I can appreciate things when they become…tricky.
Sooey black dynamite driver#
Test Driver is that ish that’s layered with banger after banger. Atomz shines on “Malcolm 64” with a laidback flow over a melodic laidback beat and a few heady keyboard notes. He gets down trading verses with Killah Priest and Chris Crack, also featuring DJ Intel on “Cadillac On Michigan” keeping with the album’s theme. The beat though, it’s hard & direct but rocks with a head-nodding fervor. Arthur and the emcees all don’t seem to have time to waste. The album shifts gears with “This Life Time” feat. The acoustic guitar strumming chords leave it feeling breezy as backing vocals coo. That’s the imagery it gives off, and the animated video helps give off that same vibe. Atomz opens with the title track, a laid-back affair featuring Awdazcate, and it cruises across a palm tree-filled city. While it shares production from a variety of beat miners, the album remains cohesive from start to finish. His latest offering, Test Drive (600 Block Records) is a release that will undoubtedly withstand the test of time. It’s been over 20 years now, but the prolific Chicago emcee Pugs Atomz continues to drop new material year after year. Whichever direction ToBy moves in, the end result still seizes the moment. It’s definitely his more tender moments that take precedence on L’Esprit, and the ones that are most captivating.
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Those hard-edged nuances are always offset by his softer side in “Want Me To Do,” a stormy track where it seems ToBy exposes his heart for all to see, where he sings & rhymes on. But he does revert back to basics, killing it with “2FUKKINCOCK,” sporting tough guy braggadocio over a demanding backdrop.
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“Boyfriend” is the subtle jam here that plays with dynamics, splattering distorted guitars around as his soft delivery which is raised just above a whisper. His full-length debut pretty much offers that up, and while the cross-pollination of genres shifts boundaries within contemporary Hip-Hop, L’Esprit (Magnetic Moon), easily falls into R&B territories as well as offering up semblances of indie rock. Some probably won’t be sure what to make of ToBy at first, the artist billed as an emcee out of Los Angeles, because ToBy isn’t just a rapper, he’s a vocalist with a wider ranger.