This extended play was released on March 1st this year. I’ve been covering Stik Figa since 2019, and I don’t think I’ve heard a single project from him since then that I haven’t liked. He was nice in the 2010s, but I feel like he’s been releasing the best music of his career so far this decade. I haven’t seen many people talking about this latest project, so I wasn’t sure if it would be on par with his other recent releases. Because of this, I guess my expectations weren’t super high. I definitely thought it would be good, but I wasn’t expecting anything here to really blow me away. This shit definitely surpassed my expectations though. I think this is one of Stik Figa’s best projects period.
The opening track is called Ben Himm. I didn’t look at the production credits prior to giving this project a listen, so when I heard the tag from DJ Fresh at the beginning of this track I got pretty excited. This beat is absolutely stellar too. I feel like that’s one of the main reasons this project stood out to me so much; all of the beats are really great. They all are really melodic and colorful, and many of them have kind of a West Coast flair to them. This song in particular grew on me a lot. I already loved it the first time I heard it, but now it’s one of my favorite songs Stik Figa has ever made. I really love the hook on this one. It’s really catchy. Even if the rapping on the verses wasn’t as good as it is, I think I would still love this song just because it’s so good sonically. Thankfully, the verses are very good. There’s really nothing about this song that I don’t love. I think it’s dope as fuck. The following track is called SirMixALot, and it features Tone Pesci & Melly-Mel—not to be confused with Melle Mel. This one has even more of a West Coast flavor than the preceding track. The beat from BFolk definitely makes me think of artists like IamSu!, E-40, and maybe Problem. I don’t even really love that sound in general, but I think it’s very well done here. I don’t think I had ever heard of Tone Pesci prior to hearing this EP, unless I’m forgetting something. I liked his hook a lot though. His voice reminds me of Mozzy. The song really gets good when Stik starts rapping on the first verse. His flow sounds excellent here, and he rhymed super well.
Define me by the stroke, that's how I stay in her pocket
Tryna stay on the topic, the play is makin' a profit
I ain't even patriotic, the right's to remain prosperous
It ain't about a dollar, I can't engage with the logic
See, they hate I'm solid, they the scum of the Earth
Dumbin' with words, punish 'em because I want it to hurt
Sticks & stones break bones, but the gun at the burst
Someone's at the curb every summer, and then onto a shirt
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the guest verse from Melly-Mel. I listened to a few tracks from his debut album back in 2021, and I remember thinking his flow was kinda strange and off-putting. However, I actually enjoyed his verse here quite a bit. His flow didn’t sound bad at all here. The admittedly skeletal instrumental on this song doesn’t lend itself to a high replay value, but I still like it a lot. I think this song is dope. The following track is called Hwy Miles, and it features A-Plus tha Kid. This is another one that grew on me a lot. I actually love BFolk’s production on this track. That super heavy synth sounds excellent. The vocal sample is also really nice. The beat kinda gives me the same vibes as Corey Hart’s Sunglasses at Night. However, needless to say, this song is nowhere near as cheesy. Stik Figa fucking killed the opening verse. I love his flow.
What up, bruh, I'm real relaxed only 'cause I deal with facts
And still adapt for mills, we kill for scraps and peel your hat
Your BM told me something's missing, hit my line to fill the gap
Truly you can have the ho 'cause to this dough I'm real attached
Your slaps appeal to rats, fuck 'em if they feel a way
Takin' up space in your mind, guess I'm prime real estate
A penny for your thoughts, squeeze the trigger, nickel plate
I'd rather pull a dime and push a foreign with the dealer plates
The second verse from A-Plus tha Kid is very good as well. I have mostly only heard him on features, but I did enjoy his collaborative album with Planet Asia that came out in 2020. Check that out if you haven’t heard it. Anyway, as I said before, this one grew on me a lot. It was my least favorite track the first time I heard the project, but I love it a lot more after giving it multiple listens. It’s really dope. Track 4 is called Rappin’ A$$ Interlude, and it’s one of my favorite tracks on the project.
The melodic production from Johnny Quest is fantastic. As the title kind of indicates, Stik Figa snapped on this track. His flow sounds so good here.
Itchin' for the big reward, survive a dead end gig
One foot inside the grave, the homies helpin' you dig
One ear and out the other, I be tellin' my nig'
You can end up smoked on wrong sides of the cigs
It is what it is, and this ain't what nobody told me
I seen it for myself, this ain't what nobody showed me
Niggas be lyin', always sayin' that we homies
Ice you with the stick, block plays like a goalie
Permission to speak freely, no interest in peace treaties
Put that on mamas, tea ladies, and Ms. Celie
Way out of your league, we never listen to Peewees
Rap deadbeat, got more seeds than a kiwi
Fashion me a martyr in Ferragamo or Fendi
Fend for yourself, dirty dollars and pretty pennies
Provincial poems that done made their way to the city
Gettin' slizzed off the henny, doin' damage to my kidneys
No fast food, we after the bag of chilli
Try to take what I earn, you'll actually have to kill me
Bad ass Billy get turned to a pack of phillys
Actin' silly on Friday, catch strays like Uncle Willy
That might actually be the best verse on the whole project to be honest. He killed this one. I love it. The song’s dope as hell. The following track is a major highlight entitled Lil Homie, and it features a verse from Seuss Mace & production from Boy Geneyus. This shit is amazing. The production is absolutely glorious, and this song has one of the best hooks I’ve ever heard from Stik Figa. His opening verse is really great too; I love how animated his vocal delivery is on this track. The second verse from Seuss Mace is what really ties everything together though. His verse feels significantly longer than that of Stik, but I may just be perceiving things incorrectly. The obvious comparison to make here is Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. There’s clearly a lot of influence there, and I mean that in the best way possible. I’m personally not the biggest Bone Thugs fan, but I think Seuss was able to channel their style in a really phenomenal way here. This track immediately stood out as my favorite song on the project on my first listen. I’m not sure if it’s still my favorite a few listens later, but it’s superb. I think it’s another one of the best songs Stik has ever made. The penultimate track is called Homesick, and it features two artists with whom I was previously unfamiliar named Lyric Reddick & Clinch. This song definitely has the smoothest, chillest instrumental on the project from Dom Chronicles. I like the beat a lot, but since this is the longest track on the project it kinda loses its luster by the end of the song. That’s just a nitpick though. This is still a really dope track. All three of the verses are really well written and performed. It’s just not one of the most engaging songs on the project sonically. This would be the best song on a lot of other artists’ albums though. The closing track is called Epilogue (Ron Ron Flow), and it has another beat from Johnny Quest. This is definitely in my top 3 songs from this project. I love how cheerful and friendly the instrumental is, and the sung hook from Stik sounds shockingly great. I mean, it’s not like he’s really singing his heart out, but the melody and vocal performance fit over this beat perfectly. This is another song that sounds really West Coast influenced to me. This might be my number one favorite track on the project if it had a second verse from either Stik himself or maybe a really good feature. I don’t know if Ron Ron is actually available these days, but a feature from him would’ve been really cool to see. Maybe we’ll get a Wiz Kidz remix of this track some day. Probably not though, but that would be sick. Anyway, I think this song is boiling hot fire.
This is the best EP I’ve heard so far in 2024. There’s not a single track here that isn’t dope to me. I think this is maybe the most accessible project I’ve ever heard from Stik Figa, and a lot of it has to do with the undeniably catchy production. The beats here are all very rich and melodic. The features all came through with nice performances as well, and Stik sounds as great as ever. Every single person involved in the composition of this project did a really good job. Even just the cover art is really cool. Purely from a songwriting perspective, I think this is some of Stik Figa’s best work ever. This is a must-listen EP for his fans in my opinion. I really don’t have any consistent gripes with it. I definitely wouldn’t mind hearing Stik Figa continue to refine this sound on future releases. I am very pleased with this EP, and it’s definitely gonna remain in my rotation for a while. Check this project out, and let me know what you think of it in the comment section. I think it’s dope as hell.
Favorite Song: Ben Himm
Least Favorite Song: Homesick
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