"It Gets Even Better" Shotgunreviews.com ETERNIA - It's Called Life Reported by: Nin 3.5/5 Having witnessed Eternia rise from relative obscurity to attaining "dopest female emcee in Toronto" plaudits across Toronto, it does please me great pleasure that this record has ended up in my hands, a concrete sonic document of Eternia's unmistakable style, one that straddles the line between supple femininity and unapologetically fiery vitriol. Certainly, Eternia doesn't play the femcee card here, never resorting to engendering her work the way a Foxy Brown would, embossing the bulk of her work with a sexual ambiguity that affirms her status as one of the more articulate and assertive EMCEES stalking the underground right now. Interestingly, all of the 15 tracks on this recording feature self-explanatory one-word titles, Eternia branding each of the songs with a topical focus that provides the listener with a clear paradigm to understand the song. Not that Eternia would have difficulty revealing this to the listener, that is, her delivery is exceptionally coherent and easy to follow, eschewing the scattershot, avant-garde angularity of many fellow underground denizens to provide a solid foundation for the lofty topics examined within the recording. Her ambition, then, is not in crafting labyrinthine, convoluted verses, but in navigating the listener through the cavernous depths of her insight, her bold sense of adventure manifesting itself in elegantly expressed numbers such as "Control", which explores the power games and politics that are inherent within relationships, "Evidence", a number that couples battle rap with narratives delivered from a fan and observer of rap, Eternia voicing a multitude of frustrations with an industry that is largely dictated by trends and short-lived currents. "Family" and "Love", meanwhile, present lurid snapshots of Eternia's life, presented in grisly detail that is alternately sombre and touchingly sensitive. The depth of the content presented here is truly worthy of applause, Eternia refusing to fit conveniently into battle rap/gangsta rap/conscious rap stereotypes, instead offering the listener intimate access into the manifold complexities of her psyche, guiding us through hallways that are simultaneously tortured and hopeful. It helps, too, that the production for the most part is highly complementary and even excellent. The centrepiece of this platter is unquestionably Eternia's aggressive, emotionally-saturated content, but the record has its share of great, distinctively Toronto production. Give "Evidence" a spin and you'll see what I mean about its city-centric sound, its pulsating spacey bass, vocal samples and insistent synths taking a host of otherwise simple ideas and amalgamating them to create a successfully memorable number. "Hate", on a superficial level, appears to be a tired retread of Noo Yawk clichés, apocalyptic bleak-rap that has been done better on every mixtape since 95. Yet, the unconventional drum pattern and strategically employed vocal sample, paired with Eternia's steady, surehanded flow makes for a great track. "Love" has a cinematic feel that perfectly accents the story re-enacted by Eternia, "Struggle" is pulsating, sinewy, complex brilliance courtesy of Tone Mason, one part blaring Premo funk (I swear, that bass sound is taken from Royce The 5'9"s "Tick Tock", definitely Premier sounding), one part harp loop, one part kung-fu movie sample, disparate elements cut and pasted over a steady 4/4 beat. There really isn't too much I could say that could do justice to the character and personality that typifies and envelopes this record. Surely one of the most bare-boned and unapologetically personal rap records I've listened to in recent times, and absolutely one of the most consistently listenable. Eternia has announced, loudly, that she is about to cement her place next to Bahamadia, Jean Grae and Apani B Fly, and along with Masia One, will carry a torch first lit by living legend Michie Mee, affirming that Toronto's female talent ain't nothin' to uff with.