by Dan O

Gabe Nandez nickname should be The Editor but I understand if that doesn’t catch on.

Tony Seltzer shifts Gabe Nandez into another gear. Pangea has the energy of a big action sequel (Matrix Reloaded, Aliens) due in no small part to Tony Seltzer ratcheting up the pace and energy to feed his orators adrenaline. I knew that reviewing it would have to be different so I’m doing a track by track breakdown instead of a standard review. Let’s go!

1.Pangea-I need to hear how this bass drop sounds in my car. Not sure my family is ready for that. This album was made during the pandemic (listen to Gabe Nandez on Next Movement pod) and boy do I wish I had this music during the pandemic. Yelling out “F* a transgression!” while working from home would have been real therapy. Gabe glides on this but with intensity, starting with “I want the power. I want the world.” Gabe’s writing is so fascinating to me. So efficient. More on that to come. Just know that at two minutes and twelve seconds I could do two more minutes of this song.

2.Pitboss-This song has all my favorite elements of 2013 mixtape energy. Starting with sirens, Gabe is spitting like Conan cutting down soldiers but beyond that this song really explores the mood he was in. The hook declares his anger, feeds nicely into lines like “got trust issues don’t know if I can fix…” Gabe is a master of fly talk but Pangea has all the emotions we were going through collectively during the pandemic planted strategically within it. I can’t imagine being Gabe’s friend Isaiah whom he says he’ll call up to flex the AR. Isaiah was in Arizona, drinking a nice glass of grapefruit juice (I’m assuming) and probably spit it out hearing the name check. Love to Isaiah.

3.Context f. YL-One thing about YL, that is a ready-to-go MC. Handing YL the mic to kick off makes all total sense. He breathes New York for fifty seconds and hands it to Gabe. This beat is more stylish and cool, not at the same pace of the first two songs, and that makes sense. Eight songs at that energy is a lot and this mood shift ,led by a dope sample, lets us breathe. It’s all about to change again.

4.Risk f. Radamiz-Radamiz opens in the position YL was but that is where the comparison stops. Radamiz brings ENERGY “professional collar poppers, intentional dollar droppers!” and this beat isn’t waiting for you, the primary pace is back. Love Gabe Nandez dropping a “F_ Donald Trump” shout out. We need to keep saying it to let all these bad actors know its real out here. If you like Donald and get offended by this bar stop listening, stop reading this. Read James Baldwin and feel earned shame. Gabe calls himself Ra’s Al Ghul when he’s riding through Gotham. He has a way of inhabiting images differently. Most people are making themselves Batman or the Joker in hyperbolic rhyme schemes. They love that binary. Gabe is driven from a totally different direction.

5.Transactions-Listen very closely to every word of this song. This two minutes and five seconds shows you what is so special about his authorship. I’m not going to pull lines. Gabe never confuses the listener by going too dense or complex but he grounds you in a place, an age, a feeling in only a few words. By the end of the bar you lived it alongside this brusque voice. I dare you to listen to Transactions and find an “extra word” he didn’t need, could have cut out. Gabe Nandez nickname should be The Editor but I understand if that doesn’t catch on.

6.Who f. Vinny Fanta-Even beats like this with a lighter touch, moody tones, have real muscle behind them. That’s why this hook is so necessary. It maintains the movement but is as haunting as the song demands. Vinny Fanta does his thing but Gabe closes the show on this one, spinning pain and frustration from different angles. The lens on his pen is widescreen seeing the whole picture. That’s Pangea.

7.Trust f. Duendita-Absolutely adore this song. This beat thumps so ridiculously. Gabe finds a pocket and accentuates really interesting words. The crop of pandemic frustrations have grown tall “The realest N_ that I ever met is myself. Had to cut the N_ off he was bad for my health. Nobody on the planet understand what I am. It doesn’t matter, don’t need anybody to care.” This internal dialogue is exactly how losing my mind and putting it back together felt during the pandemic. Duendita gets an A doing the kind of background guest singing throughout that Fielded lends to songs, a ghost behind the music giving it character.

8.Angels-If you were looking for a somber, piano led sparse conclusion you don’t get it. The last two minutes and forty six seconds are gonna knock as hard as we did at the beginning. It’s why this is one of the very best pandemic album. It has real themes and explores them…but Pangea has so much swagger, raw skill, that you don’t have to dial into painful experiences when you listen to songs like Angels. You can deep listen and walk with Gabe as he talks to the walls and listens for their response or you can just turn this up and head nod until stops. Tony and Gabe give you permission to do it either way.