This EP was released on March 26th this year. I got into TriState through his work with Planet Asia as General Monks. I can always count on him to kill every verse he spits, so it’s really up to the quality of the production to determine how good each song is going to be. Thankfully, all of the beats on this EP here are excellent, so I ended up enjoying it a lot. I wasn’t initially planning on covering it, but after I heard it I felt the need to tell y’all about it.

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The project starts off with Prototype, which is produced by Hipe. I really love the melodic, sample based production on this track. I’d never heard of Hipe before hearing this song, but they really impressed me here. TriState sounds fantastic over it. The verse here is really nice.

Scientific chemist, new age wave, but still menace
The fake gold chains you wield blemished
Nature of the threat, put the hatred to a rest
We don't politic with the devil, we blaze 'em to the death

The song is just under a minute and thirty seconds long, so there’s just time for one verse. It’s great though. I really enjoyed this track, and it had me excited to listen to the rest of the project. The following track is called Organic Greens, and it’s got another really superb instrumental from Hipe. TriState killed this shit too.

The photo needed caption, the promo's off the axis
The logo on the polo was the motive of attraction
Epic like metrics, realign the ethics
Redesign the nose on the sphinx for your aesthetics
The backdrop easel designed by Mother Nature
The soul of the people combined with the creator
Wield a powerful bill, my signature skill
Etched deep into the steel of the literature's guild
Here's another reel, for real

The instrumental break between each verse is really gorgeous sounding. I really love this instrumental. This song grew on me a lot. I wasn’t really paying attention when I first listened to this project, so it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. I love it now though. It’s actually one of my favorite songs on the project. I think it’s dope as hell. The Bandcamp version of this project has a song called The Pharaoh’s Golden Parade, which features O the Great, and production from Ashtronomicz. I don’t love the beat on this one as much as the preceding couple. I definitely still like it though. The main appeal of this song is just the rapping for me. TriState killed this shit.

Solid gold, 14 karat scrolls, the pharaoh's robe
Drag like a pimp on a stroll across Kemetic road
Welcome to the matrix, land of the sacred
Who carved the pyramid brick with anunnaki faces

I love this kinda shit. His writing here is really phenomenal. I really fuck with the song. On the Apple Music version of this project, it’s replaced by a song called Cue the Music, which features Killa Kali & Agallah. I like the beat better on that song, but I prefer the rapping on The Pharaoh’s Golden Parade. Both songs are dope overall though. The following track is called Sauvignon Blanc, and it’s got a really pretty, melodic piano-driven instrumental that I love a lot.

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Of course TriState’s rapping here was really nice.

Upper echelon, spook by the door with a lexicon
Marchin' with moors through your hexagon
Heavyweight status, wealthy and rich, I'm talkin' lavish
Legacy stitched in all the fabrics
Fine design, more global than Calvin Klein
Analogue with the vocals, rewind the time
Back to the future, fly air mags and Kamasutra
Straight to the helipad, I called the uber

The hook isn’t really anything special to me, but it serves its purpose as a break between the verses well. I’m typically not interested in luxury raps, but I think it’s really well done here. The production is too good for me to not enjoy it, and his flow and rhymes are great. The song is dope. The penultimate track is called Warm Up, and it features Mr. Porter & Mykestro. I expected Denaun to just be singing on this song, but he thankfully actually spit a full verse at the beginning of the track, which was a nice surprise. The production on this one from Praise is stellar. There’s not a single verse on this track that I don’t think is really great. I’ve only heard one other verse from Mykestro in the past, so I don’t have much experience with his music. I really dug his performance though. However, TriState probably had my favorite verse on this song.

The aura that we drippin' in is real convincin'
The pyramids we livin' in is real expensive
Pardon my elaborate embellishments
But lately I've been dabblin' in property development
Okay the Michael Jackson theory's gettin' clearer
My only competition is the man in the mirror
Nigga beat it, I moonwalk all over the track
Write a thesis, the Durag Monk General's back

He killed this shit. This is another track that heavily grew on me. I think it’s dope as hell. The closing track is even better though. It’s called Ugly Love, and it features Krondon & Marvelous Mag, as well as production from Oh No. This is honestly one of my favorite songs of the year. The production is absolutely stunning, and TriState & Krondon killed the verses. I even love the sung hook from Marvelous Mag. There’s really nothing that I don’t love about this track. I think it’s amazing.

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^{This EP is dope as hell. There’s not a single track here that I don’t think is great. The production is consistently excellent throughout the runtime of this project, and TriState killed every single verse here. The features are all really nice too. I really don’t have a single consistent gripe with this project. It left me wanting more, so hopefully we get a full length album from TriState sooner rather than later. This shit is fire. Don’t sleep on it. Give it a listen and let me know what you think in the comments below. I think it’s really great.}

Favorite Song: Ugly Love
Least Favorite Song: Sauvignon Blanc

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