This album was released on May 24th this year. For those of you aren’t familiar with them, Beast Coast are a supergroup comprised of the Progressive Era & Clockwork Indigo. This is the first actual Beast Coast project, but they’ve pretty much been a thing ever since Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies & the Underachievers came out. This album is about three or four years too late in my opinion. I assumed we would never get a Beast Coast album since they didn’t capitalize on the peak of their hype. This project kinda came outta nowhere. I don’t know why they decided to do this project this year. I’m not mad at it though. What does annoy me is the fact that only five members of Pro Era are involved in this project. Chuck Strangers, Aaron Rose, Dessy Hinds, and several other members of the collective were left out. I guess having more members of Pro Era would’ve made this project too cluttered. There are already nine members involved in this project, so it may not have worked out with more of them. Anyway, I actually don’t know how I’m gonna feel about this. I was looking forward to it at first, but the reception has been kind of mixed from what I can tell. It has me a little worried. If I had to guess I’d say I’ll probably end up enjoying this album, but I’m gonna keep my expectations in check, especially since I was underwhelmed by the promotional cypher they did with Big Tigger.

1. It Ain’t Easy, It Ain’t Easy performed by Flatbush Zombies, Nyck @ Knight, CJ Fly & AKTHESAVIOR produced by Sam Wish & Tyler Dopps

I’ve been putting off actually listening to this album for a long ass time. It’s just been sitting in my library for days. I’m gonna force myself to listen to it now though. Okay, first of all, this beat from Sam Wish & Tyler Dopps is really dope. The first verse from Juice is super average. I guess his energetic delivery was cool. It wasn’t a bad verse. It just doesn’t stand out much. It was sufficient though. I wasn’t really impressed by the second verse from Erick the Architect at all either. I guess his lyrics were slightly more interesting than those of Zombie Juice, but his flow was generic and lame. It was a tolerable verse. It definitely wasn’t complete trash. Nyck Caution was okay. I really liked his aggressive delivery, but I didn’t like how he pretty much used the same exact flow as Juice. I hate how a lot of rappers emulate the flow of everyone else on the song whenever they’re collaborating. It’s lazy as hell, and almost makes their presence pointless sometimes. I had the same exact issue with Meechy’s verse. He used the same flow. Kirk started his verse the same way, but he thankfully switched it up after a few bars. Lyrically, this entire song has been very uninteresting so far. Nobody has anything important to say. CJ Fly easily had the best verse. Him and AKTHESAVIOR are really the only MCs who had nice flows on this track. They did a good job. I was very unimpressed by everyone else though. The whole song is really generic lyrically. The production was cool though. I especially liked how the beat kinda switched up for the final two verses. This is an okay song. I didn’t really start enjoying it until the last two verses started. Overall, it’s not something I’ll be returning to, but it isn’t bad. It’s just okay to me.

2. Left Hand performed by Clockwork Indigo, Nyck @ Knight, CJ Fly & Joey Bada$$ produced by Tyler Dopps & Sam Wish

This was the first single from the album. I like it. It’s far from perfect though. I like the beat a lot. It’s got a moody aesthetic, similar to that of the previous track. I like this beat more than that one though. I think the hook from Meechy is solid, but it wasn’t really necessary for a song like this with so many different MCs. They could’ve all just rapped with no hook. I think that would’ve worked better. The first verse from Nyck Caution wasn’t bad. CJ Fly’s verse was pretty good. None of his bars really stood out, but his flow was nice. Erick’s verse was average. Zombie Juice’s verse on this one was actually pretty nice. I liked his flow a lot. AKTHESAVIOR did his thing too. Kirk Knight’s verse kinda sucked, but his voice sounds good over this beat. That little bridge from Meechy Darko in which he basically just says “I don’t give a fuck” over and over again was very unnecessary. It added pretty much nothing to the track. The final two verses from Joey & Issa Gold were cool. So yeah, none of the verses were really great, but they were sufficient. Meechy Darko’s hook and bridge are easily my least favorite aspect of the whole song. They’re tolerable though. I think this is pretty good. I like the beat a lot. The production’s really the main thing I like about the song. The verses were fine though.

3. Problemz performed by Erick the Architect, CJ Fly, The Underachievers, Zombie Juice & Nyck Caution produced by Erick the Architect

This beat from Erick is pretty nice. I’ve always preferred his beats over his rapping. He’s not a bad MC though. The first verse from Erick was kinda nice. I don’t really care for his hook though. It’s fine I guess. I’m not feelin’ this refrain from CJ Fly at all. Huh. I just listened to the whole song. I actually like this one more than the previous track. I wasn’t really crazy about the hook or refrain, but I liked all the verses a lot. They actually had their own flows. They didn’t all just copy each other. You know what? The hook and refrain don’t even bother me that much. If they were performed more frequently it would’ve gotten annoying, but they aren’t recited that often. I like this one. It’s pretty good.

4. Far Away performed by Nyck @ Knight, Meechy Darko, Erick the Architect & Joey Bada$$ produced by Powers Pleasant

Oh no… I don’t like the direction in which they went with this song at all. I’m not really feelin’ the production that much, and I don’t care for the sung hook from Kirk Knight at all. This shit is soft as hell. That first verse from Meechy Darko was uh… Well, I didn’t like it.

Pussy so good, I pay another nigga’s child support
So he ain’t gotta be around no more
Pussy so good, I pay the mortgage and all her rent
Pussy so good I might just tattoo her name on my dick

The whole time I was listening to him rap there was just one word I couldn’t get out of my head, and it was “why.” This is rough… Nyck Caution’s verse was needlessly dark too. I kinda feel like they were targeting a female audience with this track, but I can’t really tell. Joey’s verse did absolutely nothing for me. Wow. I don’t like a single aspect of this song. I was not expecting to hate anything this much on this album, but I legitimately think this is terrible. I didn’t like any of the verses, but Nyck’s was definitely the most tolerable. I’m not fuckin’ with this song one bit. I almost forgot to mention Erick’s contribution to this song. He does this weird ass falsetto “singing”—I don’t even know if you can call it that—for the bridge, and it sounds awful. I’m not feelin’ this song at all. This shit is wack.

5. Snow in the Stadium performed by Erick the Architect, Joey Bada$$, Meechy Darko, Kirk Knight, CJ Fly & Issa Gold produced by Erick the Architect

I believe this was the final single from the album, but I can’t remember whether or not I actually listened to it when it came out. Hmm… This sounds kinda familiar. Maybe I did listen to it after all. I like the production a lot, but I’m not feelin’ the hook from Erick at all. The first verse from Joey was very underwhelming. Man, his performance on this album is really lackluster so far. I feel like he’s not really trying that hard. Meechy’s verse actually sounded pretty good to me. Kirk Knight’s verse was really bad though. I didn’t care for CJ Fly’s verse either. I don’t like how he was using that Jamaican accent. It sounded dumb. This entire song is clearly going for a Caribbean vibe, and it’s not really working for me. Issa Gold’s fake ass accent sounded even worse than that of CJ Fly. Yeah… I’m not feelin’ this one at all. I liked Meechy’s contribution to this song, and the production from Erick was pretty nice, but overall I’m not fuckin’ with this track. It’s wack to me.

6. Rubberband performed by Joey Bada$$ & Flatbush Zombies produced by Erick the Architect

So far the production on this album is easily outshining the actual rappers, which is kinda sad. I think all these guys are talented, but these songs just aren’t really that good to me. All the rapping seems kinda phoned in lyrically. I guess they probably wanted to save their best shit for their solo work, which is understandable on one hand. However, I thought there’d be a sense of competition like there seems to be with that third Revenge of the Dreamers compilation. That’s really what this album is lacking. This song in particular is one of the first instances in which it seems like they’re taking their verses seriously. The first verse from Joey is legitimately dope. It’s not amazing or anything—certainly not one of the best performances I’ve heard from Joey—but it’s better than a lot of the other shit he’s done on this project so far. The production from Erick is really good too. The second verse from Meechy didn’t really impress me. His delivery was just as good as it always is, but the verse didn’t do much for me lyrically. Oh my fuckin God… This hook from Zombie Juice is absolutely horrific. Jesus fuck. I cannot fucking believe this. Lmaooo. Bruh what the fuck? I’m dying laughing right now. This is hilarious, but not in a good way. Yoo… Lmao. I haven’t laughed this hard at a song in a long ass time. Wow. Well, shoutout to Zombie Juice for making me laugh and ruining an otherwise decent song at the same time. Damn, son. I’m still laughing. That shit was so bad lmaooo. I don’t know what he was thinking. That hook is atrocious though. That’s easily the worst thing I’ve heard on this album so far. His actual verse was fine. The final verse from Erick the Architect is okay. I think this song is pretty bad though. The production was cool, and I liked Joey’s verse. That’s it though. The hook is fucking God awful, and the other verses are painfully uninteresting. This shit is wack.

7. Distance performed by Joey Bada$$, Issa Gold & Erick the Architect produced by Powers Pleasant

This is one of the few songs I heard prior to actually listening to the album. I thought it was pretty good. The first verse from Joey kinda has me worried about him as an artist though to be honest. I think his 2017 album is his best work yet, but I haven’t been crazy about his recent features or his work on this album. It seems like he’s going in a more commercial direction. I could be wrong, and I truly hope that’s the case. The verse on this song wasn’t that great though. I don’t think it was bad, but lyrically it just wasn’t really impressive to me at all. He wasn’t really saying anything. The last line is the one that has me concerned though.

I do not know who they want me to be

I don’t know how I’m supposed to interpret that line. I feel like he’s trying to say that he doesn’t know what direction to take his music. I’m probably—hopefully—reading into it too much. I don’t know what else he could’ve meant by that though. Anyway, his verse was fine overall. Were the lyrics impressive? No, not at all. His flow was cool though, and he sounded good over the beat. It was sufficient. I like the production from Powers a lot. I actually really fuck with the second verse from Issa Gold. Once again, the lyrics weren’t really interesting at all. His flow and delivery sounded really goddamn good over this beat though. Erick’s verse was solid too. I think he had the best performance lyrically. Joey honestly probably had my least verse. Issa Gold had the best flow in my opinion. They were all solid though. This is easily my favorite song so far. The production was great and they all sounded really good over it. As I mentioned multiple times before, they weren’t really saying anything in the verses. This shit is great sonically. I fuck with it. It’s dope.

8. Bones performed by Clockwork Indigo & Nyck @ Knight produced by Erick the Architect

The beat on this track isn’t bad. I’m not crazy about the hook from Zombie Juice, but it isn’t bad. The first verse from Issa Gold was pretty cool. That line about how he loves cornrows on a girl like Nelly was kinda funny, and I like how he took a shot at 6ix9ine. The little quatrain Juice had right after him was nice too. I liked his flow, and his delivery sounded good. Nyck’s verse was kinda fire. I loved the way he was rhyming and his flow was great. I just wasn’t crazy about the pauses between each couplet. Erick actually had one of the best verses in my opinion. His flow was great, and the way he was rhyming was impressive too. Meechy easily had the best verse on this song. His flow, delivery, and energy in general were great. AKTHESAVIOR had a pretty good verse too. Kirk Knight’s verse sucked, but it was tolerable I guess. I feel like he really fell off. I enjoyed his first album quite a bit, and Black Noise was okay. That last one he dropped was a dud though. Anyway, this song is pretty good overall. It’s not as good as the previous one in my opinion. I didn’t really care for the hook, and the verse from Kirk wasn’t very good either. The beat was solid though, and I enjoyed all the other verses. It’s a good song.

9. Puke performed by Nyck Caution, Erick the Architect, Meechy Darko, AKTHESAVIOR & Joey Bada$$ produced by Erick the Architect

I kinda love this beat from Erick. It’s really great. The intro from Nyck was cool. At first I thought this was gonna be some really emotional stuff based on the way Nyck started it off, but it really isn’t. They’re just rapping about how they cut off their fake friends. The second verse from Erick was cool, and Meechy sounds like a fucking monster on that third verse. He killed it. He definitely had my favorite verse on the song. The final two verses from AK & Joey were solid too though. I’m not really into the outro from Joey & Meechy, but it isn’t bad enough to ruin the song. Nyck & Meechy definitely had my favorite verses on this song. None of them were bad though. I really liked the beat a lot too. This is another good song. I fuck with this one.

10. Desperado performed by Meechy Darko, Joey Bada$$, Zombie Juice & Kirk Knight produced by Powers Pleasant

The beat on this track is solid. I’m not crazy about this hook from Meechy Darko. It’s okay I guess. I’m not really feelin’ Joey’s verse. It isn’t bad. It just didn’t impress me at all. I was indifferent towards it I guess. Everything he said went in one ear and out the other. Juice’s verse was wack to me. His flow was boring, and the autotuned ad-libs sounded terrible. Kirk’s verse did absolutely nothing for me. It was better than Juice’s verse though in my opinion. Yeah, this song didn’t do it for me. I don’t think it’s trash. I like the beat. The production is pretty much the only aspect that I like though. The verses didn’t impress me, and I didn’t care for the hook. This is mediocre to me.

11. One More Round performed by Meechy Darko, Erick the Architect, Nyck Caution & Joey Bada$$ produced by Powers Pleasant

Oh God… Oh… Oh no… Why… WHY? They’re singing throughout this whole song. This shit is terrible. The first verse from Meechy Darko sucks, and the refrain from Erick sounds like shit. The content of this song is kinda cool, but they don’t really dive into the subject that well. They’re just singing very poorly about alcoholism. I don’t even really like this beat from Powers. It’s super generic. This hook from Joey is wack as hell too. Goddamn. This song is trash. The final verse from Meechy is definitely the worst part of the song. His singing is awful. Yeah, this is definitely the worst song on the album so far. I hate it. This shit is wack af.

12. Coast / Clear performed by Joey Bada$$, Flatbush Zombies, Nyck @ Knight & Issa Gold produced by Powers Pleasant

I think this was the second single from this album. I listened to it when it dropped, and I hated it. Now that I’ve listened to it again, I can say that it’s better than the previous song. That really isn’t saying much though. I just really don’t like the Poppy direction they went in with this song. It’s cool of them to try to be versatile. It just didn’t really come together well for this song in my opinion. I don’t care for the sung hook from Kirk Knight, although I’m glad they got him to sing it instead of anybody else in the collective. I don’t really know why there’s a slash in the title of this track because it’s only one song. At no point does it switch up at all. The first verse from Joey sucked. He sang the entire verse. It wasn’t good. Meechy’s verse was awful too. None of the verses on this song are good though. I didn’t really care for the beat either. This song is terrible. Nyck Caution sounded a lot like J. Cole for some reason. That was weird. The best part of this song is the hook, and I don’t even fucking like the hook. This shit is wack af.

13. Last Choir performed by Meechy Darko, Nyck @ Knight, Erick the Architect & AKTHESAVIOR produced by Kirk Knight & IZAÏAH

I like the beat on this song a lot, but I’m not feelin’ this intro from Meechy at all. The first verse from Kirk Knight is as average as it gets. I kinda wish he would’ve switched up his rhyme scheme instead of using the same one for the entire verse. It was very dull lyrically. I feel the same way about Erick’s verse, although it was slightly better lyrically. The sung hook from Nyck sounds surprisingly good to me. The way his layered vocals are harmonizing sounds really nice. The final verse from AKTHESAVIOR did absolutely nothing for me, and I didn’t care for that bridge Meechy had either. Damn. This song kinda sucks. I like the production, and the hook was cool, but other than that this was very underwhelming. I think this song is mediocre.

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Wow. This is not good. I’m kinda surprised by how weak this album is. I think the best word to describe this project is “tedious.” There’s absolutely nothing interesting or exciting about this project, which is sad considering the amount of talent here. I gotta get one thing that’s been bugging me out of the way before I continue talking about this album though… What the fuck happened to CJ Fly? I mean, why the hell did he completely disappear after the fifth track? What’s up with that? He contributed some of the best parts of the first few songs, so why was he only on 4 out of 13 tracks? I think him and Nyck Caution probably had the best performances on the project. I honestly forgot CJ Fly was even involved by the time I was done with the album though. I don’t know why, but this album felt long as shit to me. It’s less than fifty minutes in length, but I felt like I was listening to it for like an hour. I think the biggest issue I have with this album is the lyricism. These dudes said absolutely nothing throughout the whole project. I’ve been having that issue with the members of Clockwork Indigo for the past couple of years now. It’s kinda like the issue I’ve had with Logic recently. Well, I mean, Logic’s lyrics are actual shit these days, but about a year or two ago they were just painfully uninteresting. That’s how I feel about Clockwork Indigo right now. They don’t have anything to say. I haven’t had that problem with Pro Era before, so it was disappointing to hear them saying nothing worth noting at all here. It’s nothing but a bunch of mundane filler bars. This album is pure mediocrity. There were a handful of songs I liked, but there weren’t any that I loved. I don’t regret listening to it, but if you’ve never enjoyed anything from these guys in the past, this’ll probably make you dislike them even more than you already do. This thing is mediocre.

Favorite Song: Distance
Least Favorite Song: One More Round

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Watch the video below for more thoughts on this album