It’s always an exciting day to review this man as he will forever have the title of being my first ever review for my website! It’s an honour I hold dearly and have enjoyed his progression of the year! So now we are back with a sequel to an already established record that I enjoyed then and assuming this will be the same if not better! So let’s talk about it!
This is the brand new EP by fellow Australian and MC Artwork Kennedy and this time joined by Producer zzxxcczz and with only five tracks and eleven minutes to impress the audience I know he has no intention of running it slow!
Across this project we hear Art go back to his no-no nonsense, in your face demeanour. I feel after all the creative endeavours he’s taken this year this was the best course of action!
A record (big or small) to just re focus his career and remind the culture what he’s capable of and when you strip back all the conceptuality and out-there ideas that at heart he’s a MC first and foremost and he’s showcasing that on this one!
I’m talking that methodically paced, gritty-toned bars filled with aggressive intent, solid structures and assertive execution that make him sound more badass than I’ve heard him yet! As I just said when you strip everything down and let him just rap over quality beats and let the man work he is capable of out-rapping your favourites on any given day or not for real!
With eleven minutes on the board, he doesn’t have any time to waste and he doesn’t! He’s in and out with enough lyricism and wordplay to fill a few records in one and as usual he’s making it look effortless!
He’s not alone this time around though, with strong MC’s in -SportsCenter Dre and -Here’s Johnny who are men I’m beyond familiar with and who match Artwork’s vibe and energy completely! Couldn’t think of a better match for him!
As far as the production goes, I was surprised to hear Artwork return to that classic, gritty boom bap classic sound! There’s no fancy instrumentation or larger-than-life build or cryptic messaging or none of that time around. As much as he has excelled in creating those vivid atmospheres in the past, for this 11 minutes we have him for he just wants to rap over some muddy and nasty production and that’s exactly what we got!
Heavy drums, plucked strings, chords from hell and enough bass to shake the world up. Only a handful of elements per song but enough to create a hardcore soundscape that is equal parts eerie and captivating all in one!
I love this production, I admire its stripped-back minimalistic approach and its key simplicity that knows what it is without trying to hide behind some deeper meaning. It’s just raw dope beats and it’s ridiculously incredible and mastered to perfection!
A fitting sequel by a duo who has the potential to be a dominating force in the game if they decide to stay linked up!
https://open.spotify.com/album/5zBJwONuIHriDbcgTxdCPV?si=D8BMUif-RGKc5-XXAdDkSw
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