(CHURCH)

It’s been so fucking long since I last covered this producer. A man who has always blown me away, whether that be his work with Penlordz or his beat tapes. He’s always thinking outside the box, and that practice isn’t lost on this one! Let’s talk about it!

This is the latest collaboration between MC FLUSHDRUG$, who is new to me! But his producer, Gold Matter, is someone who definitely isn’t! His last two remix tapes with Mac Miller and Joey Bada$$ were some of my favourite albums of this year, and so of course I was excited for this record. I can say it doesn’t disappoint!

How can we not start with production on this one, considering the powerhouse that’s involved with it? Gold Matter, the one who has created a bar to meet in this year alone, is back with, I’d say, some of his most melodic, harmonic, and soulful production to date! 

Honestly, after seeing that artwork for the album, I was expecting a throwback to the OFWGKTA days. It gave me the same vibes, but that wasn’t the case at all. If you could compare this record to anyone in that clique, I guess you could say Frank Ocean in that it’s definitely more ‘RnB/Soul/Funk/Lo-Fi’ instrumentation, and I love every second of it!

I love how a lot of the tracks are under a minute and capitalising on the peak attention spans and providing the most power and sonic explosion in the shortest amount of time to create maximum effect and impact! 

I also love how most of the tracks feature vocal harmonies on them. From choir style to soul extravaganzas to everything in between. Something about adding organic-sounding voice loops over a song makes it that much more lively and memorable to me, and so this album blew me away for an extra reason! 

Imagine Knxwledge mixed with Frank Ocean and then sprinkled with some J. Dilla, and that’s how this feels to me. Once again, Gold Matter is on top of his game and has provided one of the smoothest and colourful performances I’ve heard all year!

Now, onto the newcomer (for me) in ‘FLUSHDRUG$’, the man has one of the most unique vocal deliveries I’ve heard in the modern era. There seems to be no structure to his bars as it feels like he’s just going off what sounds best to him in his head at the time of recording!

A very freelance, natural/unpredictable style of performances that reminds me a bit of ODB or ironically the OFWGKTA boys in their real early days.

He’s definitely dope on the mic, I love how he can switch his energy from serious to lighthearted to loud or subtle in a flick of a switch. From one track to the next, you’ll never know which one you’ll be getting, and I love that level of diversity! 

His lyricism is chaotically beautiful, his pen game is witty and interesting, and his flow is at times abrupt and spontaneous, which is a blessing to hear since I love rappers who push the boundaries! 

I love how he takes this record on by himself with no features! Just him and the legendary producer and 14 tracks. This to me is the best thing someone could have on their music resume! Being able to carry a record solo! Features are fine, but when someone drowns their record in them, it (for the most part) can be a turn-off! So I’m glad he let his natural charisma and personality shine on this one!

If you ain’t checking this cat out, you’re definitely losing out! Behind that magnificent production, this album can’t be beaten! CHECK OUT NOW! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/1naqyzrsi8qBBD5yTqvgub?si=JqjIvb9RT1mGuDPPsDAqnQ