This extended play was released on August 25th this year. Ray Vaughn is a rapper from Long Beach who was recently signed to Top Dawg Entertainment. TDE had a really strong presence in the 2010s, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do this decade. I’d never heard of this dude until the day this project was released. I’m going into this project completely blind, so I have no expectations.

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As always, I’ll write about the songs I like before discussing what I won’t be returning to. The first track is entitled Not Allowed, and I think it’s pretty good. The production from Tariq Beats is solid, and I think Ray Vaughn sounds good over it. The first verse is dope.

I'm a walking cheat code, turn a nun to a freak ho
Been blunt like a pre-roll, I'm the neighborhood hero
It's funny how I got all this drive and back in the day, I got repo'd
Help I got: nigga, zero, and I do it big like fee-fo
Tell my bitch I cheat too
Good sex have me in relationships that I ain't agree to
Nigga, I'm toxic as ever
Wish I had a girlfriend, 'cause I ain't get a PS5
Death hittin' us left and right
God, please protect me and mine

The content is pretty much on par with any other Trap song. I think he rhymes well though, and I like his delivery. The flow is nothing special, but it’s definitely not bad. Same goes for the hook. The second verse is dope too. I liked that line about how he made friends with the monsters in his closet. That was hard.

In the jungle, gotta learn to walk with apes
All heroes don't walk with capes
It's headstart, we was taught to race
Get a headshot, throw his thoughts away
Juice a nigga when we concentrate
Mama cryin' when she saw his face
The truth is only one call away
None of us celebratin' Fathers Day, but we gon' pop a nigga

I think his flow on the second verse was much more impressive than that of the first one. Overall, it’s a pretty good track. Nothing about it really blew me away, but I’m satisfied with it. It’s followed by Top Shottas, which apparently features production from someone named TylianMTB according to RateYourMusic. I think he did a pretty good job here. The beat is nice, and Ray Vaughn fits over it really well. The first verse is actually really good to me lyrically. I’m impressed by him using the word “alopecia” in a rhyme. That Monterey Jack line was pretty funny to me too. I think the verse is really well-written, and his flow was nice. I even like the hook on this track. The second verse was great.

I put that meat in her organs
If she let me beat while her man in the streets, put his shoes on and crease up his Jordans
I came from four to a fortune, money get blue like it's Corbin
But I still got niggas that torch shit, blow your brains out of proportion

His style really reminded me of DaBaby on this track to be honest. I think he would fit on this track pretty well. I probably wouldn’t like it very much though since DaBaby only has one flow. Anyway, I think Top Shottas is easily the best song on the project. It’s really good to me. The only song that I don’t really see myself returning to is the last one, Tap.

I don’t think it’s a bad track, but nothing about it really stood out to me that much. The beat from D Cross, Roark Bailey, Boobie & K Rich is pretty solid, and Ray Vaughn sounds good over it. There weren’t as many standout lines on this track to me, but none of the lyrics were bad at all. The hook is decent too. I just feel like the song doesn’t have the same sense of urgency as the preceding couple of tracks. It’s a bit slower paced. It’s still decent though. I don’t think it’s bad at all.

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^{This is a solid EP. It works pretty well as an introduction to Ray Vaughn. I have kind of an idea of what the rest of his music will probably sound like at this point. He’ll fit in pretty well with guys like ScHoolboy & Jay Rock in my opinion, and I definitely think he’s a better rapper than Reason. I wouldn’t call this project “good,” but it’s definitely far from bad. I look forward to hearing more work from Ray Vaughn in the future because he’s clearly got talent. I think he’s a pretty good lyricist, and he has a good voice for rapping. I wouldn’t really say that you’re missing out if you decide to skip this project unless you’re a big TDE fanboy, but it couldn’t hurt to check it out. There’s some solid material here. I’m glad I listened even if it’s not the most memorable project. It’s pretty decent.}

Favorite Song: Top Shottas
Least Favorite Song: Tap

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