At what point in hip-hop history did the MC die? Maybe it was with Big L or possibly with the notorious Biggie Smalls. Either way, hip-hop’s subject matter has been far less interesting ever since. Enter Termanology, a native Bostonian with New York swagger and a verbal arsenal that rivals the late Charlton Heston’s gun collection. Termanology hit the underground scene a few years back with his good pal and fellow Boston native Statik Selektah, dropping science on a handful of mixtapes and eventually catching the ear of former Gang Starr producer DJ Premier, the rest as they say is hip-hop history.

His debut LP, “Politics As Usual,” comes as a breath of fresh air through the halls of the industry; it’s supported by production from some of hip-hop’s most talented producers, new and old, as well as some of the best lyricists that span generations. Not to mention it introduces the sleeping masses to the verbal Smith & Wesson, Termanology. The first track on the record worth noting is the DJ Premier produced “Watch How It Go Down,” a throwback to the mid-’90s when Big Pun, Big L and Biggie Smalls were running the rap game on the gangster tip. Term comes correct with highly skilled wordplay, back flipping over every verse and doing his best to give the audience his best Pun rendition. Skip a few tracks and you’ll come to “Float,” a track produced by Virginia beat veteran Nottz. This infectiously bouncy track has everything you’ll need, a soothing soul sample, beautifully arranged drums and a chorus everyone can vibe to; the perfect backdrop for Term as he pays homage to his favorite herb.

However, it’s not all peaches on this album. For every great track there’s a mediocre one either directly following or just a few down the line. For instance, following “Watch How It Go Down” is the terribly dormant “Respect My Walk,” a track with a less-than-stellar beat, resulting in less-than-stellar rhymes. “In the Streets” is another track that comes up way short from its mark. Cincinnati’s favorite producer DJ Hi-Tek provides the beat for this flop, which is disappointing considering Hi-Tek is a do-no-wrong producer to most fans (even when he’s producing for 50 Cent), but he obviously didn’t bring his “A” game on this one. Lil’ Fame, from M.O.P, also stops through to deliver a slurred verse that is predictable by nearly every word.

Still, you have solid tracks like “How We Rock” with south coast baritone Bun B and “So Amazing”. DJ Premier produced both tracks and they give a daring display of verbal martial arts. “How We Rock” is hands down the hardest track around, pure hip-hop from start to end. The same goes for “So Amazing,” as Premier shows the world that he will produce bangers even when the world ends and there’s nothing left standing but rubble.

When summed up against 2008’s packed roster of releases, “Politics As Usual” stands as the only real hip-hop record. No gimmicks on this release, strictly rhymes and beats from start to finish. But, was Termanology expecting this to be a five-star classic? Good question, the blueprint for a classic is based on albums like “Illmatic,” “Reasonable Doubt” and “Breaking Atoms,” and this record doesn’t quite stack up to any of those in terms of originality, style and production. “Politics As Usual” is a great album, but not quite a classic. There’s no argument, Termanology marks the second coming of the MC to the game. Now it’s on him to crank out a classic follow up, which in my mind has far more glory to it than a classic debut because at this rate he has everything working against him. Which makes for hungrier rhymes and grittier beats.

Landon Antonetti is a journalism junior, and production manager for WRFL.