For someone who has been active in the Egyptian scene as long as Lege-Cy has, maintaining a balance between relevance, artistry and experimentation is a difficult act to pull off. Yet, Lege-Cy seems to have cracked the code. Anchored by an unwavering sense of inner grounding, he has consistently proven his ability to reinvent himself while crafting a sound that is unmistakably his own. From his earliest days, Lege-Cy has cultivated a signature sonic identity - distinct yet never bound to a formula, always leaving room for experimentation.
His latest offering, ‘BGD’ - a surprise full-length album drop - further reinforces that Lege-Cy is mastering this balancing act better than ever. ‘BGD’ is an eight-track project where Lege-Cy’s foundational influences shine through more prominently than in his other recent work. Here, he raps his heart out, proving he can when he chooses to - but the real surprise lies in the production.
On this album, Lege-Cy taps into his rap purist instincts, embracing boom-bap-driven production, heavy sample use, and an overarching psychedelic, lo-fied atmosphere. Imagine Lege-Cy with Madlib and Alchemist mixtapes on repeat - that influence is heavily embedded in the record. His signature string-driven production remains, but in an entirely different sonic context. The beats are understated, as is Lege-Cy’s delivery, carefully walking the fine line between cohesion and monotony.
This exploration of sampledelia is introduced from the very first track, ‘INTRO’, where a nabatshy (emcee) monologue opens the album, calling out random names before his voice distorts and glitches as the beat transitions into the following track, ‘SWISSRA’. The production follows a similar structure, while Lege-Cy delivers deeply personal bars, a mix of confidence and despair as he reflects on his past through his signature high-metaphoric lyricism.
Tracks like ‘EHDA (Freestyle)’ see Lege-Cy rapping harder than ever, evoking his Fata El Shaha era. His words cut with razor-sharp precision, unfolding like an introspective stream-of-consciousness conversation with himself. He touches on growing up, possibly starting a family - personal themes that occasionally flirt with the usual rap bravado, but executed with depth, never reduced to empty statements.
The album continues to build on these threads through gritty, low-fidelity production techniques paired with carefully curated samples, from spoken-word monologues to vintage advertisements, reinforcing the record’s cohesion. Lyrically, it is one of Lege-Cy’s most introspective projects to date. He dissects his own psyche through his bars, speaking on his influence, friendships gone sour and the culture of clout-chasing, all while dropping witty one-liners about the music industry.
Early in 2024, Lege-Cy released his debut full-length project, ‘Placebo’ - his most ambitious work yet, an album into which he seemingly poured all his emotions. ‘BGD’, however, is an entirely different project; a significant shift in pace, one we didn’t see coming but didn’t know we needed. It’s a refreshing sound within the context of Egyptian mainstream hip-hop, further proving that Lege-Cy is in a lane of his own: unconcerned with trends, committed to quality and relentless in his exploration.
