This extended play was released on February 19th this year. A.M. Breakups is a producer from New York who I first became familiar with when he had a placement on billy woods‘ debut solo album, History Will Absolve Me. I became a huge fan of his production through his work with Elucid as Cult Favorite. For Madmen Only is actually my favorite Elucid album. I think that shit is amazing. Check that shit out if you haven’t yet. Anyway, since I was such a big fan of everything I’d heard from A.M. Breakups in the past, I knew I would really dig this EP.
There aren’t any tracks that I don’t like on this EP, so I’ll write about the full project in the proper order of the track listing. It starts off with O G B (Multiple Method), which features co-production from Phoebe Ayn Rose. I love how melodic and almost Electronic this track sounds. It kinda sounds like a less dark, more upbeat version of something Shlohmo might make. I love how in depth and dynamic this beat is; it’s not just a simple repetitive loop. It sounds like its own full song rather than an instrumental version of a rapper’s song. There’s nothing wrong with someone just finding a dope loop and stretching that out, because that’s an art in and of itself. However, something like this in which a producer composes a full instrumental song just makes for a more interesting listening experience. I don’t feel like it’s missing something without a rapper on it, ya know? I think it’s dope as hell. It’s followed by Not a Second Wasted. I love how dark and lowkey this instrumental is. I feel like the main point of interest here is the percussion along with the scratches from DJ Addikt. Overall, it feels much more meditative than the preceding track, like something I’d get high to. It’s mellow enough to be on my depression playlist too though. I think it’s really dope. The penultimate track is called Maybe. I’m not that familiar with SKECH185 aside from some work he’s done with Armand Hammer & ShrapKnel. However, he killed this shit. I love the way he’s flowing here, and the abstract lyricism is right up my alley.
A quiet man was buried in inner-city Mississippi
Surrounded by his estranged children near a strange buildin’
That stood between his and her hometown
I love the kind of Electronic sounding production here too. The song has kind of a hopeless atmosphere to it. I don’t know why, but it just sounds kind of sad to me. I don’t mean that in a bad way though. I think it’s a really dope track. The closing song is entitled Empty Room, and this is another highlight for me. I love how minimalistic the production starts off, but then it gets way more melodic around the 50 second mark. It sounds pretty emotional too. I feel like Fatboi Sharif would kill this beat. Doris-era Earl would’ve sounded really great over this one too. The way this track evolves is really awesome. It’s kind of a slow burn, which in turn makes it one of the most rewarding listens on the project. I think it’s dope as hell.
This EP is dope as hell. I think it’s one of the best instrumental projects I’ve heard all year. Despite the short length, it pretty much just solidifies A.M. Breakups as one of the better producers doing it right now. I love how dynamic the production here is. These sound like fully composed songs rather than random beats for rappers to hop on. On most beat tapes, a track will be between 30 to 90 seconds long, but these ones are all at least 2 and a half minutes long. However, at no point does it feel like they overstay their welcome or are getting stagnant and repetitive. This has me ready to hear even more work from A.M. Breakups, whether it be with Cult Favorite, solo, or with another musician. Check this shit out and let me know what you think. I think it’s really great.
Favorite Song: O G B (Multiple Method)
LEast Favorite Song: Maybe
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Awesome reviews like always!!! An idea for a marathon is listen to MF DOOM. Truthfully based on your reviews, I’m not sure what your opinion on him will be. Another idea is The Roots because I know you’d definitely like their music.
Sorry, I’m not planning on doing any new marathons any time soon. I’ve already listened to their discographies too