Lenzmen Archive Scrapbook:A big note of thankyou for everyone that supports The Lenzmen. It's been a minute since the handmade albums sold during cyphers. None of what we have accomplished so far would have been possible without risk. The first risk was pooling our resources and presenting ourselves to you. The second risk was taken by you. You took a measure of trust and transformed a group of Emcees into Recording Artists. To those who saw the Lenz from the early days and to the newest supporters making the initial discovery today -we pledge to move ever upward, forever forward.
- The Lenzmen 2005
" In order to control your destiny you must have Outersight . That is, enough Hindsight to remember the past, Insight to live in the present
and Foresight to plan for the future."
-Dynamics Plus
Pound MagazineThe Lenzmen album called
Scientific Community/Magnify Lenz
is a double album of futuristic
imaginative Hip-Hop
that ol' Black super scientifical
rap madness that almost ceased to
exist around 1999.
Company Flow fans rejoice!
Matt Jost and One Line RapReviews.com
Despite the seclusionist nature of this recording, musically it does occasionally adhere to traditional values. Dynamics Plus possesses rhyming stamina ("Been a fiend since 16 and seen sicker scenes than sealed in the ceiling of the Sistine"). The music he creates sometimes ventures beyond the blip hop microcosmos (the soulful "Machine Slave"). He clearly has put some effort into the whole thing. There's humor. There's hooks. Female singers. Movie dialogue. You can even make out a serious undertone every now and then ("One Chance") - usually a key component in science fiction, if I might add. One song even fully delivers what I expect from a project like this (the 007-like narrative "STACI III: Garden of Eden"). There are some great lines, such as "We can bathe in cosmic showers / and watch supernovas from solar flare flowers / feel the rush of this cosmic stuff / and write our names in the tail of a comet's dust."
"I'm sure there's someone out there that would enjoy the abstract space style the Lenzmen offer. I suspect you'll find him sleeping at the ticket counter thirty hours before the new Harry Potter movie debuts in a few weeks, dressed as a wizard."
Bradley Miller URBNET.COM:
"The Lenzmen (producer/MC Dynamics Plus, alongside MC’s Doctor Strange, Centri and Earthadox) might reside in New York City, but after digesting their sophomore album, Scientific Community and Magnify Lenz, it’s apparent these brothers from another are representing Saturn and beyond. Their otherworldly beats, un-orthodox flows and sci-fi imagery are certainly out there, if not at times reminiscent of artists like Kool Keith and MF Doom. With numerous pop culture references to boot, including Pulp Fiction and Star Trek (“Masterpiece”), Freddy and Jason (on the Stezo beat-jacking “Commotion”), and a song devoted to horror flicks and zombies (“Zhombie Joint”) they manage to cover a wide range of frequencies and intensities. Backed by “cauliflower power” (“Clear The Way”) and a dedication to old school wrestlers (“Hardcore Wrestler II”), The Lenzmen will likely find an audience with experimental/leftfield hip-hop heads looking to expand their horizons."
Jonah Wyn Pugh - Know The Ledge.net:
The Lenzmen - Magnify Lenz and Scientific Community:
"This album opens well and gives you the impression that the rest of the album is going to follow suit. But this being a special album, consisting of two albums combined, and the opening tracks so strong, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. The four MCs - Dynamics Plus, Doctor Strange, Centri and Earthadox - come across less as rappers and more as inter galactic beat poets; slam champions that have realized how much more they can be when laced by hyper-intelligent instrumentals. They are captivating in their effortless give and take, and you know you are listening to people that have studied not only those that have gone before them, but also their own vision of where music needs to go. Being from New York City, you can hear familiar intonations, like a refined Beastie Boys, but the rhyming patterns and instrumentals are so diverse that any semblance is purely in soul and not in theft. It seems fatuous to single out any particular tracks, but for the benefit of those who aren't lucky enough to have their own copy, the fourth track Masterpiece stands out, as does the fifth, 110 Cosmic Transmission; the seventh track Clear the Way is equally sick for different reasons. In fact, enough has been said. The whole album is so good that this writer advises you to get hold of it any way you can."
P Lantry Ghetto Blaster Magazine:
"If MF Doom can create multiple identities and gain so much notoriety, the listening community just might fall over one another to attempt to get a glimpse of Dynamics Plus... His own tracks speak VOLUMES, listening to Machine Slave gives you a good idea of what he's able to construct with more than a sample beat, filling it with harmonies and Shea's lovely vocals. ..it's a hint as to what's to come.."
cpf PlatForm 8470:
"Welcome to the world of The Lenzmen, a dimension somewhere between the deserted Company Flow galaxy and the Cannibal Ox milky way, close to the planet of Dr Octagon, and surrounded by The Atoms Family’s atmosphere. A universe that is charachterized by sci-fi soundscapes and ditto lyrics. 'Album 2' is actually two concepts: 'Magnify Lenz' and 'Scientific Community'. The first part of the album focuses on the group itself and let us get acquainted with their mind state and philosophy. The second part is a tale of NY hip-hop being attacked and the only saviors is the underground scene.
...Creative lyrics twisted over beats that yet have to be discovered like the moon in the fifties. This ain’t your ordinary hip-hop: The Lenzmen are craftsmen who know how to write lyrics and make dope music. Since Company Flow, there’s a movement goin on that cannot longer be denied. The Atoms Family, Cannibal Ox, and others have yet received much props, now it’s time for these cats to bring it to the fore front. Fans of the genre will love this."
Eddie Ugarte Editor In Chief Ghetto Blaster Magazine:
"The Lenzmen are on some next level shit combining highly lyrical concepts and wordplay with cutting edge production. They represent the best elements of true school Hip Hop while pushing the genre forward into unexplored areas. The intensely challenging lyricism will pull you in and keep you in their world. What MF Doom did with the Fantastic Four, The Lenzmen do to Science Fiction and basically, whatever they touch on. Dynamica Music is an incredibly bold independent label."
Individual track comments from WorkingBeats.com
Lenzmen album 2: Scientific Community & Magnify Lenz
Masterpiece:
"Lenzmen are a force within the force. This track does exactly what it says on the tin. What is this? This is a masterpiece...."
Higher Dictions:
"Our personal favorite track from this astounding artist. The Lenzmen are a force to be reckoned with. A sinister addition to your ipod collection and another journey into Hip Hop deep and dark."
110 cosmic Transmission:
"A dark and experimental journey into Hip Hop. A distinctly digital flava and some cutting lyrical jediness is ever present in this single from the album 'Scientific Community and Magnify Lenz'".
Dynamics Plus: Doctor Atomics And The Fortress Of Solitude
Ghost Of Machines:
"An aggressive and hard edged poetry trip from the world of Dynamica Music. Again check out the unique rhymes and digital darkness. These guys have blown us away at Working Beats, let them do the same to you."
Get It Right While I Write:
"Another digitally astounding piece of production art and lyrical weaponry. Check out the fluid and sharp lyrics and see how they swing your subs left and right, popping them outta their sockets."
DJ Slim Chronic Magazine:
"Sci-Fi and hip-hop may seem worlds apart, but this is something that The Lenzmen Dynamics Plus is working to change as they drop a second album of space-age phonics. Coupling wordplay that recalls the underground verbosity of names like El-P, Quasimoto and Kool Keith with the sort of futuristic soundscapes that would not be out of place being filed under ‘leftfield,’ this album is certainly an original listening experience. Although this album is split into two separate parts, the slew of sci-fi styled samples added to the production keep a coherent feel across the 18 tracks. This album insists that listeners pay attention for example on “Ghost Of Machines” with lyrics like
“Here’s a tone to blow holes through your headphones/ Invade your zone and raid the data from your catacombs/ I wrote a quote for your tombstone you should atone/ Or read a tome it’s very well known you’re a copy clone…”
Commercially minded listeners may find much of this release going over their heads, but those that are more accustomed to the work of labels like Subverse, Battleaxe and Def Jux will be more likely to catch onto this daring release. Alongside additions from guests like Doctor Strange and Centri ‘God-Killa’ Zilla, this album focuses heavily on the lyrics. This is undoubtedly one for the headphone rocking b-boys and girls who want to get close to the lyrical super-nova. "
Scratch and Spin Radio
"A dark and turbulent flow into hip hop. Lyrical fluidity and a production machine that will blow your ass off."
Chris Whitworth UNIQUETRAX RADIO:
"The last hip hop album I listened to was NWA Straight Outta Compton. This album Has been in my car CD player for a week. Must not be missed, make sure it is in you collection. Love the way the tracks are built buy instructing the onboard computer. This album hooks you straight away. The Lenzmen Dynamics Plus - Doctor Atomics and the Fortress of Solitude gets a 9/10."
Justin, via Email:
"I purchased the dynamics plus album and the persecution wax from fullblown a few years ago and shit, the Lenzmen are the truth. I need some new material for real. Is that Centri joint "death adder" on the album. I remember the clip from the old site...damn that was dope..please let me know the scoop on getting some more lenzmen material. you cats got me feanin...Nuff Respect"
CMC BetterPropaganda.com:
"...With his vision and conceptual discipline - along with those Kirk and Spock at Epcot Center beats - he's created something inspiring, original, and, while adding to what's been done, more humanly consistent than anything introduced to the burgeoning Blip Hop genre before. Dynamic Universe, Volume Six makes you go with it, suspend your belief, think, and marvel at how seriously you can get down to all this digital nonsense. I did - and it was great. ...this is the next phase. Welcome to the Dynamic Universe. Buy this album."
"...Dynamics Plus is (without a doubt) the brightest star in the independent Rap scene - and I've heard a lot of new independent Rap. He's smart, versatile, and imaginative, in a way most Hip Hop artists (with their, simple-minded, Gangsta or T&A content) can't even start to comprehend. Hell, his beats, alone, are miles ahead of, almost, everybody else..."
Mr. CrF, Critical Beatdown Magazine
"Dynamics Plus has released his brand new solo Lp which features the rest of the Lenzmen,the albums called "Doctor Atomics and the Fortress of Solitude" and is excellent. The Lp features 18 joints and is totally different to anything else out there at the moment.Believe me if you like scientific and futuristic lyrics and wordplay over top notch production and next level beats then this is an album you need to check. In some ways it reminds me of a cross between Sir menalik and Motion Man with some extra originality thrown on top...This is the skillfull return of lyrical Science and needs to be heard. Fine underground Hiphop."
"New Yorks Lenzmen crew have got to be one of the hardest working independent hip-hop acts out at the moment. It was only a couple of months back that I reviewed their "Fortress Of Solitude" LP and now they're back with another dope album entitled "Scientific Community and Magnify Lenz". The lenzmen are a crew made up of members Dynamics Plus, Doctor Strange, Centri and Earthadox and each member displays their own individual scientific flow superbly on this album. Granted, this album isn't the most easy listening LP out right now but if you are like me, you like to hear good quality hip-hop music from a group who like to break boundaries and take it to another level with their beats and rhymes then this album is definitely for you. When it comes to lyrical skills there's no denying the quality of the Lenzmen. Each member tries to take it to that next level every time they grab the mice and spit lyrics that have you reaching for the rewind button to listen more closely to what they just said..
Doctor Strange in Where Were You:
"Mixtures of venom and blood, intertwine when I rhyme
my mind goes into warp speed like deep space 9
-remember me my chemistry is blind
hibernate with the enemy for the sake of old times..."
Tadah, UrbanSmarts.com:
"That's the complexity of it. And "Wizard Is In" shows you how to combine butter cup sweetness with the complicating rhymes, the advanced level rhyme content, that makes 101 not good enough anymore. ...and of course, it's hard to follow Dynamics Plus' rhymes, but that's what you always proclaim to want. You are not on an Easy Listening fan page. If you are not willing to sit down and be taken on a ride, then why did you buckle up? It's not like this trip sucked the first time, and that's why you want to repeat it. That's not why you bought tickets that will last for a month. And so all that should scare you about this record is, that it makes you wonder how many other artists and records are out there that you've never heard of, that are so exquisitely dope."
Tadah, UrbanSmarts.com:
"Maybe the time is right for the return of Science Fiction influenced rap beats.
The release of this album certainly parallels the one of the final "Star Wars" movie. You want to hope for a fair amount of hype, because you don't want this record - or maybe more so this artist - to disappear in oblivion. As there's actual stories and plots, subplots and Plus is definitely skilled. "
DJ Slim Grind Mode Magazine and Chronic Magazine:
"New York based sci-fi Hip-Hop makes a return with the four-man outfit The Lenzmen and their latest journey into the unknown. Sounding like a head-on collision between Kool Keith, MF Doom and Company Flow the progressive sound of The Lenzmen flips between highly lyrical wordplay and space-age interludes designed to tie the whole affair together. Geared to the lyrically minded this album will most likely sit best with the headphone-rocking crowd who are happy to soak up the dense wordplay directly. The experimental nature of tracks such as ‘Clear The Way,’ ‘Battle Planet Story,’ ‘Residue’ and ‘Hybrid Higher Dictions’ are sure to find as many detractors as they do fans, but this album is certain to create an almost fanatical following amongst those who catch onto it’s science fiction based feel. Overall fans of underground independent labels may want to check this, while those more accustomed to the mainstream sounds of the likes of The Game may well find this album one step too far."
Warta, The MMORS:
"FRUM MMOR.ENT. TO THA LENZMEN STAY TRU TO INNOVATION DYNAMICS KEEP DOIN WHAT YOU DO STAY AHEAD OF THESE FOOLS. ONE."
