Back with a relatively short review today, as both these projects came out a while ago and are only classed as EP's, however, I am a big fan of both Joyner and Smoke Boyz so I did want to cover them.
Joyner Lucas - Evolution
A really interesting one, coming so soon after his debut LP "ADHD", which dropped earlier in the year. Although I liked that project, I did have some issues with the rollout (as did a lot of people), in that most of the songs from "ADHD", we had already heard, therefore the album was never going to feel as fresh as it should have. In comparison Evolution was much smoother, and I hadn't even listened to the lead single from the album Fall Slowly, before listening.
On Evolution, Joyner is once again introspective and personal as ever. We get new perspectives and angles and learn more about what makes Joyner the person he is today. 2 of my personal favourite cuts Evolution and Like a River, contribute to this massively.
Although Joyner has an unbelievable knack for bullet-fire flows and impeccable storytelling, like on the tracks Zim Zimma and Snitch, there is a few areas of unoriginality on this project that hold it back from being a true classic of an EP. From the hook on On This Way feeling like something straight from Kanye West's Ye album, to Zim Zimma being very similar to Drake's Nonstop anthem (apart from the fast flows at the end, which I wasn't even that keen for), to having a picture of a child on the front cover of the album, I just feel as though Joyner draws on his inspirations too blatantly sometimes.
With that said, we did get some great moments, the impressive rhyme schemes on the hook of Evolution were brilliant, and Snitch did feel like another classic Joyner moment, ones that have been very common over the past few years. Outside of some of my issues with how original some of Joyner's musical decisions are, I did enjoy much of this EP and will return to a few of these songs, particularly Evolution, Things I've Seen, Snitch, Str8 Like Dat and Like a River.
Smoke Boyz - All The Smoke
When I found out this was going to be the last Smoke Boyz project as a collective I was absolutely gutted. Their 2015 EP Don't Panic is one of my favourite UK projects of all time, and to this day I am obsessed with some of the joints on that project. Don't Panic 2 wasn't as good, but was still a solid effort.
All The Smoke has some hard records on it. I stand by that Smoke Boyz are extremely underrated lyricists, and in my opinion do not get the credit they deserve. My only gripe with this record is that the beats are far too similar. They were all made by MK the Plug and this is officially a joint EP. Blending both drill and grime, the beats are hard, but like I said, all follow similar sounds and patterns. As do the hooks. On Don't Panic, the hooks are ambitious and creative, on this project they sound formulaic and boring, and for me don't necessarily serve what hooks are supposed to do, which is glue the song together in a nice, sometimes catchy manner.
It is definitely a shame that this is going to be the last Smoke Boyz project, but I do think for them the time is right. It will be interesting to see what the members all go on to do next. For me, I'd like to say, thank you for the great tunes, the first Don't Panic project is one I will forever hold close to my heart.
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