CLOUD$

Man, every new I catch myself discovering a new artist or two. Before I even got involved in the culture and was exclusively mainstream, I had no idea such a talented pool of artists lay beneath the surface, and now that I’m more or less exclusively underground, I couldn’t be happier. So with that in mind, let’s discuss this brand-new EP! This EP is brought to you by MCElijah Rushin and Producer Anthony Church, and together they make this four-track project that hasQUWAN as the sole feature, and for only nine minutes of content, this thing goes incredibly hard! Firstly, if we discuss the MC aspect of the record, we hear a man that has an incredible passion and determination in his voice. He’s not letting the opportunity pass by even in this short space, and he’s all the better for it. He sounds hungry, like he has something to prove to himself! From his in-your-face presence to his descriptive and personalised lyricism that makes you hear his life and what he’s feeling in the moment. One line I absolutely loved on the EP was -They say success isn’t sweet, but it doesn’t mean it’s not for me. That’s exactly how I feel! Just because it ain’t sweet doesn’t mean it ain’t worth it. But on top of that line, he brings to the table this extraordinary sense of credibility with the way he manoeuvres his lines across the lavish beats, the way he pinpoints the exact precision necessary to make the audience feel some kind of way with each bar! He’s talented in making every word feel important. You sit on the edge of each sentence because you feel he’s about to say something important, that’s the weight his performance has, and not everyone can say the same! From his direct yet calm demeanour to his impressive use of vocabulary and storytelling, he has the perfect amount of skills to utilise for such a brief EP. He’s showcasing the most important parts of himself for future investment in the man, and I think that’s really smart! As far as the production goes, as I said above, it’s lavish and probably the most lavish you’ll hear all year! Let’s break down the four tracks together, and you’ll see what I mean. First, we have -EAZY 4 ME, which has this incredibly smooth aspect to it with those rhythmic piano keys that are accompanied by what sounds like some muffled vocal harmonies in the background, and then it later explodes with this heavy drum and swaying chord progressions that make this feel like a track you’d hear on mainstream radios and top charts! We have the song -GOLDEN GSHOCK, which has a more ambient feel to it with those atmospheric chords that make you feel like you’re coming in and out of a dream state. That’s accompanied by some surreal drums and some light and delicate keys that seem to go off in their own unique freelance patterns! Track three -BENEFIT, we take a more deep dive into a lo-fi adventure with those damn near spacey chords that sound muffled but ever so gripping! There are some second layer chords that sound electronic in their contributions as well as some hypnotic drums and light keys! Again, each of these beats has a ‘surrealism’ aspect to them! In the final track -SKYHIGH VIEW, we hear this grand sonic texture that has a more traditional/trademark hip-hop feel to it with those engulfed keys that come together with those sharp chord progressions and funky jazz-style drum beats! A perfect and elegant way to end the EP! These two have incredible chemistry. Considering they only had nine minutes, they absolutely killed it! Make sure you peep it out yourself!