This extended play was released on March 3rd this year. Fatboi Sharif put out one of the better albums of 2020 with Gandhi Loves Children, and he’s been killing features since then, so I was pretty excited to see how he would follow that last project up. I’m not really familiar with LoneSword at all, so I don’t really know what to expect in terms of the overall soundscape of this project. I’m definitely a fan of Fatboi Sharif though, so I have no reason to believe that I won’t enjoy this project to some extent. Oh also, the cover art for this project is fire. That’s definitely one of the best covers I’ve seen this year. I love it.
The project starts off with Acid Rain, which has one of my favorite beats on the whole EP. The track begins with a pretty long introductory skit, which I think works pretty well with the theme of the project. I love how hard-hitting the percussion is. There’s just one verse on this track, but it’s really nice. I like how Sharif’s delivery gets more energetic for the last few bars. I wish I had the lyrics because it can be kinda hard to make out what he’s saying. I can tell just by listening that he was rhyming well though. I also like his slow, methodical flow a lot too. It sounds great over this beat. The song is really good. Track 2 is called Plastered, and I don’t like it quite as much as the opening track, but it’s still pretty enjoyable to me. I really like the weird, glitchy production here. There are no drums at all here, which I appreciate. This shit sounds like drugs to be honest. It’s a really weird song. I mean, I could probably say that about every single track on this project, but this one in particular just sounds like a bad acid trip in the form of music. It’s not just the production though; it’s also Sharif’s vocal delivery. There’s just one verse on this track, followed by an outro in which Sharif spits “brains plastered on the wall” with kind of a melodic delivery. Again, the song is weird as hell, but I dig it. I think it’s pretty good. The following track is even better though. It’s called Encrypted, and the production here is really awesome. It’s arguably even weirder than that of the preceding track. It might actually be my favorite beat on the album. The lyricism is a bit easier to understand here than it was on the first couple of tracks for me.
Shot dead as I pulled the Pulitzer On stage, full enraged Embraced bulls on parade Static vision, my plan left on the chalkboard Encrypted mission Free planet position, out of prison
As you can see, Fatboi Sharif has a pretty unique writing style. I can’t really think of any other MCs who rap like him. I mean, I probably misquoted some of those lines, if not most of them, but still. His flow is super unique. I think the song’s really dope. The following track is a highlight entitled Crescent Moon. This one features SCVTTERBRVIN, who I’ve heard on a couple features in the past. He had a nice performance on Iceberg Theory‘s Ill Associates song. He was also on ALLEY MUZIK by Pro Zay & Timepiece. Anyway, I think his performance was really nice on this track.
Even in heaven can't avoid the beast No drums, only had noise for beats In Cyber City with Fatboi Sharif Feedin' rat poison to android police I told my witch, "get the broom" The block flooded with decrepit fumes I been a legend bending spoons Psilocybin in my blood like I injected shrooms
I really love the minimalistic approach to the production here. There are no drums at all. They’re just rhyming over this really weird, kind of eerie loop. It’s really awesome. I mean, it’s definitely an acquired taste, but I think it sounds really cool. Fatboi Sharif sounds like the fucking boogieman on this track too. The way he raps here reminds me of Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. That probably doesn’t make sense to you if you’ve never heard him rap, but just listen to his voice and the lyrical content and you’ll understand what I mean. Anyway, after Sharif’s verse, the beat switches up to this really cool, kind of noisy, dark instrumental. This part of the song actually has drums, but nobody raps over it. There’s just a bunch of audio clips from what I assume are old TV shows or movies. It’s really cool. The song is dope as hell. The penultimate track is called Monster Theme. This song was pretty exciting for me because it features L.I.F.E. Long, who appeared on The Cure for Amoxicillin, which was my favorite track from GLC. It’s kind of structured the same way as that song; him and Sharif are just trading short verses over a really weird, drumless loop. I think this track probably has the best rapping on the whole project. These two guys just sound really awesome going back and forth with each other.
True genius Power of possession between us Reworked virus, chew computer chip pieces Stomach rumblings, helicopter plummet down Vaccine traded for gold, underground bunker found
I really like how the beat kinda glitches out towards the end of the verse. After the rapping is finished, the instrumental switches up and there are more audio clips from what sounds like an old TV show or movie. This is probably my second favorite track on the project. I think it’s really dope. The closing song is entitled Adolescence. There’s not really an instrumental on this song. It’s just an a cappella verse from Sharif. I mean, I don’t know if this would be considered completely a cappella because there are some sounds in the background. However, it’s not really… I mean… Hmm… How should I say this? It’s like he’s rhyming over the sounds of a city. You can hear cars in the background. It kinda reminds me of the opening track from clipping.’s Wriggle EP. I feel like if it was just completely a cappella I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I do. This might be the weirdest instrumental on the album if you can consider it an instrumental. The verse itself is very good too. I know I said that the preceding track had the best rapping on the project, but I might’ve been wrong. I think one could definitely argue that this track has the best verse on the whole EP.
Trophy statement, walking on the moon, final thought Last words, reptile Black milk, black milf Ran its final course Red carpet salvation, mass transit Dear God, mama tears Bring in the psychiatrist Look where I'm livin' at I can't stand it
This shit is weird as fuck. Everything about the way Sharif raps here is unorthodox, from his expressive delivery, to his off-kilter flow, to his strange approach to writing. I think this shit is dope.
This EP is really good. It’s easily the weirdest, most experimental project I’ve heard this year. Gandhi Loves Children was already pretty unique, but this shit is on another level. I feel like the main reason this project is so much weirder is because of LoneSword’s production. There’s nothing traditional about these beats. They’re kind of glitchy, and most of them lack percussion. They’re not the kind of instrumentals I could listen to without somebody rapping over them, but at the same time, most rappers would not sound good over them. It takes a special MC to make beats like these work. I feel like Sharif’s flow is weirder on this album than it was on Gandhi Loves Children too. The lyrics are gonna take multiple listens for me to decipher, and I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand them. This shit is fucking dope though. If you like experimental Hip Hop this is a must-listen release for 2022 in my opinion. It’s easily one of the best EPs I’ve heard so far this year. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Favorite Song: Crescent Moon
Least Favorite Song: Plastered
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