This album was released on July 30th this year. The East Hampton Polo Boys are a duo comprised of producer Panels and MC Scorcese. I have next to no experience with either of these artists, so I’m kinda going into this thing blind. I heard a couple of the singles though, and I really enjoyed what I heard, so I’m pretty sure I’m gonna fuck with this.

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The first song is called Zelda Wynn Blades. The production from Panels on this one is very smooth and luxurious sounding. It kinda reminds me of something Rick Ross would rap over, or maybe Westside Gunn. The song has a very straightforward structure. It’s just one verse from Scorcese. I feel like the beat kinda evolved as the song progressed. It didn’t really have a major switch up or anything, but it also didn’t just sound like one incessant loop. The verse from Scorcese is dope.

Hoppin' outta fresh Benzes
Money long like Mutombo twin index fingers
Polo Boys move, we action figures
Fly accessories, our ratchets plastic
Move with pizzazz for the masses
Motivate thugs like Jeezy told us
Your cowards greedy, bogus
Paper soldiers, maintain your focus

It’s definitely not a highlight for me on this album, but I do like it. I think it’s pretty good. The following track is called Columbian Cough Drops. The production on this track is also very light and pretty sounding, but I think it’s a lot catchier than the opening instrumental. Scorcese’s flow feels way bouncier here too. I love the way he was talking shit here.

If it's 'bout money, then bring me a loan
But if you're talkin' 'bout nothing, my nigga leave me alone
Hustlin' in my genes, swear my dreams Maurice Malone
Gucci cologne; one hug, your bitches is gone

The hook on this track is pretty dope too. I also really liked the second verse. Particularly the line about having his team hit you in the kidney with a steak knife. That was cold. I think the song is really dope overall. It’s definitely one of the better tracks in my opinion. It’s followed by Buddha Jumps Over a Wall. The production here is even better than that of either of the preceding songs in my opinion. It’s a lot more hard hitting and fast paced, but it still feels kinda smooth. I really like the way Panels chopped that sample. The song has pretty much the same exact structure as the opening track. Scorcese is rapping the whole time.

Lorde Jones cool breeze refresh you like curacha
Slow it down muchacha
You puppies gettin' lockjaw
Bitin' other corny niggas now, where's your papa?

Overall I think the song is pretty good, and I like how it ends with that audio clip of Sean Price. This is a good transition into STFU, which itself is an ode to Sean Price, who had a song of the same name.

I feel like Scorcese’s rhymes in this song were a little Sean Price-esque.

Mt. Kilimanjaro
Four fire arms that hit, callin' me Goro
The back smack forceful
The cash grab Baghdad, the black mask Zorro
Uppercut your chin, body blows for your torso
Fuck your fishscale up, Guillermo del Toro

Well, it’s probably more his flow than anything. That might not have even been intentional. It might just be me subconsciously reaching for something that isn’t there, but it is something I thought about. Just read those lyrics and imagine Sean Price’s voice saying it. The production here from Panels is really nice. The percussion just feels a bit more hard hitting here than it is on the preceding few songs. The references to Twista & the Speedknot Mobstaz were cool. I didn’t think anyone aside from myself even remembered that the Speedknot Mobstaz existed. Anyway, the hook on this song is pretty simplistic, but it serves its purpose well enough. The second verse was really dope too. That line about smothering someone with a pillow and using their last breath as an ad-lib was crazy. It’s definitely one of the better songs on the album in my opinion. I think it’s dope. The following track is called Expensive Steak Aroma. This song immediately caught my attention because Panels flipped the same sample that Black Milk used on Blade: The Art of Ox by Cannibal Ox. It’s probably my least favorite song on the album to be honest. I definitely like the sample, but I’d kinda just prefer to listen to the Cannibal Ox song. This is also the longest track on the project, so it gets kinda old by the time it’s over. With all that said, I definitely do actually like the song to some extent. I think it’s good. It’s just not as entertaining as the others to me. Scorcese was still rapping pretty well here though.

We molotov blowin' up, becoming bosses
Wins and losses like Meek say
The meek shall inherit nothing
The bible lied, you lookin' for Babylon
The battle's on, you tell the truth then babble on

This track is followed by a major highlight for me called Return of Kinshin Liger, which was released as a single ahead of the album’s full release.

The beat here sounds a lot like something Ka would rap over to me. The percussion here is very minimalistic. I like how this song is structured too. Scorcese’s just rapping the whole time with no hook or bridge or anything like that.

Lorde Jones 3000, I'm an outcast
Your bitch love me, my visage on her mousepad
Plus the screensaver
Love polishin' the king's saber
And she the mule, play it cool for these green acres
We risk takers, bet it all then double down
Stomp your mother out, screamin' "what now?"
Bumpin' Pac's Dear Mama

The beat sounds like music from a crime film or something. It’s like the music that’d play in the background as the plot is thickening. The song is relatively short, but it’s easily one of my favorites on the project. I don’t have any gripes with it. I think it’s dope as hell. The animated music video is really cool too. It looks like it takes place in the same universe as that Justice League cartoon from the early 2000s. Anyway, track 7 is called Platinum Plates. The beat on this one is much more hard hitting. I think Scorcese sounds great over it too. The opening verse is really dope.

Coexist with the kings and legends
Serve three course meals to peasants
Every verse I craft, I'm cursed when I laugh
Black humor, should've hugged my auntie sooner
Doctor should've found the tumor
Spreadin' like a foul rumor

That clamshell / mussel line was dope. I actually think this track has some of the best rapping on the album to be honest. It’s got a very straightforward structure. Everything is just really well executed. It’s a dope track. It’s followed by another dope one called Tijuana Bible. I really love how funky the beat on this one is. It sounds like what’d play in my head as I’m driving down a red light district at night in Miami. This is coming from someone who has never been to Miami though, so I kinda have no idea what I’m talking about. The opening verse from Scorcese on this one is great, and I think the song has one of the more memorable hooks on the album. The second verse was really dope too.

Heart colder than North Pole
Soul blacker than Air Force, I'm the 1
You niggas 2 times 10, 'til the very end

I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s one of my favorites on the album, but I do like it a lot. I think it’s dope. It’s followed by a single entitled Make a Million Every Morning.

This is a major highlight for me. It has easily one of the best beats on the project in my opinion. It has kind of a similar atmosphere to that of Return of Kinshin Tiger, albeit with more hard-hitting percussion. Lyrically, this track kinda reminds me of that old Mafioso Rap style. This is very Raekwon-ish to me.

Two passports, remain cautious or welcome coffins
Lawyer called, real macabre, said "the case an abortion"
Watch the witness turn Medusa, she a snake
Stone face couldn't prove collusion
D.A. screwed like he moved to Houston
Now he cupid, in love with my wrist of shackles
R.I.C.O. law given out like Costco samples

The storytelling pretty much had me hooked throughout the entire track. The hook is pretty good too. I really don’t have any gripes with the song at all. It’s easily one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. The second verse was fantastic.

I spoil killers like Big Pun
Pull your card, inspect the deck stacked against you
My prodigies keep it simple
They shoot first, ask questions never

I think the song is dope as hell. The penultimate track is another major highlight called Doc Colossus, which came out ahead of the album’s release as a single.

It’s labeled as a bonus track, but it definitely doesn’t feel like a tacked on leftover. It’s another one of my favorites. I actually think this is the first song I ever heard from Scorcese if I’m not mistaken. First of all, this beat from Panels is absolute fire. This might actually be my favorite beat on the album. It sounds like some shit that DOOM would’ve slaughtered back in his prime. I love how aggressive and confrontational Scorcese is on this track

Awkward movements
Throw coffins, cause colossal bruises
In tune with the moon, wait and rise like rumors
Break backs like bread on communion

The song is pretty much just him rapping the entire time with no hook or bridge. I think he killed this shit. I’m having a really difficult time deciding whether I prefer this over the preceding track, which I guess is a good sign. Both of them are dope as hell. It was a great final song, and a very good choice for a single. The closing track is a 42 second outro called POLO-TRO. Obviously since it’s just a short instrumental outro there’s not much to breakdown, but I did enjoy it. The beat is really nice, and the audio clip of that woman talking about Polo was cool. I think it’s a good outro. The vinyl record crackle sounds at the very end were a nice touch too.

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_{This is a really good album. There’s not a single track here that I didn’t enjoy to some extent. I definitely think the second half is stronger than the frontend, but overall it’s a very consistent listen. Panels’ production here is really dope, and I think Scorcese fits over it perfectly. He’s a pretty charismatic and charming MC in my opinion, and he has kind of a unique flow. He’s definitely not one of those generic, forgettable street rappers. I feel like I have an idea of his style and I’d be able to pick him out of a lineup. I believe they’re gonna be releasing a Winter Catalogue album sooner rather than later, so I look forward to that. In the meantime, check this album out and let me know what you think. I fuck with it. This shit is dope.}

Favorite Song: Make a Million Every Morning
Least Favorite Song: Expensive Steak Aroma

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