This extended play was released on February 10th this year. Mic Logik is an artist I’ve covered a few times on this blog before, whether it be his solo work or a feature. He’s a really talented lyricist, and he’s also a pretty good singer. On the other hand, I’m totally unfamiliar with Joey Childz, so this will be my introduction to him as an artist. The last project I heard from Mic Logik was his second solo album, As I Was Saying, which was pretty great. That album dropped in 2021, so it’s been kind of a while since I’ve heard from him. I’m looking forward to hearing what he’s been working on. I trust that Joey Childz is most likely a very skilled MC if Mic Logik is doing a whole project with him, so I think I’m really gonna dig this.

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The project begins with Chips, which is produced by Max Julian.

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I think the beat’s pretty solid, and the cuts from DJ Alo are nice. The first verse is performed by Joey Childz. At first I wasn’t sure how I would feel about him because there’s a really cliché “must heard / catch up” line towards the beginning. I was pleased by the time his verse was over though. I think he rapped pretty well here. That line about his stick splitting your shit up like Moses was fire. The hook isn’t really anything special, but it serves its purpose as a break between the verses. I definitely think Mic Logik had the better verse on this song. His flow felt a lot smoother.

I'ma make sure that the team's eatin', self esteem beamin'
The new supreme team that keeps the fiends leanin'
Superior product, you can tell by the outfit
You gotta bet the house on it 'cause life is all about risk
Perpetual excellence, impeccable eloquence
Intestinal fortitude, definite prevalence
Mild mannered, vile grammar, my style's the proud standard
High wire, rhyme writer, prize fighter

He said one more thing right after the “prize fighter” line, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. The verse is fire overall though. This song really grew on me. I liked it on my first listen, but not as much as I do now. I think this shit is dope. It’s followed by a highlight entitled Hardcore. As the title kind of hints, this is the most lyrically aggressive song on the project. The production from DJ Alo is fire, and Mic Logik killed the first verse.

Get cut off and discarded
Bunch of vaginal discharges
Bunch of can't rap for shit artists
Kickstart it, then I'll finish, take it to the great beyond
Y'all tryin' plenty but can't make a penny off a Patreon
Y'all make me yawn with that lame music, that "one foot in the grave" music
My flow is timeless, don't got no age to it, my rhyme book, I'm a slave to it
Every page I'll blaze you with, then dump the body inside a grey Buick

The verse from Joey Childz is thankfully really great too. I definitely think Mic Logik had the better performance overall, but both of them did a really nice job here.

It's just me, myself, and I, we the best of friends
Veteran test me slap and smack you and your next of kin
Shorty think she like me, wanna fifa like some Mexicans
Love you, baby, guess again, kill and never text again

I think I misquoted the second half of the quatrain, but in my defense those lines were kinda fuzzed out, so it was harder to hear what he was saying. But yeah, this shit is fire. They killed this track. The beat from DJ Alo is hard, and I love the aggression exhibited by Mic & Joey. This song is dope as hell. Track 3 is called Everything Legit, and it’s produced by Deka Derse. The first thing that really jumped out to me about this song was Mic Logik’s flow on the first verse. It’s pretty fast-paced and bouncy. It gave me the coveted involuntary head nod. He killed it. The melodic production is really nice too. The hook is really simplistic, but it works really well in my opinion. I’m actually kinda glad that Joey Childz didn’t try to emulate Mic Logik’s flow. One thing that really annoys me is when multiple MCs use the same exact flow on a song together. That thankfully didn’t happen here. I appreciated Joey saying R.I.P. to Pat Stay. It’s still crazy to me that he’s gone. Anyway, this song is really dope to me. There’s not really anything that I dislike about it. Both of the verses are really nice, the production is great, and I even fuck with the hook. The penultimate track is just called Interlude, and it’s produced by ILL Brown. It’s just over a minute and a half long, but it’s honestly my favorite song on the project. The bouncy production is really nice, and I love the way Joey & Mic were going back and forth with each other here. It’s a really fun song. It’s short as hell, but it really packs a punch. The flow during Mic Logik’s first verse is honestly amazing. This track is fire. I think it’s dope as hell. The closing track is entitled Mention Me, and it features GRIFFEN and production from Kofi Cooks.

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The beat is pretty fire, and this is the track where Joey really stood out to me. After I heard his verse on this one, I was fully convinced of his dopeness. I loved that line about how he was shitting on guys with his pencil and everything’s number 2. That was fire. The “taxiderm’” rhyme scheme he had going towards the end of his verse was fire. This is the one track on the project where I feel like he outrapped Mic Logik. It’s not like he completely stole the show, but if I had to choose a favorite verse it would be his. The hook is nice too, and I also enjoyed the closing verse from GRIFFEN. This song is really dope to me. I fuck with it.

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^{This EP is great. There’s not a single track on it that I don’t think is dope. I like it even more now than I did on my first listen. I think Mic Logik is the better rapper in the duo, but it’s not like there’s a huge talent gap. They’re both really skilled MCs. The production ranges from solid to dope as hell. Since “Vol. 1” is in the title, I’m expecting a sequel to come out at some point, and I look forward to listening to it whenever it drops. I’m gonna keep my eye on future work from Joey Childz too because he turned me into a fan. I think this project is even better than As I Was Saying. It did leave me wanting more, which I think is a good thing for an EP. I think this shit is dope. Give it a listen and let me know what you think in the comments below.}

Favorite SOng: Interlude
Least Favorite Song: Chips

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