I’m going to review what is essentially a new EP from Crimson and EthniKids. Crimson who hails from the Bronx and Tallahassee’s own Julian Cruz have teamed up to deliver one of the most interesting groupings of music I’ve heard this year. Crimson, outspoken member of Capital 6 is known as an incredible lyricist. He just has a way of putting a lot of really big words into really tight rhyme schemes that flow off effortlessly. J. Cruz was introduced to me by outlawed beats. J. Cruz and the EthniKids(his production team) stood out immediately for me with high quality production and electronic influences.
Based on both artists previous material, you wouldn’t really see these two coming together. They are both excellent artist but they seemed to occupy different niches of music. That would be my sentiment except for the fact that the last track I heard from Crimson with an heavy electronic influence was Throw it Down. This track remains to this day my favorite Crimson songs, so I had high hopes going into this project. .
Low and behold after hearing a few rumblings about a release being in the work. We finally saw some of these tracks get released to the public. Interestingly enough it seems like Crimson and Ethnkids sided against releasing an album or an EP. Instead they just released five singles. So for the sake of my sanity. I will from this point on refer to these songs as “We Put Out Some Songs” EP after the cheeky title of their blog post announcement.
The first song LVL UP feels dope as hell. We have a largely spacious beat with a reverb soaked synth and syncopated hi hats. There are heavy drops in the song, which give way to huge low ends. As far as Crimson he just packs his bars in tight. The beat seems rather slow but Crimson is unrelentlessness with his lyrics. From what I can gather from the song Crimson is talking about learning from his mistakes and failures and being better for every mistake he makes.
The next song Bay of Pigs is a song that resists categorization a bit. The song starts off incredibly foreboding than transitions to a sound that almost feels pop. Then the song takes a turn towards a sound I would associate with house music. The song doesn’t seem to have a chorus and Omega takes the time in this song to slow down and deliver some of his most braggadocios lyrics I’ve heard to date.
The middle track Collage was actually the first track I ever heard from the pairing of Crimson and the Ethnkids. I’m going to be honest this is not my favorite Crimson track . I just have always had trouble connecting with the beat or the message of the song. Its a quality track, but its just not a track for me.
The second to last track Earthquake has me a bit torn. I feel like I would really like this song on an album. The beat is interestingly layered and complex. The song has many drifting and spacious sounds, but the problem I end up having is that with the lyrics. Lyrics that reference the plight of black america, is that I never felt like I got a complete idea. The song seems a lot more like a transition song than a stand alone track.
The final track in this listing 4-0 is my favorite out of this grouping of tracks. This track features the glorious Versailles the Everything, a really dope MC who happens to be a female. She offers some vocals reminiscent of something that I would hear from SZA. The track is just dope. Stop reading this write up listen to the track and then start saying “Heat Rocks” at the end of all your sentences.
So there it is, a dope collaboration from two very talented artist. I don’t know if this is a one off event, but this seems like it’s something that is going to lead into more music. So I for one will be waiting for it, and I will be sure to let all you readers know.
That’s all for this review. If you have an album you want to suggest for me to review let me know on social media.
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/absolutezerodme
Twitter:https://twitter.com/AbZeroDMETwitter
Don’t Forget to Follow Crimson and Ethnikids
https://www.facebook.com/Ethnikids
https://twitter.com/EthniKids
https://www.facebook.com/Capital6
https://twitter.com/crimsonthegawd
You can check out my last review of Buster Wolf’s Vejigante by clicking the picture Below.
My First Character Talk Post comes out tomorrow so be on the look out for that as well. See you in space cowboy.
Article Audio
If you like what you read, please be sure to share this information by clicking one of the share icons on the page or following a link on the screen below. It would be great if more people could read this and have a discussion on this topic. You can always check back with us for more, because we’re always working on more for you.
Thanks