EP Review | Childish Major & Matik Estrada – Community Service

I honestly have absolutely no idea who the fuck Matik Estrada is, but Childish Major is one of my favorite producers. One of the first songs that I ever heard him produce (like most other people) was U.O.E.N.O. by Rocko. I’m pretty sure that it’s the first big hit song that he ever produced. After that he released two singles called Childish Feat. Curtis Williams & Catfishin’ Feat. Jace. He is also a pretty good singer. Childish is pretty much just an R&B song with a rap feature. I fucking love that song. That song is definitely dope af. Catfishin’ is dope too, but Jace just isn’t as good as Curtis Williams. I still really like that song tho. I’m expecting a lot from this project. I wasn’t even expecting to review this; I just discovered it a few minutes ago. It came out in March this year. Every song is produced by Childish Major. I’ll name any co-producers that might’ve helped with any particular song. I’m expecting a ton of amazing beats and good (not great) rap verses from featured artists… Or whoever Matik Estrada. I hope he doesn’t ruin this shit for me…

Track 1: Direction

This is just a 50-second-long intro to the project. The beat is just the layered vocals of some chick & Childish Major sayin’ “left, right” a ton of times. It might actually just be Childish Major. He has kind of a high voice… The beat’s nothing special. It’s not bad. It’s real simple. He’s just singin’ about how he’s lost and he needs the lord to show him the way or some shit like that I think. Matik Estrada doesn’t make an appearance. Nothing about this song is bad, but it just doesn’t really stand out in any way. It’s average. It does it’s job as an intro I guess. It’s okay. 3/5

Track 2: Profit

This beat is fucking amazing. How the fuck is Childish Major not one of the most famous producers right now. I swear the best producers are so under appreciated. Have DJ Dahi & Childish Major made a beat together yet? That would be so fucking dope. Matik Estrada is rapping about money. Yup. That’s it. The song is called Profit, so it makes sense. Rapping about money isn’t that big of a problem, but this would’ve been ever better if he hadn’t chosen such a typical and generic topic. It’s really not bad, but every time somebody raps about shit like this it just feels like a waste of time. Matik’s bars are nothing special. They’re better than that of most Trap artists I guess. If you think Trap music is good, you’ll think this is incredible. This hook is fucking great. The shit he’s saying isn’t that impressive, but Childish Major is singin’ in the background and it just sounds so fucking good. I think that’s Childish Major. It might not be. Sonically, this song is absolutely incredible. The topic isn’t that interesting, but Matik doesn’t do a terrible job. He does well enough for me to classify this song as dope af. The way Matik’s rapping kinda reminds me of Rich Homie Quan. Mostly because of the way he speaks. He barely finishes his words. If he were to say something like, “Bitch, quit playin’ and suck this dick,” it would sound more like, “Bih, quiplain in sudidit.” Fuck. The beat is fucking crazy. Sonically, this song is fucking incredible. It would be nothing without Childish Major tho. This is seriously as close to a 5 as a song could get without being a 4. 5/5

Track 3: Family Matters

Childish Major is singin’, “Young World, I know you feel my pain.” I have a feeling that they’re actually gonna try to make a song about some real shit. This beat is smooth as SHIT. Matik’s talkin’ about his relationship with his father and his “half-sister.” Maybe it’s his step father. This first verse is good. It’s not complicated like an El-P or Earl Sweatshirt verse, but he’s at least talkin’ about some shit that he should care about. It’s not exactly relatable (he has a bad relationship with his sister and a good one with his dad; I’m the other way around), but it’s still a much more interesting topic than the first song. The hook is nothing special. The beat is dope. Wow. I thought his name was pronounced “Mah-Teek,” but it’s literally “Mat-Ick.” This whole song is about his relationship with his family members. This feels like the first time that I’ve listened to a project where the titles of the songs actually make sense. The first verse is about his dad and his sister and the second verse is about his mama and his uncle. The beat just switched up. This is crazy. He has a long ass verse now and it’s dope af. He’s pretty much just rappin’ about “the struggle” now. It’s a pretty common subject, but he did a pretty good job with it. I fuck with this. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 4: Imagine That

This beat is dope. The first verse isn’t bad. It’s cool I guess. Oh God… This hook is… bad. I think that’s Matik singin’ the hook. It isn’t high enough to be Childish Major’s voice. It’s not good. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s just not good. You might like that shit, but it’s bad to me. I don’t know why he didn’t just get Childish Major to sing the hook. Okay, I’m finna have to abbreviate Childish Major as CM because there is no way I’m gonna be typin’ that shit out every time I’m tryin’ to say his name. Matik’s flow is cool on the second verse, but I just can’t take this hook and the shit he’s sayin’ really ain’t that interesting. The hook just ruins it. The beat’s cool, but it ain’t good enough to save this track. It’s alright. If you can get through the hook then you might like it, but I can’t. If he wasn’t tryin’ to sing on the hook then I would give it a 4, but I’m gonna have to drop it down one level. 3/5

Track 5: Run & Shoot Feat. Blaze Servin

Who the fuck is Blaze Servin? I don’t know who these people are. This beat is fucking great. The first verse wasn’t bad. God. I’m getting bored. Matik just seems like one of the most average rappers ever. He’s not nearly as bad as Troy Ave or Mark Battles, but he’s just there. He’s just sayin’ shit. I just don’t really care what he has to say, even when he’s sayin’ less typical shit. This guy Blaze Servin’ is rappin’ now. Did this just turn into a Trap song? That’s what it feels like. This hook is cool I guess. This is just so underwhelming. I like the beat, but that’s pretty much it. It’s alright I guess. 3/5

Track 6: C’mon, Feet (Interlude)

Childish Major’s just singin’ “Keep on runnin'” over and over again. There’s no reason to keep this song. Should I rate this? It is music, but it doesn’t feel like a full song and it’s labeled as an interlude. Nah. I won’t… I woulda gave it a 1 if I did tho.

Track 7: Keep Running Feat. Big K.R.I.T. & Curtis Williams (Co-Prod. Try Bishop)

Curtis Williams is a member of the group, Two9, which is signed to Mike WiLL Made It’s label, Ear Drummers Entertainment. I mentioned them in my Ransom review and also in my review of The Rap Monument. The only member of Two9 that seems to not suck ass is Curtis Williams. I’ve never listened to a project from Two9 and I probably never will unless they release a fucking incredible single. Big K.R.I.T. is one of my favorite rappers. This should be good. I’ll be surprised if this ends up being wack. K.R.I.T.’s on the first verse. This beat is great. K.R.I.T.’s verse was great. Childish Major’s on the hook. This is great. Matik’s on the second verse. It’s actually pretty good. The beat switched up for Curtis Williams’ verse and it’s fucking incredible. Holy shit. This is fucking great. Goddamn. This song is fucking great. The beat is crazy and all the rappers did they thing. CM did his thing on the hook. There’s not much to complain about with this song. I fuck with this shit. This shit is dope af. 5/5

Track 8: Ready When You Are Feat. BB Rose

I don’t know who BB Rose is. Oh God. Nah. I don’t like the way she’s singing. Her voice ain’t bad, but she’s like makin’ her voice sound real bouncy and it just sounds awful. I don’t know how to describe it. It goes up and down really quickly at the end of each bar. That’s really the best way to describe it I think. It’s not good. Matik is singin’ now. He actually sounds pretty good. Jesus. BB Rose just sounds so fucking terrible. Hell fuckin’ no. This is terrible. FUCK. The beat was really simplistic. I really hated BB Rose’s part. Matik really wasn’t that bad, but he only had a really small part. This really feels like a BB Rose song featuring Matik Estrada. She just kept saying “Ready when you ARE!” It got pretty annoying after a while. It’s not good. I don’t like anything about this shit. Matik’s singin’ wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that great either. The beat is nothing special. This is one of my least favorite topics for a song. I hate BB Rose’s singing. I’m not feelin’ this fuckin’ shit at all. This shit is wack af. 1/5

Track 9: I.O.U. (Runaround) Feat. Jace

Jace is one half of the rap duo, Retro Sushi, which is part of Two9. I already kinda mentioned what I think about him. I think that’s him on the first verse. “She want love, I WANT THAT THANG!” Nah. I’m not gonna like this. The beat isn’t bad, but it doesn’t really stand out. “Baby, grab yo tits for a real nigga.” Nah. I don’t like this topic. Maybe if the beat was really good and the rappers were better I would like it, but I’m really not feelin’ anything about this. The beat switched up at the end. Someone’s singin’ (Childish Major I guess), “For givin’ you the runaround.” Everything about this song is underwhelming. The lyrics, the beat, the flow… Everything. I’m not feelin’ this. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 10: The Gift Feat. Marian Mereba

“When I was growing up they all thought I’d be a scholar / The problem was that never excited me.” Wow. This is a really 2 Chainzy situation. I really don’t think “scholar” when I hear Matik rap. It is so fucking cold in my room right now. Why the fuck is it so fucking cold? Somebody turn the fucking air down. I’m gonna go check the thermostat. Oh fuck. I just went downstairs, but I forgot to check and see what the air was on. I got sidetracked and got myself a cheeseburger. Fuck. Whatever. I don’t feel like going back downstairs. This burger is pretty good. Nothing special tho. This beat isn’t bad. Matik is doin’ his thing. What he’s sayin’ isn’t amazing, but it’s not that bad. All Marian Mereba does is sing in the background. This is kind of a boring song. It’s really not bad, but it just doesn’t stand out to me. Not for me. It’s definitely worth checkin’ out tho. It’s okay. 3/5

Track 11: This Side (Co-Prod. Eric Jamal)

This beat is dope. Matik did his thing on the first verse. I don’t know about that hook. It’s cool I guess, but I just don’t like the way the beat keeps droppin’ out. I think that’s Childish Major singin’ on the hook. His vocals sounds way too loud. “Yeah we gettin’ money on this side nigga.” I don’t know. This isn’t that bad, but it just isn’t grabbing me. I’m not impressed. I like the beat, but other than that this is just… Meh. I don’t say that shit often ’cause it’s kinda lame to me, but… meh. This is just not that great. It’s alright I guess. 3/5

Track +1: Childish Feat. Curtis Williams

Childish

This song isn’t on the project, but I really need an excuse to tell people how dope it is. Matik Estrada had nothing  to do with this song (which might be why it’s so dope). The beat is just so fucking smooth and dope and it’s fucking crazy. CM is singin’ and the shit is just so fuckin’ smooth. I don’t even usually like shit like this, but… The shit is just so fuckin’ smooth. It makes me think of old retro video games and winter and snow and shit. I don’t even know why. I guess it could kinda be considered a love song. They are kinda talkin’ about that shit. This is like a Drake song if it weren’t soft/boring as hell and it didn’t make me feel hollow inside. Curtis Williams did his thing and the beat is so fucking dope and CM just sounds great singin’ over this shit. I fuckin’ love this song. Fuck. I feel like I just called this song dope in like 6 different ways… It’s so fuckin’ dope tho. 5/5

Track +2: Catfishin’ Feat. Jace

Catfishin'

This song is also dope af. It has a similar sound to Childish, but it’s different enough to have it’s own identity. The topic of this song isn’t that far from I.O.U. It’s just less explicit. It has a much more pleasant sound. The hook is smooth af. Man… This song is just so fuckin’ smooth. Everything about this song is smooth. Jace did his thing. I do think that Curtis Williams did a better job on Childish, but this is still dope. It’s a little more uptempo too. This reminds me of Christmas too. I don’t know why these two songs make me think of Winter, but they do and it’s fuckin’ great. I love this song. This song is dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

That was pretty disappointing. The two extra tracks that I just added up there are better than anything on this project. Even the one with Big K.R.I.T. This was incredibly underwhelming. My expectations were way too high I guess. I was expecting Childish Major to have a much larger vocal presence. He just does the outros or hooks on some of the songs. That’s pretty much it for him. Even the beats were pretty disappointing too tbh. The best beat on here was definitely Profit. I don’t feel as disappointed as I did with At.Long.Last.A$AP (mostly because I didn’t even know about this project until like 2 hours ago…), but I’m still pretty bummed out. Matik Estrada was definitely the biggest problem with this project. He’s really not that bad, but there are a ton of rappers out there talkin’ about the same shit he’s talkin’ about and most of them do it with more energy, personality and fervor. I feel like somebody just walked up to me on the sidewalk and handed me they mixtape and it just so happened to be produced by Childish Major. I’m not a fan of Matik Estrada. He’s just not very interesting. What I need is a solo project from Childish Major. If I end up gettin’ one of those I will be very, very pleased. Yup. That’d be great. You can keep Matik tho. I’m good without him. If they do another project together I’m probably not gonna check it out. Matik Estrada just isn’t very good. This project wasn’t terrible tho. Just underwhelming.

Favorite Song: Profit

Least Favorite Song: Ready When You Are

Verdict:

66%

MEH

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