(Benchmark)

As soon as I saw this album in circulation, I got pumped. Why? Well, first of all, it’s a 6th Man release, one of my favourite crews in the rap game, and secondly, Crotona is one of my favourite MC’s in general. I love all of his drops, and this one is no different! So let’s talk about it!

This is the brand-new album by 6th Man soldier Crotona P, and bringing with him are the producers of the crew:

-Shade Cobain

-Murda Megz

-Freakshow

-DJ City Rich

-Silverback Lauren 

-Van Gunz

And cuts from DJ City Rich & DJ Cut Supreme 

This project came together to celebrate the production power of 6th Man. I’m very familiar with most of these names, and I can say with confidence that these beat makers deserve all the credit and more as they have delivered some of the hottest drops I’ve heard in the past few years!

Whether we are talking Shade Cobain with his smooth Spanish guitar influence, with those thudding drums and minimal bass strings that come together to create this lively intro that perfectly captures the essence of Shade ‘creative and artistic’,

Or the very next track -Believing Heathen, where we hear the one and only Murda Megz on the drop with this trademark boom-bap flavour with those intriguing vocal harmonies looped in with those grand strings and rhythmic drum beats that all come together alongside some delicate piano keys in the background to create an instrumental that you’ll want to listen to for hours!

There’s even the track -Unbelievable Truth with my main man Silverback Lauren, who I only recently discovered towards last year, and he has blown me away since. On this track, he brings a grand flavour to the beat with those choir-style vocals combined with that funky bass, sharp string progression that combines to create a marvellous tune that I found coming back to more than the others.

Each producer killed it on this one, but those were my three standout beats!

I’ve never really considered doing a ranking of my favourite 6th man MC’s from 1 to last, but I know Crotona is up there, if not at the top near it, because he has a unique ability and drive about him that I don’t hear from many others. He’s super technical, bar-heavy, no nonsense yet complex in his penmanship.

He really does have the whole package, something I’ve noticed since I first discovered him, and a point only further proven the more he drops!

On this one, he’s making sure to give us the best prime version of himself because of the nature of production. He’s making sure not to let down the men and women on the same team as him, and so he’s coming in hot and spitting some of the dopest bars I’ve ever seen up until this point!

It’s also worth noting that he’s rocking this whole thing solo. We’ve heard on former albums him

rocking with some of his rapper crew as features and on the odd occasion non-6th man names, but this time it’s purely just him and a handful of dope beats, and he more than captivated the audience with his remarkable abilities behind the mic! 

To me, Crotona sounds like a wise man trying to spread his knowledge with the world, with bars sounding more like ‘sermons’ than verses and his bars having an introspective impact that leaves you pondering about the words said! One of the many reasons I hold him high on my MC list!

So, what did you think of the EP? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I feel it’s some of Crotona’s best work to date, and the producers go above and beyond in the production as well! Link below! 

https://crotonap.bandcamp.com/album/benchmark