets off “L&V” with a detailed break down of how the life changing sounds of Hip Hop were delivered by his Walkman and how he “practiced every element in his mans backyard” in front of 20 Ft Speaker Cabinets that “would leave your ears bleeding”. MC SERUM’s 2nd verse is a splash of pure nostalgia in my face as I can hear, smell and feel every memory he refers to, having spent most of them at his 3 oclock as member of Kendall’s PROFRESH CREW. From BRIMSTONES Miami Beach Dollar Jams, to the legendary Hot Wheels and Polish American Club Jams like Ground Zero’s “WHO CAN ROAST THE MOST” and Speedy Leg’s B-BOY PRO-AM, SERUM takes you on a tour of all the scenes of the rhyme where he left body atop of buried in the pursuit of making a name for himself as a Young Emcee in the scene. The last verse on the track is a clinic on Emcee Duo Chemistry. I must admit, as a member of many 2 Man Groups, I must humbly bow to the show of synchronized skills displayed on this last verse. These 3 verses combined with EL E.D’s vocoder infused hook and Miami’s DJ PROOF on the cuts makes LINOLEUM & VINYL another certified scorcher on the album. The History lessons continue on MINDFUL INSIGHT which is more of a track about growing up as kids in the many subcultures of the 80s and 90s. The horns on this EL E.D. banger are superb and the Saturday Morning Cartoon samples that cap off the song are pure memory lane graffiti. Definitely 2 of my favorite cuts on the record. I asked FESTO to share some early Miami Hip Hop war stories for all of those who might not be aware how far back he goes in our Local Scene. He shared this gem with WVCC Radio.
“I remember coming up in the 90’s with my Zamboo crew. We opened up for various major artists but we were fans as much as performers. This one time at The Underground Compound at the Boot Camp Clik show , in the middle of the performance, someone let off gunshots and people scattered or ducked down. I took a look at the stage and it was empty, a few seconds later from behind the speakers the Boot Camp Clik’s heads started popping up, all saying, ‘damn Miami real ass fuck! Then went on to finish the show. I think the scene was really strong at one point. All the activity we have been seeing as of late gives me hope that it’s getting back in the shape it once was in.
The album is glued together by some excellent instrumentals like AARU & IN THE CITY which are incredible displays of Detroit Producer turned Miami resident EL E.D’s ability on the sampler. I asked the 2 man crew if these were just beats that they didn’t end up writing to,and just left as intermission, but they assured me nothing in this was done by accident or a crunch for time before the album release. SERUM shared to the following…
“We like the album to be a journey. Interludes and instrumental segways are something I have always done on my projects. It’s done with the intention that it’s not just a pile of random tracks but a journey. The interludes are like palette cleansers between a multi course meal..Those pieces are crucial in that regard.”
To which MANIFESTO added “We always do interludes. Nothing new in hip-hop. Just reppin like some of our favorite classic albums showed us how to. We all had those in mind before the project even started. We actually have had them on all of our projects. ELED killed it on both of the interlude instrumentals.”
Not only is EL E.D’s. production on full exhibit on his solo interludes, but MANIFESTO & SERUM share the intro and Album Titled outro with ELED as he flips a harp and french horn sample for the “INSURGEMCESS” to once again trade punchlines back and forth before leaving EL E.D. to complete the soundscape of TERRAFORMING with a third verse of Sample stitching. The perfect bow on a package that is much more than a collection of random beats and rhymes forced and glued together like a filet of fake meat. No Sir. There is no funk faking here. Only raw skills honed by years of practicing their art in the face of adversity and unpopularity, in the hopes that once in they reach their final form, they will make as much of an impact on the Miami Hip Hop scene as they had when they 1st hit the scene like a meteor from out of the sky. Changing the landscape so that we can breathe a much Fresher version of the So Flow oxygen that has kept our scene alive this long. As MANIFESTO explains about the chemical reaction that occurs when he and SERUM combine….
“Serum, like myself, has crossed many paths, but we always kept the circle tight. Though we don’t always agree, we work together very well. We stay true to ourselves and each other in music and life. We always keep it 100 always.
If you want to fill your lungs with this breath of fresh air in person, come out and witness SERUM & MANIFESTO as they invade and TERRAFORM the main hall at #IndieGround #MonsterMash going down this Saturday at LINCOLNS BEARD BREWING CO. Believe me, once you have caught a whiff of their live set, you will automatically notice the difference between the New School acts, and these two True School Generals.
Instagram: @serum305 & @manifestoevolve
Spotify – Serum & Manfiesto
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.
