Third studio album for the Buffalo rapper Elcamino in 2020, ninth studio album for the Rochester rapper/producer 38 Spesh in the same year: second collaboration between the two artists, after "Martyrs Prayer", released in early 2020.
The tape is opened by a piano sample and a dark melodic, slow pounding drum machine and slow delivery by Elcamino. "The Avenue" is the prelude to the rest of the product: exquisite and brilliant production of 38 Spesh, excellent dark jazzy sample with slow drum, intelligently let to breathe, it's wonderful. Elcamino decides to deliver the entire track singing: the choice isn't bad from a musical point of view, his chant enters your head to stay there, but his lyrics aren't inspired, and he's not a singer, he should rap.
I expected him to kill the track, but here he dances with it. "Hold You Up" is somehow acceptable, saved by Spesh's dark and jazzy production, which places an energetic drum machine, but the rapper isn't inspired. He wants to sing and continues to sing in the following tracks, delivering mostly in rapping, but listless, lazy, barely decent, despite 38 Spesh's dark jazzy rhythms. In the fifth choice it's corrected by the autotune: the central part of the disc is very soft, weak, the production isn't fully exploited. In the latest one, 38 Spesh also steps forward in the rapping section, and helps the Buffalo MC cross the finish line on a jazzy beat with good samples.
However, this tape of 21 minutes and 9 short songs, is underwhelming. 38 Spesh builds a coherent and enjoyable production, but Elcamino seems almost not interested in rapping anymore, making his worst project so far: 2020 had to launch him definitively, I believe that by now we can say that it has not happened. Not essential, not recommended.
Rating: 5.5/10.
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