https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPs4RAJd1-o
(YEAAAAAAA)
This album starts off with a band with “Oh Shit!!!”. Instantly we’re greeted with a glitchy, yet fairly classy piano beat. Quickly though, were sent head first into the world of Injury Reserve as soon as that booming beat drops and those animated and extremely charismatic verses come in. The verses here are a little over exaggerated, but personally that’s what I love about these guys! You don’t here wild verses like this every day, and it gives the boys in Injury Reserve so much character. Even though Injury Reserve are still young in their career, you’re going to hear throughout the album that they’re more than comfortable with making a joke or two about themselves. They claim numerous times here that this isn’t “Jazz Rap”, but “Spazz Rap”, clever boys. As far as jazz rap goes though, there’s still plenty of instances where Jazz Rap comes into play here. That piano beat hasn’t left us entirely, it continues to float through the background making everything else here flow super nicely. However, things aren’t all super hip and classy, that chorus is bangin’ enough to give Injury Reserve just the right amount of edge. Honestly, “Oh Shit!!!” might be the perfect intro for these guys. It ushers in every member nicely, not letting either of them get too overblown. Hell, even that little autotune bit towards the end comes off great. Up next is one of my favorite tracks here, “Bad Boys 3”. First off, let me just say in 2016 if you’re starting off you’re rap track with a Dilated Peoples sample, you’re doing a whole lot right my friends. The sample comes off stunningly, and really works great amongst the atmosphere of Injury Reserve. The beat that accompanies this sample is pretty darn murky and dark sounding, with some wild tribal drums constantly booming away. Injury Reserve continue to poke fun at themselves, bringing up the obscurity of their debut album but how it’s was so highly regarded. “Bad Boys 3” has an absolutely wild sound to it, much more chaotic than other tracks I’ve heard Injury Reserve put out. My only real issue with this track is just how short it is. I think the beat is so perfect here that I could have easily sat with this track another 2 minutes at least. However, it’s sharp, it’s aggressive, and has some fantastic lines while it does stick around. Up next is the first track that I heard off the album, “All This Money”. Right off the bat were greeted with a huge, colorful beat, coming off like a lot of the beats on their debut project. It’s heavy enough to groove to, but it’s also bouncy enough to be sort of fun, and that horn popping in and out reminds us of their jazzy roots. The chorus on “All This Money” is hilarious, catchy, and incredibly entertaining, while remaining being seriously in your face. The braggadocios verses here come off a little tongue in cheek, but with the subject matter and just how over the top everything else on this track is, I’m sure thats what they were aiming for. Lyrically, it’s simple, but man does it ever work. Injury Reserve here are basically going down a laundry list of things they can afford now that they’ve “made it”. When it comes to the later verses their song topics branch out a bit which is good to hear, even though the central theme of “spending money” sticks around. “All This Money” is just a really great single all around, and that last little outro skit about H&M’s shirts with zippers is absolutely hilarious. Up next is “S On Ya Chest” with another seriously classy intro. As heavy as some of these tracks get, Injury Reserve still cling to that alternative hip hop sound which they started out with. When that main beat drops, man is it ever elegant. The fact that Injury Reserve can go from a heavier beat to a more left-field one like this honestly makes them a whole lot more exciting, it makes you feel like they can hit you with anything at a moments notice. As far as the verses go, both Steppa J. Groggs and Ritchie With a T have seriously been working hard on their flows. Everything about “S On Ya Chest” is so incredibly smooth, it almost becomes hypnotizing. Injury Reserve are sometimes dropping overly braggadocios bars, while other times making Outkast and Channel 11 references. They’re certainly a little all over the place, but man are they a spectacle.
Now, Injury Reserve keep the features sparse on “Floss”. But both of the guests featured on here actually both sound fantastic. The first guest is Cakes Da Killa on “What’s Goodie”. The beat on “What’s Goodie” is a little off kilter and hard to place at first. However, once the beat gets comfortable and things get rolling, it quickly escalates into being one of the funkiest tracks on here. Now when it comes to Cakes Da Killa, I’ve heard of him, but I’m not necessarily too familiar with his material. He does just fine though to be honest, mostly being featured on that hook which is a really solid one. His bars here are over the top, making himself out to be someone “you need to know”, but honestly it really goes over very well with the Injury Reserve style. The other verses here are upbeat, in your face, and super aggressive. The lines that Injury Reserve come up with are just so damn clever, the one about “When you kiss The Don don’t leave a hickey” being one of them. Injury Reserve are totally ok with dropping these over-exaggerated “status” rhymes, than going completely into a wrestling reference (being a fan I DID pop for the Rey Mysterio references, I’ll admit it). So far, I’m just having a blast listening to this album. Later on in the album, Vic Mensa stops by for a guest spot on “Keep On Slippin’”. There’s a nice sung intro here that actually comes off really stunning, it may go on a bit too long for my liking but it’s still really well done. When the beat finally comes in, man is it ever classy. It’s super smooth and jazzy in feel, and it compliments Vic Mensa’s already impressive verse, making everything really fantastic. Hell, even the later moments drenched in autotune even come off well. Then we have the verses from Injury Reserve, which are a spectacle within themselves. That’s mostly because of how well they’ve switched the mood here. The verses here aren’t bangers, and they aren't nearly as animated as they’ve been. No the mood on “Keep On Slippin’” is much more somber and almost depressing. Even lyrically the boys are dealing with different topics entirely such as mental illnesses and “being at war with yourself”. It’s a shot out of left field, but man is it ever fantastic. As an album overall, this is super impressive for Injury Reserve. When it comes down to it, there are really only a few real “hiccups”. The first being the “2016 Interlude”, which starts off with a super spacey beat that’s almost a little too busy sounding. Now I actually like a lot of the bars here to be honest, and I think that a lot of the lyrics here are actually super relevant. My only real issue is I wish this was a little more fledged out. There are some really great moments on “2016 Interlude” for the short time it’s happening, I just wish it was longer and more than just an interlude. The only other track I’m seriously not feeling is “All Quiet On The West Side”. Right off the bat this beat is definitely different than other beats here. This track overall has such a more subdued, murky feel to everything. The first strike on “All Quiet On The West Side”, is just that is takes way too freaking long to get going. Not to mention, the vocal effects in the first minute are completely unnecessary. The bars from Injury Reserve here are solid and all, and just as animated as they usually are. It’s mostly just the beat itself that seriously needs some revamping. And it’s a shame because seriously there are some great, conscious verses here.
Early in the album, “Girl With The Gold Wrist” gives us a brief glimpse into the more commercial sounding side of Injury Reserve. To be honest though, even THIS comes off pretty damn well. The beat seriously has some funk to be reckoned with, and while the chorus is super simple, it works so well. Every verse here is so smooth, even though this track is 5 or 6 tracks into the album I feel like the boys of Injury Reserve have barely taken any breaks. “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe” shows us an entirely different sort of beat from Injury Reserve. On this one, we see Injury Reserve at their most hyped, on an intense and pulsating electronic beat seemingly out of the Death Grips playbook. Lyrically, it’s one of the lazier moments here. The boys DO however pick things up and at the very lease seriously lay down some aggressive performances. “Back Then” late in the album has another seriously murky beat, but this one comes off wonderfully. To be honest, “Back Then” has one of the darkest tones on here, and that auto tune towards the beginning seriously comes off wonderfully. Obviously here Injury Reserve are paying some homage to Mike Jones, but it comes off really great. We’re getting plenty of “coming up in the Rap Game” bars, but they’re right at home among this super glitzy beat. Outside of that, it’s just a solid tune. Then we have the finale, the stunning, epic, “Look Mama I Did It”. On this one we’re treated to another super classy, jazzy beat. The jazz influence here sticks around even as the beat drops, and the gospel singing in the background makes the instrumental here pretty jaw-dropping. As far as the verses go, there are tons of “We made it” bars, but these are actually very sincere. As far as a deep, emotional track goes, this is by far the biggest one on the album. We’re seriously getting to know Injury Reserve as people here, and this is definitely much harder to listen to due to just how real some of these lyrics are. Injury Reserve show us a seriously different side here, but I’m glad they do. Those last few lines about “Taking us to the dentist office, now we took you to church” couldn’t have been more epic in book. Injury Reserve remain one of the most exciting new acts in hip hop.
Rating: 8.6/10
Give A Listen To: "Bad Boys 3" "All This Money", "What's Goodie", "Keep On Slippin'"
Overall Thoughts: If you enjoyed Injury Reserves "Live From The Dentist's Office" mixtape, or if you're just a fan of colorful jazzy alternative rap, you're going to love this. Here, Injury Reserve give us plenty of wild, enthusiastic rhymes up against all sorts of different styles of hip hop beats that just keep getting better and better. Sometimes, their charismatic and goofy enough to mock themselves, while other times showing off their emotions in an incredibly heartfelt way. There's a little on here for everybody, if you're a fan of alternative hip hop, it's something to listen to.
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