Requested by my boi DJ.
Rav was someone I actually haven't heard of until he told me to listen to this. At first, I kinda dismissed it, mostly because all the songs blend in together, at least for me, however, I realized that it was my first few times listening to it, so of course they're going to all sound the same. The more I listen, the more I can differentiate the songs. While that has happened, I generally found out that the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it.
1,000 Years in the Sea kicks this entire thing off, mainly a tape of a kid giving us a kindergarten lesson. Thank you, kid. We immediately venture off into the world of Solanine with the catchiest hook on the record, with Rav's flow mainly being really smooth over the lofi backdrop this song paints, however, we kinda get the same formula with the one that comes right after it, Save Face As... with Kill Bill. Both are pretty enjoyable, and for the terms of this being an album, they go together really well, however, both songs also give us the concept of Rav casually rapping to a beat with not much to it, making him the backbone to the entire track, and I like this approach. Some try to find a balance between intrumental and vocal work, but going into this album, he makes you know that you are there for him and his friends that he invites on, and that outlook on the music really shines, but doesn't break the entire thing in a way that I was fearing. Maybe he would be too caught up in his own vocals and the beats would sound lazy or similar, and I'm surprised to say that didn't happen with repeated listens.
And now, we get into the best track on here. Devil Fruit Smoothies with Jinzo and The Trap Lord. It comes in at a lengthy 5 minutes, which is considered lengthy on an album shorter than 30 minutes, but this is a banger. A slapper, if you will. The beat on this is tight as hell, the flows between everyone on here fits so nicely, everything compliments each other, and I even love the minute long palette cleanser at the end of this, it's amazing stuff, even the "Are you alright? NO" thrown at the end, its great.
Then we get thrown into the very weird, but fun, Addlerall, which is a short cut, however, I like it, really nothing much to say on that end. It doesn't take much digging to find out that Rav was born in the USSR, just before they yote themselves and A Better Place is pretty much about that. It is a great song, maybe it goes on a little bit too long, but it still is solid. This is one of the more louder cuts in terms of his delivery, however, they really compliment the old timey beat him and his guests are over. Also wtf is the kurt cobain line. The two guests are actually really great in this song as well, despite rambling on a few lines about making her squirtin...? Lavender... or should I say Ravender, is a nice short cut that felt longer than it was, probably because of that outro. The flow is nice, the delivery is the nice kind of in your face, like you almost asked for it, and the outro could've been better.
Then we get the last two songs on here, Get Mine II, which has one of the catchiest hooks on here, and 1,000 Years In The Mountains. Since I haven't heard Get Mine I, I can't compare it to anything, however, the sequel reminds me of 00s hip hop in the best way possible. The piano is a nice touch, with a whole array of sound effects acting as the percussion is always nice to hear. The two guests on here do an amazing job and they fit in super well on a song, and record, like this. Then we have 1,000 Year In The Mountains, which opens up with Rav's muted rapping, and I gotta be honest, it adds a nice touch. The na nas weren't as annoying as I initially thought, however, the rest of the hook is pretty forgettable. The outro was
Overall, it was an alright listen. They're great in the moment, but there isn't that much substance to keep me coming back, with the exception of like 2 songs on here. I guess there needs to be a factor of replayability... if that's a word, in this. It's art I can appreciate but I guess isn't one I would revisit. It's overall very short, but it makes a statement, and in the end, it just shows how much potential Rav and his friends have, especially Kill Bill. Yes, I know this came relatively early in his career, however, this is for the music, and I'm judging this based off of absolutely nothing... because I haven't heard any song by him before. Pretty good, needs more.
5/10
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