Earlier this year I published a review for an EP called 2 Cents by Spaceman Jones, which was fully self produced. Shortly after the release of that project, he followed it up with this relatively longer EP, which is also fully self produced. I really dug the 2 Cents project, but this one right here caught me off guard personally. It does have kind of a different energy to it, so I see why they were split up into two separate releases. Again, 2 Cents was great; however, this Quarters project is magical. This is absolutely one of the best releases of the year, and I’d actually say it’s my favorite project I’ve ever heard from Spaceman Jones—not that I’m an expert on his catalogue, but still. He just got it right on this one, man. On every track. We’ll get into that though. Let me not get ahead of myself.

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The project begins with an INTRO in which Spaceman Jones kinda prepares the audience to absorb some wisdom. I really love the instrumental in the background. It sounds like muzak, but, like… really good muzak. It kinda makes me think of the Coconut Mall course on Mario Kart Wii. I don’t know. I like it a lot though. It sounds good.

The first full song, WHOLESALE GAME, has an amazing instrumental. This beat, and many, if not all of the others on this project, have a very dreamy, almost-intoxicating atmosphere. For example, the reversing saxophone with that layer of reverb over it just feels really woozy. It makes for kind of a hypnotizing, entrancing listening experience. Spaceman Jones’ flow is really nice over it too. It has the essence of a lot of classic Southern staples like UGK or even Outkast. I could definitely hear Big Boi flowing over this beat. It’s not just the flow and beat though; the actual bars themselves are really dope as well. The second verse in particular is what resonated with me the most.

Took a few losses, had some dogs turned on me
Turned out that I ain't need many close homies
Niggas don't turn fake, them boys done been phony
Love for my peers, I had blind eyes on me
Learned through the years everybody ain't for me
Cleansed by my tears, and the words my soul told me
We was born whole, make all of your goals holy

I guess I related to these lines a lot more than I wish I did. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with friendship in general. I have a select few people who I consider close friends. Most of the other “friends” I have are more like amicable acquaintances. We see each other often and spend a lot of time together, but I often come away from our experiences feeling worse than I did before. I am often disappointed by people I hope to befriend turning out to be morally questionable and/or politically reprehensible with archaic social views. Finding people in real life with values, principles, morals, etc. that align with mine… It just doesn’t happen. It does make life feel very isolating to be honest. I unfortunately haven’t reached the level of solace that Spaceman Jones seems to have achieved in spite of this struggle, but seeing him come to turns with it does instill hope. I mean, I guess in the case of these bars it’s more about disloyalty, exploitation, and deception, but I’ve dealt with that in the past as well. At a certain point you can tell when people are only spending time with you because they think they can get something from you. Man, I could go on a whole rant about stuff that’s happened, but I don’t wanna digress too much. I felt this verse in my soul though. The song’s dope as hell.

Track 3 is called SUPER ABUNDANT. Funnily enough, I think this was my least favorite track on my first listen of the project. It’s definitely one of my favorites now though. Several years ago on the Immaculate Conception EP by Spaceman Jones & the Motherships, one of the lyrics was “perfect vibe to rip a dab to,” and for whatever it’s something that has stuck in my head since then. I think this song is a perfect example of that vibe. Even when I’m not doing it, I imagine myself getting high as I listen to this song. The instrumental just sounds like an audible encapsulation of the sensation of getting progressively geeked. I particularly feel like I’m reaching a higher geekuency during the hook. I’m liable to kiss the pendrick any time this song comes on. No freaky. My favorite part of the whole track is the last part of the second verse. His flow is superb here, and I love the wrastlin’ scheme.

A lot of high grade blessings broke down in the raw
I can remember serving raw watching Raw Is War
Had the rock stone cold, dodging one time
Send a hater to the Taker tryna take mine

The cadence isn’t especially intricate or anything; it just sounds fantastic and works really well. It’s kinda similar in a sense to Kdeath’s flows on the recent Moodie Black album I reviewed. I feel like I get physically locked into the rhythm and kinda wanna move with it. Overall, even though I did already enjoy it a lot the first time I heard it, this one has grown on me immensely with more listens. I think it’s fire.

Speaking of my first listen, THIS IS 4 was my favorite track when I initially heard it. I think in terms of the rapping itself, this is probably the most technical on the project, at least in terms of the flow. Well, maybe I shouldn’t even say that. I’ll just say it’s the most uptempo, energetic, and aggressive song here. Regarding the actual beat, upon reflection I have decided it may actually be my least favorite here. Not that it’s bad at all. Nothing about it is wrong or super questionable. The particular mood of it just doesn’t appeal to me as much as the others. I think the best comparison I can make is Big Sean’s Blessings song with Drake. Well, I guess the atmosphere of the instrumentals is pretty different, but they have nearly identical melodies. The tempos, drum patterns, etc. are different, but the melody itself matches, and it’s not one that I find particularly captivating. It’s cool though. My favorite thing about this beat is just the energy behind it I suppose. The bass is pretty hard-hitting too, which sounds great. It’s a good beat. Just not my preferred sound. Spaceman killed it though. Like I said, his performance feels relatively fiery here. There are two verses on this song, and both of them are great. I think the second one is the best part.

Nothin' but big business comin'
They up to somethin', you know we 'bout fillin' up stomachs
We 'bout to eat and feast
Shit ain't no peace, so I'm takin' a piece
Spread it all out from the West and the East
The North & the South, man, we surely gon' feed
We'll rob the whole game to get all that we need
If you're out to get it then I wish you godspeed

I do really love Spaceman Jones’ performance on this track, which is why it was my favorite song the first time I heard it. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I like it less nowadays, but the accompanying material has grown on me so much that it’s no longer at the number one spot for me. It’s dope as hell overall though.

The closing track is called SAME WORK, and this is my favorite song here. This is perhaps my favorite Spaceman Jones song in general now. This instrumental is beautiful; it sounds so lush and heavenly. Again, it achieves the aforementioned “dreamy” atmosphere quite well. It’s euphoric. I’ll throw the word “blissful” in there as well for good measure. Lyrically, I feel like this song would make me shed a tear if I listened to it while trippin’ balls on some shroomies. Well shit, the instrumental alone may have that effect depending on the dosage. The end of the last verse in particular was very moving.

Make your own station, go create your space then
Live how you wanna 'cause it is your place, yeah
We gon' face the morning, heal our corners, I swear
We gon' show some love, put a few in the air
Come meet me there, we gon' figure it out
If you can sell an ounce you can probably go sell a house, no doubt

I just really love the content about perseverance and lemonade creation. I think a lot of artists particularly in this genre like to try to tackle that subject, but a lot of them aren’t this direct and specific about it. I guess a good example of another artist doing it well would be Biggie’s Sky’s the Limit. I get the same message from this track. It’s the same work. Hahahaha. Sorry I just thought that would be really corny to say and my intrusive thoughts made me commit cringe. Anyway, like I said, this is my favorite track. I did mention perseverance as a theme, but I think hope in general may perhaps be a more accurate term. That’s why it kinda hit me in an emotional place. It’s just like, “don’t worry, you can save yourself.” That’s kinda how I interpreted this song. It’s beautiful. However, this song is technically exclusive to the Bandcamp version of this EP. On DSP’s it’s replaced by the “Metal Version.” The beat is completely replaced by a metal instrumental. Everything about the song is completely different sonically, aside from the actual vocals from Spaceman Jones himself. I’m actually not sure if he made that instrumental or if it was a collaboration with another artist. Hearing both versions is kinda trippy. It’s just crazy how the energy is so different. It’s like day and night. The whole mood of the track changed. What’s even crazier is that it’s still fire. The metal instrumental is really cool. I’d actually say this is one of the most interesting remixes I’ve heard all year. The original version of the song sounds like Spaceman Jones wrote some fire shit to an amazing beat that he made. The metal version sounds like he made an amazing metal beat to the aforementioned fire shit that he wrote. You can hear how the new instrumental was built around the pre-existing verse. The little accents, flairs, guitar licks, etc. that come in during the spaces between his bars sound so cool. Metal & Hip-Hop fusions are incredibly difficult to do well. A lot of the artists who people tend to say do it well are actually also ass in reality. Good examples are very rare, so we are truly blessed to have this remix that’s actually excellent. Sidenote: this is random as hell, but another fire example is Hard Nard by Killer Mike. Anyway, this song is incredible. I really love it.

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This EP is amazing. This is my favorite project I’ve ever heard from Spaceman Jones. There is a good amount of material I haven’t checked out yet, but I’ve been tapped in for over half a decade at this point, and this is my favorite thing I’ve heard in that time. The production is exceptional; there’s a consistent flavor of almost sublime euphoric atmosphere that had me hooked. These instrumentals are intoxicating. I’m trying to think of the best way to describe Spaceman Jones’ rap performance on this project. I guess he’s not necessarily straying away from what his fanbase knows and loves him for. I just think this particular instance of it was especially great. It came out extra good on this one. His flow is dope without being overly flashy. I think my favorite quality of his performance here is just the positivity that permeates his lyrical content. There’s nothing disrespectful about the music here. There’s no needless hostility or anti-social rhetoric exhibited on this EP. The messaging tends to revolve around personal development and quality of life in some way. Based on the way Larry June’s fanbase discusses his work, I get the sense that they enjoy him in a similar way. Just a cool dude makin’ music that makes you feel good. I’m not gonna hear any bars about Spaceman Jones selling me fent and then hitting a lick on my therapist or destroying my relationship by sleeping with my partner, etc. All the detrimental tropes that people in my father’s age range typically associate with rap music are replaced by encouragement to be an upstanding citizen and work oneself out of despair. It’s positive without being distracting in an off-putting way though. He doesn’t sound like a guy who wanted to spread positivity and decided that rap would be an effective medium for it. He sounds like a very dope rapper who just so happens to have lyrics that are inspiring and life-affirming. It feels like it’s meant to build rather than destroy. I don’t know if I can describe my satisfaction with this EP any more accurately than that. This is absolutely one of my favorites of the year. It’s dope as fuck. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comment section. Be sure to try out both versions of the closing track as well, and let me know which you prefer. ✌️

Favorite Song: SAME WORK
Least Favorite Song: THIS IS 4

:)