Making for a fitting title to the album, $mokebreak sees Alabama native Pink Siifu and “Mutant Academy” member Fly Anakin deliver self-assured raps over hazy production. The 10-song project, sandwiched by a prelude and postlude, is dense with a multitude of jazz-rappers and underground artists, making for a good introduction to the styles of all.
Siifu and Anakin recruit Pro Era member Chuck Strangers to rap and produce on the track “Oatmeal.” Absent drums on the track make for a good sample of a few of the abstract, jazz-influenced tracks ahead. Right away, a similarity can be noticed between the voices of Fly Anakin and fellow east coast rapper Westside Gunn. However, the comparisons end at the vocal intonation with which they deliver their raps. There exists a very cloudy atmosphere to much of the production, specifically on tracks such as “3 Dope Boys” and “Shawty.” The sound presented in these two as well as in the project itself is reminiscent of the production of beatmakers such as Knxwledge and MIKE (a.k.a. dj blackpower). Like the vocalist feature list of the project, various producers also line up to contribute to the album; this includes Pink Siifu himself, who produces under the name “iiye.” “Tha Divide” is a great posse cut, which employs a smooth sample of Patrice Rushen’s “When I Found You.” The best verse here is provided by MAVI, a protege of Earl Sweatshirt who made a buzz among underground rap fans with one of my favorite projects from 2019, “Let the Sun Talk.” The following song “Remote Relocation” has perhaps the worst production here, with a dominating sample overruling anything being said on the track. The sample itself is okay at best, but drones on and overstays its welcome at worst. It is noteworthy that this track samples The Shirelles “It’s Love That Really Counts,” as The Avalanches flipped the same sample just last year for their track “The Divine Chord” featuring MGMT and Johnny Marr. Pink Siifu and The Avalanches collaborated when Siifu was featured on The Avalanches song “Running Red Lights,” which appeared on the same album as “The Divine Chord.” Just one song in the entire track listing here features Siifu and Anakin on their own, and it turned out to be my favorite track on the album: “Blame,” which contains an earworm of a sample. The song is produced by Black Noi$e, who has production credits on Earl Sweatshirt’s critically acclaimed “Some Rap Songs” with “The Mint.” The cool “$moked Outro” serves as a nice conclusion-postlude to the record. The strengths of this project include its incredible consistency overall. In terms of weaknesses, this album very rarely manages to reach out and grab my attention and force me to listen. With that being said, it excels when played in the background and you need to focus on performing some task. In other words, every song here (except “L’s”) maintains a very low key vibe. Be sure to check out album highlights “Blame” and “Tha Divide.”
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AuthorEnrique Cardenas III Archives
November 2021
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