This EP was released on August 21st this year. The last full project I heard from Audio Push was 2013’s Come As You Are mixtape, which had a lot of songs that I really fucked with. They initially broke into the industry with that Teach Me How to Jerk song, but eventually established themselves as legitimate lyrical MCs. That song they dropped with the LA Leakers in 2014 called Juveniles is fucking awesome. That’s besides the point though. Obviously it’s been a minute since I gave them a shot, but I think I’m gonna like this shit. They were involved in that One Week Notice project, which was pretty solid. This definitely isn’t gonna be one of the best projects of the year, but I doubt I’ll regret checking it out. I unfortunately don’t have the production credits, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

Tracklist

1. Tribe Color featuring Bri Ariel
2. No Regrets
3. Sunday School
4. January 1st
5. Eternity
6. The Tendency
7. A 2 Z Interlude
8. Daps N Pounds

Once again, I’m switching up my format for this review. I like trying different things as you can tell, and I’m not really sure if I’ve found the right style yet. Don’t be surprised if the way I review shit keeps changing. Anyway, the first song starts with a message from one of the members talking about how this is gonna be a smooth project to smoke to, and not a Trap influenced onslaught of hard hitting percussion and aggressive flows. The first song sets the tone for the rest of the project, and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. The production was smoother than a motherfucker. I felt like I was chillin’ in a forest surrounded by ewoks. The introductory vocals from Bri Ariel sounded pretty nice. The verses are pretty bare-bones. They don’t really say anything that interesting. It’s not that kind of song. It kinda reminds me of Spottieottiedopaliscious. I don’t really like that song, but this track was pretty entertaining to me. It’s dope.

The beat on No Regrets is absolutely gorgeous. It kinda reminds me of something that one of these new school Chicago rappers would spit over. I could see Noname or Saba using it. I don’t really know which voice belongs to Oktane. I don’t know the two members of Audio Push by their voices yet. I think that’s Pricetag on the first verse though. He did his thing. The second verse from Oktane was pretty solid too. It’s a more satisfying song than the intro just because it has a more complete structure. It’s a dope song. The beat on Sunday School is really smooth. As anyone can predict from the title, it’s a song about the two rappers’ church experiences. The first verse from Pricetag was really good. I guess if you don’t really care about their time in church the song won’t impress you. I think it’s really well crafted though. Oktane’s verse was completely off topic. He started rapping about how he fucked some random girl right before church. It was fine I guess… The song itself is decent, but I don’t know how much I’ll be returning to it. It’s not that different sonically from the previous song. I probably won’t ever listen to it again, but it’s not bad. January 1st is all about wanting to restart a relationship.

Can we start fresh like January 1st?

I like the production a lot. The first verse was cool I guess. I just don’t really care about the content that much. It’s definitely not bad though. I don’t mind the melodic hook at all, and the second verse was solid. So far all of the songs have ended with a snippet of a conversation that hints at what the following track is about. I think that’s a pretty good way of transitioning between each track. January 1st is another solid track that isn’t really bad to me. However, it lacks replay value. I won’t be returning to it.

Eternity is actually pretty goddamn nice. It’s about how humans are basically set up to fail by God. In other words, it’s unfair how humans burn for an eternity for a lifetime of sins. The first verse from Pricetag is great. I think that’s him on the first verse. I might be wrong though. Again, I still haven’t learned their voices. I like the piano-driven production. The second verse seemed kind of hotep-ish, but it wasn’t too bad. I like the way the song is structured. There aren’t really any aspects of the song I have a problem with. It’s not super amazing or anything, but I enjoyed it. The Tendency is about being an asshole to women. I mean, whoever that is on the first verse and hook is goin’ in about how he lies to his significant other and is generally a poor choice for a romantic partner. The track even starts with the sound of a woman crying. The first verse is fine, and the hook is decent. The second verse wasn’t bad. It’s an okay song. It’s kinda fucked up, but the light production is pleasant. It just doesn’t really stand out that much from the rest of the project. It’s definitely not bad, but I don’t think I’d ever come back to it. The A 2 Z interlude is even more like Spottieottiedopaliscious than the first song. I don’t care about anything that was said in this track. It’s another pleasant track sonically. There’s no reason for me to return to it though. Daps N Pounds is the most upbeat song on the project. The first verse was pretty enjoyable. Again, none of the lyrics are really that interesting. It was a solid verse though. The second verse was cool too. It’s another song that I’d say is slightly above average, but it’s still not good enough to make me come back. It’s definitely not bad though. I just won’t ever listen to it again.

This is an okay project. None of the songs blew me away, and you pretty much know what to expect from the entire project after listening to the first two tracks. It’s a solid listen though. It definitely wasn’t a waste of time. If you’ve ever heard anything from Audio Push you should kinda know what to expect from this project. Well, I guess that’s not completely true. This project is smoother and more laid back than a lot of their other work. They’re not really rapping differently though. Nobody’s gonna remember this project by the end of the year to be honest. It’s a decent listen, but I think they can do better. It’s just alright.

Favorite Song: No Regrets
Least Favorite Song: January 1st

C