Review: Cutright, "Marvel Us" - Five Twenty Co., LLC

I know a few people who don’t like surprises.

Weird, I know, but nonetheless, they exist. I, for one, enjoy the unexpected blessing and am always appreciative of getting to experience it.

Suffice to say, I was surprised when I listened to Marvel Us, the most recent release from North Carolina’s Cutright, former battle rapper and now full-time school system evangelist.

The surprise wasn’t in this eight-song project simply being better than I thought it would be, but surprised in not knowing what to expect and then listening to an actually very well put together offering on just about every level.

Marvel makes sense; littered with its superhero references throughout, doesn’t leave you looking for content that correlates. Most of the songs are well-written, meaning they’re not just verses and hooks over tracks that don’t make sense, but they’re actual songs with progressions you can follow.

That’s a big deal.

Plainly put, Cutright can spit. The best part of his presentation, though? The bars and punchlines have relevance. “If I’m made in GOD’s image/But don’t believe in the name in the mirror/Does that make me an atheist?” he questions on one of the project’s stand out records, Bartimaeus.

From the opening tip, this member of the JustHis League does not disappoint, covering topics not overtly stated by many favorites in CHH like lust (Black Adam), while also addressing similar themes of encouragement (Forward, which has an accompanying visual https://youtu.be/bnz_FqlBhtg).

In a lot of instances, Cutright’s rapid-fire delivery put me in mind of an early Lecrae, hungry and unashamed (that first Lecrae joint, Fam, to be exact). My only departure from buying fully into Marvel is the moments when Cutright’s battle rapper comes braggadocio to the forefront (and certain wording and phraseology I’m not a fan of), but for the most part, Marvel Us is refreshing and surprisingly consistent.

Available on all digital platforms, this is one you should put on your list, for sure!

Other stand out records:
Shazam
Final Form
Lean