The fourth chapter of the series arrives fifteen months after the previous one, but above all a semester after the release of "Flygod". After the underground success of his debut album, Westside Gunn doesn't change his comfort theme and keeps most of the time jazzy midtempo rhythms offered by Daringer, with some variations in the middle of the tape. The effort is entirely produced by Daringer. The guests are Conway, Benny, Keisha Plum, Tiona D, Smoke DZA and Stalley.
"The Cow" is one of the most difficult introductory tracks on a hip-hop album from the twenty tens, and one of the best ever in the Griselda catalog. Intro, short, without beats. Then Daringer, perfect: almost imperceptible slow and distant drum, tense, dark soundscape, left to breathe with due calm, sample from "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" by Van Der Graaf Generator. Conway starts, smoothness, clearer than ever, delivering a long, touching, vivid, slashing and deep verse, one of his most personal stanzas; is backed up by a midtempo drum that shuts off mid-verse when the hardest moment of the cut comes, and returns for the final part, with Conway sweeping away the rest of the mixtape and almost all the other albums released in the season, with the verse of the year. Westside Gunn closes the cut, his bars are purely functional, because Conway's intense verse will never leave you again, but he's perfect, he attacks at the right time and delivers like there's no tomorrow, smooth, clean, devastating in its light delivery. One of the best examples of lyricism well-done by Conway, among the highest points of his career.
"Nasty" follows, a dark jazzy rhythm founded on a piano scale that goes back and forth, wonderful, taken from Keith Jarrett's "Ritooria", Westside lets the beat breathe and speak in its place. The following joint features a fresh, dope, soulful rhythm with a loop from "As the Seasons Change" by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager, and a delivery inspired by the Buffalo rapper. Skit, then "5x a Day", another excellent spectacular midtempo jazzy piece, with Stalley spot, amazing loop from Chet Baker's "What'll I Do". "Aunt Rosie's" is the first of four consecutive tracks in which Daringer chooses to give space to guitar reefs that become central in the construction of the tracks, this one features a sample from "I-Ro-Ha No 'I'" by Godiego.
The first one is pretty discreet, "Mr. Fuji" is better, thanks to a disturbing, "falling" boom bap, dope sample from German prog rock band Novalis' "Wer Schmetterlinge Lachen Hört", with a good WSG inspired delivery and an equally good attack by Conway that evades the hook; Smoke DZA joins the brothers to end the song with an excellent raw, shiny and smooth flow. "Ringside Rocking Furs" is opened by Tiona D who sings "flygod" overbeat, then a dystopian, dark and funky rhythm starts, fed by guitar reef and by an essential drum kick, sample from Larry Coryell's "Spaces (Infinite)"; slow delivery of WSG, then halfway through the tune, Keisha Plum's entrance accompanying the rhythm to the door with a sung delivery. A Griselda posse closes the rhythms with guitar reefs, on paper it could be the banger of the record, but ends up not being it, probably the rhythm doesn't help, sample from Lesiman's "Presunta minaccia". There's a jazzy interlude with tight looped soul samples from "Call Me When All Else Fails" by Bettye Crutcher before the final cut, "Free Ike, Free Kiki", a tune of a unique fluidity with a pseudo-jazzy downtempo rhythm, tense, moody, spectacular.
Highlights: "The Cow", "Nasty", "5x a Day", "Mr. Fuji", "Free Ike Free Kiki".
Rating: 7.7/10.
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