(EPISODE WON)

After the extraordinary Jackpot drop by SHAWBRUVAZ earlier in the year, I would be stupid not to keep my eye out and support any further drops by these guys, duo or otherwise. The other one was a generous free drop by Jackpot, and it only felt right to pay back the favour when it was time to pay for the next one. I knew regardless it was going to be a dope project, but even so, I wasn’t expecting THIS LEVEL OF HEAT. We’re gonna talk about it!

This is the brand-new album by MC/Producer INF with 21 tracks with the likes of 

-SHAWBRUVAZ

-Al Divino

-???

-HYDRO

And to say this album is lively would be the biggest understatement of the year. What started with one of the most animated and chaotic releases we ever heard in ‘TWIN BLADEZ OF DOOM’ turned into one of the most passionate and original records we’ve heard.

I want to start with the MC work first. I know I’m new to this man (or SHAWBRUVAZ), but the more I replay that album and this one, the more I understand just how energetic and powerful he is as a performer and as a lyricist!

He really is like a comic book character come to life. Each word of his comes with a realistic onomatopoeia! It’s like you can hear the ‘BOOM’, ‘WACK’, ‘WHAM’ in real life over every bar he drops! 

Not only is he incredibly animated, but the way he can weave his smooth lyricism into those incredible beats, it’s like he’s Black Mirror style plugged into the music itself and uploading his words and verses into the instrumentals themselves to create the PERFECT flow and pen game!

He doesn’t have a traditional pattern of rhyming. He doesn’t stick to the basic formula, as seems to be the standard for all Jackpot or 23Incredible artists, to literally go on their own paths and rap in their own original forms. That’s what we get from him as well!

He’s like the gun the mask shoots! His verbal bullets can hit anything and anywhere at a time! Any part of the beat he wants to target, he will! No predetermined way for him to rap. He does his own thing, and it’s fucking INCREDIBLE!

Not to mention the fact that he raps with some of the most compelling artists in the game and rocks with them as vibrantly and as fluently as ever. He ain’t just a newcomer in this shit, he’s a brother and the chemistry between the legends confirms it! Hearing him rap alongside Al and ??? Legit gave me goosebumps! 

Now to the production, this is again another WILD experience of gaming culture mixed with wavy splash boom Bap that changes everything we knew about how music is supposed to sound. It’s like he plugs all the listeners into some kind of VR atmosphere and we download all these digital sounds and samples that can be overwhelming at times due to the pure noise and duality of it all!

So many tracks have classic & nostalgic gaming samples that only the older generations would know about!

If the last record was a living comic then this is an NES console come to life! Brash game snippets combined with gritty hip hop that’s in your face, experimental, loud and unapologetic! 

The fact that he produced this himself is even more impressive to me. It’s controlled chaos ‘and I say controlled lightly’ because every second I listen to this it feels like at any moment the characters and samples are going to jump out of my headphones and drag me in!

But across the gaming world we do have various influences from 

-Funk

-Jazz

-Classical

-Soul and more. What’s also fascinating is there are plenty of tracks where he just doesn’t have any rapping! Just lets the instrumentals and the melodies vibe solo! Which I love, provides a level of unpredictability and smoothness to the album, letting the audience just enjoy the music every now and then is a genius idea!

He lets the ATMOSPHERE speak for itself and then chooses when he wants to rap (or have the features rap) such a laid back yet powerful sonic statement. He’s obviously a man who understands how the creative mind works. A man who not only cares about making a ‘rap album’ but wanting to make a score that will be remembered for years to come and can never be replicated.

As much as I can try, my words can’t possibly do this justice. It’s art in its truest form. I know some of you will say (but $44 is steep) well that was $66 for me Australian and sometimes the best art costs and I’m not trying to force anyone to buy anything but I can say that if you do invest, you’ll be listening to a one of a kind experience that you won’t forget! 

If you’re interested, head over to Jackpot Records website and you’ll find it!