You’d have to be living under the biggest rock in history to have missed this man’s dominance of 2025. Literally releasing a new album every month for a total of 12. An extraordinary effort to say the least, and it seems he’s back to kick it right back where he left off! So, let’s get into it!
This is the brand new (and if I’m not mistaken) his second drop of the year by MC P-Ro, who this time around is back with one of the dopest beat makers in the underground, Chuck Chan! Together they drop a solid 13 tracks with the likes of
-GeneralBackpain
-G-Fam Black
-New Villain
-Sankofa
-Chuck Chan
-Tali Rodriguez
-OGBenGrimm
The usual cast of hip-hop bandits I’d expect to hear on a P-Ro record, and they all come just as strong as they always have, never letting a brother down!
I want to discuss Chuck Chan first. He’s a name I haven’t covered in ages. I actually forgot what the last album of his I reviewed was! Regardless, he’s always hitting home runs on the production, and this time is definitely no exception as he finds a way to match the energy and atmosphere that suits P to a tee!
Across these 13, we hear a spacey and gritty execution of Boom Bap with a lot of different twists and turns to help make every song feel unique!
For example, the track -Heavy Shading that feels like a haunted house turned rap battle! You’ve got those long chord progressions that have a creepy vibe to them that start off high pitch and progress lower register in a true horror fashion. You’ve got those second-layer chords in that shrieking sound as well as those methodically paced drums to wrap the whole song up!
Or we have the track -Fingerprints, which despite the heavy-handed features, has what feels like an acoustic vibe to it! You’ve got the combination of those plucked strings with what sounds like an orchestral Jazz Horn pattern in the back of the acoustic parts!
There’s also some light bass that comes in and places itself across this track. A truly grand execution on this one!
The song -Metallic Markers has one of the more soulful interpretations of the whole album! It’s a combination of this angelic vocal snippet, light jazz horns, some wavy chord progressions that sound like they have an echoing effect to them, and some groovy drum patterns that make this feel like a 90’s homage beat! It’s truly magnificent!
Chuck Chan nailed the kind of aesthetic you’d want from a P-Ro album, and he’s a welcoming addition to what I assume is going to be an ever-growing catalog of P’s in the coming months!
Speaking of the main man himself, we have P-Ro, who is determined to continue his dominant streak alive in the new year and doing so with the same trademark qualities that got him where he is today!
I’m talking about that raspy, intense voice he utilises to make every word feel like an explosion on the beat. His no-nonsense vibe adds emphasis to everything he does, helping to add that extra spark to his bars.
When it comes to his lyricism, I love the fact he’s authentic. Some bars are personal and vulnerable, some are in your face and brash, and others are straight thinkers or just hip-hop bragging bars to keep you on your toes!
He’s nothing but being himself, and that includes spitting what’s on his mind at any given moment. You can feel his honesty, feel his emotions, and thought processes as they come! That’s the kind of MC I fuck with heavily because for better or for worse, you know he’s the real deal (very similar to The Bad Seed) and how organic he is.
Across these tracks, I haven’t heard P sound more confident than he is now! He has a certain level of aura to his cadence, a type of accomplished energy that I don’t think I’ve heard before!
It would make sense considering the year he had! But he just sounds vibrant and verbally more destructive all in one (which is super dope to hear).
I love the chemistry he has with all his brothers in sonic arms; they all once again come through for him as he does them! And it makes for yet another entertaining batch of feature verses that provide tons of replay value!
Another SOLID performance by P-Ro and Chuck! I’m sure they’ve worked in the past, but this is my first time hearing the magic, and I hope it’s not the last!
https://p-ro.bandcamp.com/album/2nd-coat
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