(The one moment I knew I loved Action)
This album starts out with “Wolfpack”, and to be honest, I really have no clue who this is Bronson is talking to on this intro. But I just feel like the opening is completely asinine and wastes my time. Not to mention, it goes on so long. Thankfully, it does break into a track at some point, and then things get a whole lot better. As far as Bronson goes, he honestly doesn’t sound bad at all. It’s the same sort of ultra braggadocios bars that are almost so over-the-top that it’s hilarious. Speaking of hilarious, there are a TON of lines here that remain some of Bronson’s funniest, especially that one about the R&B singer. “Wolfpack” isn’t terrible, but I sort of wish he started off with some more up from delivery, and not this laid back tropical sounding track. Next up we have “La Luna”, and I don’t know what’s going on with all of these Low-Fi skits in between tracks, but I feel like I’m completely missing the point. All of this effort, just to usher in Bronson rapping over the waiting music on a Luxury Car hotline. It’s not even that good of a beat. And while yes, it’s funky as hell, I feel like this is just way too much of a stretch for Bronson. If this actually is a live freestyle, trust me, Bronson, I’ve heard better. But even if it’s not live and not a freestyle, Bronson you should be ashamed of this production. Even when things improve as far as the instrumental goes, “La Luna” is just alright. So far, I haven’t heard anything on this track that's gonna stop me in my tracks. Thankfully, Bronson pulls “That Chairman’s Intent” out of nowhere. His delivery here is nasty, and the sort of old school riff he’s rapping over reminds me easily of the first two Blue Chips projects. Overall, he just sounds so comfortable among this much more upbeat and urgent atmosphere. I feel like Bronson over the years has illustrated himself just so well. It’s gotten to the point where you listen to some of these “Success Bars” and I can’t help but laugh a little. He also here brings in a lot of very old school New York Hip Hop that he connected with so well on his early projects. Overall, “The Chairman’s Intent” works so well for Action. Then we have “Hot Pepper” featuring Jah Tiger and long time collaborator Meyhem Lauren. Now, I’m honestly really starting to think that a lot of these interludes were sort of just thrown in last minute to add a few minutes to the length of this album. But if anything, the opening skit on “Hot Pepper” is straightforward enough to justify its place here. To be honest, I really was looking forward to this track, because I’ve always really loved Bronson and Meyhem together. They’ve had brilliant chemistry together for years, and this is no different. Once again, we're back dealing with a very laid back beat. As a matter of fact, a good handful of tracks here have a sort of tropical vibe. Bronson’s bars, however, are still the headliner, as he comes off just as lively and animated as ever. Between Bronson talking about his cars and trying out for the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s impossible to hate this guy. Plus, he really does know exactly what Pop Culture reference to whip out. And let me just say Bronson, I’m SURE people mistook your Hype-Man Big Body Bas of all people for Bruce Fucking Willis (That line had me in tears). Even the hook on “Hot Pepper” from Jah Tiger fits. This track is brilliant. As these tracks roll on with moments like “Bonzai”, I’m slowly getting more and more of a Blue Chips trilogy vibe. As far as a beat goes, we haven’t heard anything this stripped down yet. But I’ll be honest, I love how slick it is. That bass lick is just so cool, and the sort of dreary and lonely tone to this one is something I haven’t heard from Bronson in quite some time. There’s a lot to dig on “Bonzai”. My only real issue is, why is this track 2 minutes long? Why couldn’t you take some minutes away from the other filler here and add to this one? Anyways, Bronson’s lyrics are just as animated and braggadocios on here, and I love every moment of it. Not to mention, I can’t help but laugh at that last skit.
Just when I think Bronson is on a roll, we get tracks like “Let It Rain” which have me scratching my head. The beat here just isn’t flattering at all. While some of the other beats on this tape have really focused a lot on world music and tropical music, this is a little too colorful to the point where it completely outshines Bronson. Speaking of Bronson’s performance on “Let It Rain”, it’s sort of weird. I feel like his delivery is just fine, and he sounds as aggressive as normal. But I feel like lyrically this is is tamest yet. There were barely any moments where I felt like here was amusing me enough to be anything special, and there are WAY too many pop culture references here. This one is just weird. Then we have “My Right Lung” which is certainly a sweet sentiment, going deep into Bronson’s wanting to do all of these things in life that he just can’t. Now, this is a very human sentiment from Action that we really don’t get to hear too often from him. But I don’t know how I’m supposed to take him seriously among this very jazzy tone that does nothing for him. His delivery here is just so hazy and sleepy. Plus, at 2 minutes long once again I feel like nothing about this one truly grabs me. But as far as lyrics go, I do understand what’s to dig about this. Up next though is “TANK” featuring hype-man and lovable doofus Big Body Bes. Instantly, this is so much more in Bronson’s realm. I love the very old school sounding riff that has that great Blue Chips quality that I obsessed with in the past. Not to mention, that vocal sample is seriously a brilliant touch. “TANK” shows Bronson back to being his usual very animated self, and is simply the sort of homecoming that I wanted to hear. Between lines that are just so damn funny that I actually had to pause the tape and the over the top bragging that I’ve come to love, this track is fantastic. Not to mention, Big Body’s ridiculous, hilarious, and completely over the top ad-libs towards the end of the track are what I’ve been dying to hear all album. Now sadly, I really wasn’t into “Let Me Breath” the first time I heard it, and I’m still really not into it. This beat is the farthest thing from flattering. Literally, I feel like I could have heard any mainstream MC on this beat. Even as far as his delivery and lyrics go, this isn’t Bronson at all. His delivery sounds so watered down on this one, and I’d be lying if I said there was a single lyric I could remember. And I don’t even want to think about that hook. For a split second, I was truly worried that Action Bronson was replaced by Big Dean. So sorry ladies and gentlemen, “Let Me Breath” really doesn’t work for me. Now, I have absolutely no clue what’s going on on the intro to “9-24-7000”. But thankfully, when this one gets rolling, it gets rolling. While this beat is just so much more relaxed and dazed than we’ve heard in a while, it compliments Bronson immensely. Even as far as lyrics go, this is a much more personal and less animated Bronson we’re getting here. But to be perfectly honest, it’s actually really special. Even though this is a VERY different track for Action Bronson, he still sounds great. His lyrics are creative, his delivery is sharp, and Rick Ross of all the people sounds……actually really good. I’m not a fan of Rick at all, but every once in a while he sort of shocks me with a really good feature. And that’s exactly what we have on here. But to be honest, should I be that shocked? Because honestly, is there anyone in Rap that can match Action Bronson’s over-the-top “Brag Bars” like Rick? Not really. “9-24-7000” is a really decent tune overall.
The amount of filler on this mixtape, however, continues to be this album’s major downfall. For a mixtape that’s only about 35 minutes long, there’s just so many skits and pointless interludes. Thankfully I do enjoy the very upbeat and funky “The Choreographer”, as well as the continued vocal sampling. It’s something that a lot of times Bronson hasn’t really done much with and to be honest it’s a nice touch. “The Choreographer” overall is decent. It doesn’t sound like Bronson is drifting too far from his usual sound, and his wild Party Boy persona on this one shines wonderfully. But at this point, what does that even matter. Where’s the content, Bronson? I feel like every time you go away for a year promising to return with a mixtape, you end up giving the world a 40-minute mixtape brimming with filler and interludes. There are great tracks here, don’t get me wrong. But this mixtape easily could have been shortened by like three tracks, and some of the better tracks could have been explored deeper. And just when I’m done ranting about filler, we get “Chop Chop Chop”. This one takes an entire 40 seconds just to get going. I do enjoy the sort of melancholy and bluesy delivery from Bronson. But as this one goes on, it’s just getting more and more obvious that Bronson really isn’t putting his whole effort into this. Every time his verses get really interesting and skilled, either really repetitive lyrics or another ridiculously bad skit pops in and sort of messes up the flow of everything. Thankfully, Bronson does bring a nice beefy and hardcore finale in with “Durag Vs. Headband”. This is EASILY the most aggressive and nastiest track of the album. I don’t even know where this sound has even been hiding. Everything about “Durag Vs. Headband” works, from the clever Pop Culture references to the one liners from Bronson. Hell, we’re even treated to more ridiculous Ad-Libs from Big Body Bes. “Durag Vs. Headband” at the very least ends this mixtape off on a brilliant note.
Rating: 7.0/10
Give A Listen To: “The Chairman’s Intent”, “Hot Pepper”, “TANK”, “9-24-7000”
Genre: Rap
If You Dig This, Check Out: Action Bronson: “Blue Chips 2”, Ghostface Killah - “Fishscale”
Overall Thoughts: Ohhhh boy. This easily could have been just as classic as some of Action Bronson's early mixtapes. Like, there are tons of really animated and colorful rap tracks, the likes that made me obsess over Action Bronson years ago. Bronson sounds just as skillful, and for the most part he's just as clever as ever. But honestly, there is just so much filler here. Like his debut album was a few years ago, I'm just sort of left wanting more from this.
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