Entirely produced by Roc Marciano, inspired by Clipse and the main exponents of Wu-Tang, drawing from the best artists of the past and present who influenced him, Cooks signs with Busta Rhymes and brings out a debut of Illmaticly length that pays homage to "Reasonable Doubt". It's a really good street-coke rap record.
Roc Marciano extracts funky soul samples from the seventies, creating an excellent minimal, lo-fi and dark production that returns a blueprintian nature to the project. This velvety musical carpet is dominated by Cooks: the rapper repeatedly flexes his lyrical muscles with rough, lively, hard, intelligent and fun bars that make up violent, lush and street lyrics, aimed at describing his broad point on the drug game through a well-formulated, detailed and original storytelling. He remains focused on obscure street and drug-related issues, delivered with impeccable lyricism, a smoothness, raw and unstoppable flow and an energetic and hardcore delivery style, influenced by several East Coast artists. The unexpected and strong point of this debut that comes from what until the excellent test on "Marcielago" was an unknown, are the hooks: unlike most rappers in the game, the man isn't monotonous, he never gets bored and he know how to sing and play a lot on this last factor, reciting bold and captivating hooks in a sensational way.
Overall, it's a very solid project, surprising and without weaknesses, brilliant coke rap document, the result of the chemistry between the producer and the rapper, who's skilled enough to raise the rhythms offered to him: props to both for having left the album free of guests in order to raise it above the rest of the game. Cooks shines here, he even guessed the adlibs, offering an excellent performance in a crazy explosive record and being one of the brightest lights of the new generation of Tri-state MCs: although not a listening for everyone, it's among the best hip hop releases of the year, the first step of a rapper who in the next years can bring out a classic that sits happily alongside those of the veterans he's inspired by.
Highlights: "Crosses", "Break the Pyrex", "Jim Boeheim", "John $tarks", "Cocaine Cologne", "Balenciaga $tamp".
Rating: 8.5/10.
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