38 Spesh — Interstate 38

Project number fourteen released in 2020 for 38 Spesh: the album consists of eleven longer tracks than usual, 33 total minutes, several guests including Che Noir, Ransom, Benny, Elcamino and Klass Murda and in production there are the rhythms of Streetrunner, Buckwild, Tricky Trippz, Heatmakerz and Rome on the Beat, in addition to his own.

The intro releases rap rock vibes on a Streetrunner jazzy rhythm with vibrating drum machine, the rapper seems fit and confirms himself in "Interstate", jazzy boom bap with sparkling drum, great samples and dance vibes, in which the MC delivers bars alongside the rapper of the year Che Noir. Ransom offers smooth dope delivery on Spesh's second beat, lively and robust drum and strings in the background. "Stash Box" is another production of him, jazzy rhythm, good samples, solid drum machine, the rapper flows well and welcomes Benny on a favorable landscape, here he's at home, fantastic. After a couple of plays it's not exactly clear to me what Clemm Rishad's role is in "Road Block", over a Tricky Trippz midtempo rhythm with soulful female samples, while Elcamino shows up on "Route 38", where he provides a hook in rapping, on a jazzy glossy production with dark samples, solid work by Buckwild. The Heatmakerz deliver a good beat for the seventh choice, 38 Spesh's first solo since the intro, delivering with a nice style on the vibrating drum set by the producers.

The following song is the second produced by Streetrunner, and the rapper offers discreet verses. Then, the disk suddenly collapses into a large, unseen hole in the middle of the road: until now, 38 Spesh has done 14 solid projects in 2020, practically flawless – the least successful effort is the one with Elcamino, where, singing, the rapper from Buffalo wastes the excellent rhythms created by Spesh –, then comes "The Mule". The production chosen by Rome on the Beat is right, maybe too close to trap with that oblique boom bap, honest samples, there's a hook in autotune, Spesh offers decent delivery, then comes a second singing hook and the talk-chant delivery of Klass Murda: the track is bad, probably the worst of the year by 38 Spesh. The following two songs show that this was a casual slide, on the following jazzy rhythms ("Under the Table", by the rapper from Rochester, is without drum; "Made It Home", by Streetrunner, is midtempo with a female soul sample), Spesh straightens the record.

A smudge, but the rest is a typical 38 Spesh release: the first part is very solid, the second isn't completely necessary. Recommended for fans of the Empire State scene.

Highlights: "Intestate", "Toll Booth", "Stash Box", "Route 38", "Under the Table".

Rating: 7/10.