Artofficial - The Payback

01. The Payback (ft. K. Sparks)
02. Voodoo
03. Happiness is A Warm Gun (ft. Jesse Jackson & Asuka Barden)
04. Grand Design
05. Doing Things Wrong
06. Oceanography (ft. Wrekonize from ¡Mayday!)
07. Show Me Change (ft. QuESt & Swamburger from Solillaquists of Sounds)
08. Don’t Sweat The Technique
09. Wake Me Up (ft. LLamabeats)
10. Summertime (ft. K. Sparks)
11. Me Desculpe Mas No Resisti
12. Architect (Cloud Nine)

Anyone who's followed this blog for a bit knows that one of my favorite sub-genres of hip-hop is that smooth jazz rap. The only thing better is using a real band (a la The Roots) instead of an MPC. That's what Artofficial does; they did it on their first album, Fist Fights & Foot Races, and they did it again here. Most of these tracks aren't original sound pieces; from what I've read, most (all?) are covers, apparently of rock classics I'm not in tune to. Oh hey, there's that Jay-Z beat, and look, a tribute to Rakim. Even if they aren't completely original, they flip them with enough soul (that you wouldn't expect from a hip-hop band in today's industry) and energy that you can't not pay attention. Although all of the instruments stand out, Keith Cooper on that sax murders any track he's on. The first few times I heard "Architect" were bone-chilling, seriously. Amazing track. Let's move to the lyrics. It's more in the form of a laid-back, live jam session, rather than full-on hardcore verses. That's not to say that there's not substance in these rhymes; it's just not as the forefront. If this is the type of quality and dedication we're seeing in a mixtape, how about their next album slated to drop later this year?

Sample Tracks
"The Payback"

"Summertime"

"Architect"


Best tracks: "The Payback", "Voodoo", "Oceanography", "Don't Sweat the Technique", "Wake Me Up", "Architect"
Not-so-good: None

Beats & Production: 9.5/10

Rhymes & Lyricism: 8/10

Originality & Creativity: 8/10

Overall Grade: 85%

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