Sixth studio album for Action Bronson, two years after the last one. The production is made by Harry Fraud, Tommy Mas, Budgie, AntMan Wonder, DJ Muggs, Samiyam, The Alchemist and Daringer, while the lyrics are performed by Bronson together and a few guests, Yung Mehico, rapper who also took part in the previous album by the rapper of Albanian origin, Meyhem Lauren and his brother Hologram, both in the "Mongolia" cut.
The record suggests that the album is "only for dolphins" and the cover actually represents dolphins that... I have no idea what they're doing: one of them got lost, going to "swim" in the green, and the fifth one is going to clash with the others. To our right, the grim reaper who seems to smile with its rusty bitten scythe, and there would be other elements in this interesting cover, but I can't understand what they are and what functions they have.
It matters little. The guys in production create a pleasant and enjoyable relaxed, fluid and lush jazzy soundscape for these dolphins, managing to build a cohesive, dynamic and smudge-free sound: the album ventures into funky, pop, rock ("Shredder") Latin ("Latin Grammys"), Brazilian ("C12H16N2"), jazz, soulful and even disco-dance ("Splash") sounds, with a certain eclecticism and confidence, giving a different flavor to each song. The samples are delightful, there are soulful melodic elements, horns and dolphins. The dolphins open and close their record and are everywhere, while the drum machine, lively, vibrant and honest, has the task of holding the smooth and calm delivery of the MC of Queens: the speed of his flow is evidently slowed compared to the past, his rapping is pleasant and often functional to the songs. The boy maintains the formula he has tested over the years, and most of his bars revolve around food, weed, women, braggadocio, generic topics made fun by the style and lines of the rapper, who's enjoying himself here with ease and comfort.
Solid and fun album, with sublime production and good rapping, the mixing leaves a little to be desired, but it's one of the best efforts in Action Bronson's career: this record gives me the image of Futurama's hedonistic robot, the rapper is in that mood here.
Side note: "Mongolia" deserves a separate chapter just for that ten second intro. Frank surrendered to Daniels' squad, and now he's dead, Nick surrendered to Daniels' squad too, and now he's still alive and wanted: the detectives have photos of Spiros and of "the Greek", respectively number two and one of the criminal organization of traffickers they've been hunting for months, but the few information they've in their possession is also wrong. The two will be able to escape and continue their business. After this brief intro, Bronson, Hologram and Meyhem drop a battle rap that has nothing to do with the intro.
Highlights: "Golden Eye", "Vega", "Shredder", "Cliff Hanger", "Marcus Aurelius".
Rating: 7/10.
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