This EP was released on December 18th last year. Sylvan LaCue used to be known as QuESt. He released his mixtape, Searching Sylvan, in 2014, and it was met with critical acclaim. I remember hearing a few songs from it before it came out and thinking, “Wow.” He was rappin’ his motherfuckin’ ass off. I was afraid that it would be overlooked because his audience didn’t seem very big at the time. He managed to circumvent that roadblock by just being an amazing MC tho. He wasn’t really on too many people’s radars, so I guess it just got around by word of mouth & social media. I only knew about him because he was signed to the same label as Logic, Visionary Music Group. He has the first verse—also the best verse in my opinion—on Logic’s 24 Freestyle. He fucking murdered that shit. That’s not really relevant to this project, but I just need to make sure that y’all know about that song. Please go look that shit up if you haven’t heard it yet. Anyway, after releasing Searching Sylvan, he announced that he was no longer signed to VMG, and then he kinda went off the grid for a little bit. He came back and announced that he would now be going by his birth name instead of his original stage name. I honestly prefer the name QuESt for him, and that’s what all his shit is gonna be organized as in my iTunes library, but I don’t really give a shit if he’s calling himself Sylvan LaCue now. It’s just a personal thing. So, this EP was released to hold his fans over until his upcoming project, Far From Familiar, is released. It’s apparently a direct sequel to Searching Sylvan. Even tho I loved what I’d heard, I never actually listened to Searching Sylvan for some reason, so I’m definitely gonna have to review that shit before Far From Familiar drops. Anyway, this entire EP is produced by Fortune. It’s apparently a love story that takes place after Far From Familiar. I don’t usually like love songs very much, but I guess if he does it well I can fuck with it. I’m expecting this to be good. MAYBE it’ll be great. I don’t know.

Track 1: Drop Your Plans Feat. Venus Amor

This Venus Amor lady is singing on the intro. It sounds pretty good. The hook is dope. Oh fuck… This beat is dope af. Yes. Thank God. I’m not really familiar with Fortune’s work, but if this song is any indication, the production on this project is gonna be dope. QuESt’s goin’ in now. This production is really good. The first verse was dope. Again, I’m not really into songs about relationships and shit that much, but this is still good. I obviously don’t enjoy it as much as someone who generally likes that type of music, but I’m still fuckin’ with this. I liked his melodic delivery on the first verse. If you’ve heard QuESt’s voice, you should know that that shit shouldn’t work, but it actually sounds fine. He’s singing on the bridge and it somehow doesn’t sound horrible. The last verse was dope. I fuck with this shit. This was a pretty good way to open up the project. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 2: 1st Flight To Oakland

He starts goin’ in as soon as this track starts. Okay, it sounds like he’s traveled from Miami to Oakland to see his girl. “As soon as you try to get ready for work I’m like, ‘Call in that bitch and come up with excuses’ / I’ll get the coffee; let’s talk about what you’ve been planning / I’m only here for the weekend, no way Ima take you for granted.” The beat is dope. Damn. He killed that second verse. The second verse is dope af. This is a real short track—it’s barely two minutes—but it’s still really good. The final verse was fantastic, and so was the production. I’m kinda glad he kept it concise. This track doesn’t need to be any longer than it is. He already killed the second verse. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track 3: FaceTime & Chill

This track opens up with a voicemail from this chick that QuESt is in love with. Well, I don’t know if he’s actually in love with her, but you know what I mean. This is exactly what I do NOT like about shit like this. This is just so… Uh… I don’t know. Sappy? It’s just like… I don’t even know how to describe it. If this message was left for me, I would’ve been like “Oh God… LEAVE ME ALONE. Why is this chick even tryin’ to talk to me?” “I don’t wanna go so long without seeing each other; I think it hurts us.” Uuuhhh. Yuck. I hate shit like that. It hurts “us?” Fuck that shit. I feel fine bitch. I got zero injuries.You can leave me the fuck alone. Maybe I just hate relationships in general. I’ve been goin’ off about this voicemail and the song hasn’t actually even started for real yet. “It’s the only time I can get away with some Drake shit.” Oh no. That means I’m not gonna like this shit. Well, at least he was honest about it. His flow on the first verse was cool. The shit he’s rappin’ about REALLY isn’t for me tho. Oh God. Not another voicemail… “It’s just like a matter of us both putting in the same effort, you know? Like we both have to really, really work at this.” What the fuck? I guess I’ve never been in a relationship as serious as that since I’m only 17. I hope that shit never happens to me tho. Just the way she’s talkin’ about this shit is super unattractive to me. OH NOOOOOO… He’s interpolating the hook from How About Now by Drake. No. I can’t do this. Wow. I never expected to dislike a QuESt song this much. God. Nah. I can’t fuck with this shit. This shit is actually wack af. I wasn’t really impressed by the production at all. It actually sounded like a Drake beat. Is this a remix of How About Now? I can’t remember what the beat for that song is like… Whatever, it doesn’t matter. All I know is that I can’t stand this track. The shit he was rappin’ about is the definition of not for me. The voicemails just made it so much worse too. This is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 4: Caravan ’04 Feat. Linzi Jai

Linzi Jai is on the hook. For some reason I assumed that it would be a female. He did his thing. I’m not really that impressed, but the hook isn’t bad. It’s just not that good. The first verse was cool I guess. The beat isn’t bad. I don’t know… I just don’t think I’d come back to this. The hook could definitely be better. This just isn’t for me. I think fans of… Well… Drake, I guess… Drake fans would probably like this. I just can’t get into it. It’s not a bad song tho. I’m just not feelin’ it like that. It’s okay tho. 3/5

Track 5: Destiny’s Child

This is an instrumental outro. The production from Fortune on this one is dope af tho. Oh no… There are sound clips of this chick talkin’. Oh. Thank God. She’s not on some super soft relationship shit. Oh God. Never mind. “We will always have this moment.” Nah. QuESt was just like “I’m glad you’re here to share it with me.” Nah. I can’t do this. They’re talking about how he’s gonna drop Far From Familiar sometime “in the next 6 months.” This isn’t really a song, so I’m not gonna rate it. The production was dope af tho.

Final Thoughts:

Nah. I mean, it really wasn’t bad. As I said, this REALLY isn’t for me. I’m not into shit like this. I usually hate love songs. I rarely enjoy songs about relationships. This is an EP for the hardcore fans. If you for whatever reason don’t like Sylvan LaCue, you’re not gonna like this shit. If you like Sylvan LaCue, you might like this shit. If you’re into music about relationships and stuff like that, you’ll like this. Don’t take this the wrong way; I still love QuESt as an MC. It’s just this project in particular that I couldn’t really get behind. It’s not bad. Just not my cup of tea. I’m hoping that he was just getting all the soft, lovey, relationship stuff outta the way before Far From Familiar. Hopefully this means there won’t be anymore shit like this on that tape. I doubt it tho. I’m sure there’s at least one softer track on the tape. Whatever. I just can’t take a whole project of shit like this. I think QuESt’s fans should give it a try tho. If you’ve never heard of QuESt, I don’t think this would be a very good starting point. You should probably go back and listen to Searching Sylvan first, or just wait until Far From Familiar comes out. So there it is. I’m not really fuckin’ with this EP, but it’s not bad. His fans will eat this shit up. I think…

Favorite Song: 1st Flight To Oakland

Least Favorite Song: FaceTime & Chill

Verdict:

65%

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