This EP was released on January 13th this year in promotion of Sadistik’s upcoming album. He released an EP last year with Kno called Phantom Limbs, which I unfortunately never got around to checking out. It might still happen someday tho. The first time I ever heard him was on Castles by The CunninLynguists. I liked what I heard from him on that song, so when I saw that he released a single called Death Warrant with Tech N9ne & Sticky Fingaz from his new album at the time, I decided to check that out. That song is fucking fantastic to me. I still never checked out his album for whatever reason. A lot of dope shit came out in 2014 tho. I guess I just couldn’t keep up. So yeah. I don’t really have a lot of experience listening to Sadistik, but I love what little I’ve heard. I’m expecting this to be really good. I’ll definitely be checking out his new album when that drops, unless I end up hating this EP, but I’m 99% sure that’s not gonna happen.

Track 1: Waves (Prod. S.A.T.)

This beat is dope. The hook is cool. He’s goin’ in now. It’s kinda hard to hear his voice. It sounds like the beat is a little too loud. His flow is really dope on this. “Depends on perception, the pen can scripts tempests / My temper’s tempestuous, excellent sounds.” I’d be lying if I said that I understand what this song is about. The second verse was dope af. His flow is really dope on this track. “7 billion people, 14 billion faces, I don’t want to meet a one / I’d rather sit inside my tomb where I bloom & I ruminate / In a room with 8ths while the meter runs / Meet or run, watch the cumulus accumulate.” It’s pretty hard to explain why a song is dope when you can’t even really understand what it’s about. I enjoyed it tho. The lyrics don’t really mean much to me at the moment, and it’s entirely possible that they never will, but I can still enjoy the song at a sonic level. The beat was dope, and his flow was great. The rhyme schemes were pretty intricate too. I fuck with this song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 2: You Dead Feat. Nacho Picasso & Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire (Prod. SXMPLELIFE & Mike Device)

I’m pretty excited for this song. I’m not familiar with Nacho Picasso, but I already know that Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire is dope af, and it’s been a minute since I heard any of his shit. I’ve never listened to a full project from him, but what I have heard is great. This track is starting now. Oh fucking shit… This beat is fucking amazing. Oh my God… Okay, this is fucking dope. Nacho Picasso’s goin’ in on the first verse, and his flow is fantastic. His verse was dope. I can’t wait to hear eXquire on this beat. Sadistik’s verse was great. “Liquid liquor liver dies like live or die by thrilling benders / Instill the pressure to break the surface & build it better / I’ll William Tell em my aim is perfect & kill offenders.” I love it when he rhymes like that. He’ll always spit like 5 words in a row that all rhyme with each other. It sounds great. Oh… eXquire’s verse just ended… It was underwhelming. He had kind of a lazy flow. It wasn’t that bad of a verse… It just wasn’t that good. He definitely shouldn’t have gone last. You don’t put the weakest verse at the end of a dope song like this. He should’ve gone first. I was really enjoying this song until I got to eXquire’s verse. That was really disappointing. I still fuck with this song. His verse wasn’t even really bad. It just wasn’t that good. I like this song tho. It’s dope. The beat was crazy, and most of the MCs had great verses. 4/5

Track 3: Videodrome (Prod. Kid Called Computer)

This beat is dope. It’s really different from the other shit. It sounds kind of electronic. Sadistik’s first verse was dope. The effects on his voice sounded really dope. I would probably be closer to understanding what this song is about if I knew what the hell Videodrome was. I mean, I know it’s a movie, but I don’t know what it’s about. This makes me think of Tron tho. The way the beat switched up after the hook was dope. I might as well be listening to a different language because I have no idea what Sadistik is talking about. I enjoyed the song sonically, but I’d probably like it more if I actually understood what was happening. I can still listen to it and be entertained tho. I fuck with it. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 4: I Bought A Gun Feat. Nemo Achida (Prod. SPVCE & BK Beats)

This beat is dope af. I don’t know who this Nemo Achida guy is, but he’s rappin’ on the first verse now. It was cool. I’m not blown away, but it wasn’t bad. Sadistik’s verse was dope af. “I hear morose quotes in morse codes & moreso / There’s morsels of more souls around me / Yeah, they’re forceful & hounding.” He’s rapping about how he got a gun because he’s paranoid. I think… “Witty with the witticisms still I’m iffy if without a crowd without a doubt.” I fuck with this song. I wasn’t that impressed by Nemo Achida, but Sadistik went off, and the beat is dope af. The hook could’ve been better, but it wasn’t bad enough to ruin the track. This is dope. 4/5

Track 5: Out The Dark (Prod. Eric G.)

This beat is dope af. All of the production so far—except for Videodrome—has been really dark and airy. The way Sadistik is rapping sounds very poetic, but, again, I really have no idea what he’s talking about. “Bliss turned into misery; turned into twister / Twister turned to blizzard / Blizzard burned and turned to flood to wash away the winter / And since I’ve learned to search the mud & walked away the victor.” The hook is dope. This second verse is dope af. “I’m out the dark, fingers think they’re spider limbs / Crawl around her body, sink inside her skin / They place their eggs inside, creating aches & sighs / Don’t exorcise my demons make em extra-sized.” The way he uses words with each other is so dope. The average MC can’t rhyme like this. “So picture this image is grim, but I can’t say it’s brightening / Although the lightless days are lightening / But not like light the way light lightning strike / More light lighten weight like lightening.” There are just so many dope lines… I don’t even know what they mean, but the way he uses these words with each other is just amazing to me. It really just sounds like some random guy reciting poetry that happens to flow over a beat really well. I definitely fuck with this shit. The music video was average. Sadistik looks like my old Theology teacher if he turned into a stoner and stopped cutting his hair. This song is dope af. 5/5

Track 6: Mourning Glory (Prod. Eric G.)

This beat is dope af. I can tell that the shit he’s rapping about is really dark, but I still don’t really understand any of it. The first verse was great. Oh shitfuck. The way this beat just switched up a little bit for the second verse is great. His flow got more fast paced and everything. Goddamn. He killed that last verse. His aggressive delivery was great. I’m still not really in love with this song. It’s not really bad, but I’d have to be in a certain mood to listen to this. It’s mostly the first part. I liked the first part, but I didn’t really start enjoying it that much until the beat switched up. It didn’t even switch up that much; it’s just like the song got a much needed burst of energy from out of nowhere. The beat is dope, and the outro with uncredited vocals from Zoe Wick was great, but the first part of the song is kind of… boring. I mean, it’s good, but… It just doesn’t really stand out that much, especially among the other songs. I fuck with the song tho. Especially the second half. It’s dope. 4/5

Final Thoughts:

This EP is dope. It’s really hard to talk about it when you have no idea what he’s rapping about, but it’s still entertaining from a musical aspect. I liked the beats, although I think the production could’ve used a little more variation. The only two beats that really stand out that much are You Dead & Videodrome. I still enjoyed the production tho. Sadistik is a great writer. My problem with his music—it’s admittedly a personal problem—is that it’s so… I don’t know. Well, I’ve already said it a thousand times in this review. I have no fucking idea what he was talking about. In a way I like it because you can tell that his lyrics are very intricate and well written. It’s just a little frustrating. That’s a minor problem tho. I don’t even think he should change that. That’s who he is. Like I said, it’s a personal problem. I still enjoyed the hell out of this project, and I’m definitely looking forward to his upcoming album. Sadistik fans should definitely check it out. If you’ve never heard of Sadistik, I’d give this a shot. If you don’t like Sadistik, this won’t change your mind about him. I fuck with this EP tho. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Out The Dark

Least Favorite Song: Videodrome

Verdict:

83%

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Watch the video below for more thoughts on this project.

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