As an underground rapper, Living Legends-legend, Sunspot Jonz can’t be largely concerned with wealth, nor does he really seem to aspire to be associated among the ranks of West Coast lyrical-Gods like Aceyalone or Abstract Rude. The only thing that’s ever been apparent about the gung-ho-undergrounder is that he loves the fact that musically, he’s independent. This privilege has always been idolized by Sunspot and worshipped through his frequent output of albums, which are often doused with his remarkably cryptic references and growling verbal-tantrums.
The best parts of The Darkside Ov Heaven are also the album’s flaws: basking in his sovereignty, Sunspot has never been afraid to release gritty and esoteric musings and this manifests well on the hazy “Suckas Play They Part.” However, six years ago, Sunspot Jonz’s lyrical mysticism would have been a refreshing leap into an alternate dimension of hip-hop’s underground. At this point, however, Sunspot seems to have become far too comfy and much of Darkside sounds like a collection of rough-drafts and half-constructed concoctions. Songs like “We Own The Night” hear Sunspot Jonz still barking at the same shadowy figures that he’s been lunging at for years and the dense “Hug Bacardi” may make one wonder if his enigmatic lyrics are actually linked to anything real or are just self-indulgent audio collages.
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