4 out of 5

Label: Fill in the Breaks

Produced by: Arsenic

‘Twas year after year of releases, of running a label, of producing a billion things and more, of dropping the fantastic Red Beretta… that it was time for Ecid, aka Jason Mckenzie, to take a break.

Of course, a break for Ecid isn’t actually a break – he just relented some control to a compatriot.  Producer friend Arsenic takes over the beats, allowing the manic Mr. Mckenzie to focus strictly on his rhymes.  And for fans of Ecid’s lucid, loose, rhyming whimsy: that would seem like an excellent thing, as every killer verse the man spouts is inevitably followed up with some surreal or silly or crass nonsense a few verses down the road, almost purposefully undercutting his tracks from ever getting too heavy, Red Beretta being (up ’til that point) a notable exception.

I did say ‘seem like,’ regarding lyric-centric Ecid excellence, and that somewhat carries through.  100 Smiles is incredibly focused, some of the proetic contemplations more in line with Eyedea’s rambling think pieces, but it’s not like Jason can completely dismiss his ol’ joker self, and so boppin’ tracks like Get A Frickin Tan show up, which is a lot of fun, but now sort of sticks out instead of just being a part of the overall banter.  But on the whole, Smiles is pretty powerful and / or playful stuff, with the tracks where Ecid trades barbs with fellow Fill in the Breaks’ers – Crawl, concluding track John Wayne – some of the best guest star work he’s done, perhaps owing to not having to split his attentions on handling the beats as well.

…On which Arsenic does a fantastic job, somewhat aping Ant’s soul appreciation, but with a slightly dancier bob to it.  Ecid’s beats – the layered insanity of them – become more notably lacking going into the last batch of tracks, Arsenic running out of hooks to differentiate each song, but that’s where those cameos help out with enlivening things, not to mention Ecid’s enthusiasm through the whole album.

Amidst many other hip-hop careers, 100 Smiles and Runnin’ would be a damned impressive throwback-style disc, with a fair selection of thoughtful rhymes and grooving beats.  Coming from an artist with such a strong presence / catalogue, it’s an interesting break from the guy’s more complex solo stuff, and definitely the kind of smooth work you can and will keep on repeat.