Post by StevePulaski on Aug 18, 2015 14:00:06 GMT -5
Super Saiyan: Vol. 1 (2013)
By: Sicko Mobb
By: Sicko Mobb
Rating: ★★½
In contrast to the Chicago hip-hop subgenre known as "drill," a dark, brooding sound that comprises sequencer and synthesizer-heavy beats with grim and violent lyrical content, there is "bop," a more upbeat sound that comes drenched in audio-tuned vocals and bouncy instrumentation. Sicko Mobb, a group made up of two young Chicago rappers - Lil Ceno and Lil Trav, is one of the hottest bop groups out right now, combining their love for instantly catchy instrumentation and quirky lyricism put to the metallic-sounds of auto-tune and vocal enhancement.
The duo's most popular song, "Fiesta," which kicks off their debut mixtape Super Saiyan: Vol. 1, is a song that won me over immediately, thanks to its unstoppably bouncy beat and Lil Ceno's distinctively mixed and tuned voice. "Fiesta" is nothing special as a song in terms of subject matter, as Ceno and Trav boast about heading to a "FeFe" (fiesta/party) in their neighborhood where women are definitely going to be on the prowl for sex ("all these hoes be goin'"), Patron, Xanax, and Ecstasy ('Tron, flats, and Molly") are guaranteed to be had (even mixed), and money will be thrown and spent in every direction ("big bands in my pocket, I don't carry no wallet, get off my d***, I'm stuntin', got the baddest bitches watchin'"). This is simply one of the most infectious and happiest-sounding Chicago rap songs I have yet to hear; from the sound, the flow, and the nonstop energy and charm of the duo's voices, all the pieces of this song fit like a beautiful, colorful puzzle.
It's a shame, however, that the remainder of Sicko's debut mixtape fails to replicate the kind of instant winner-charm "Fiesta" has. With that, however, the first of an undisclosed series of mixtapes in the Super Saiyan mixtape poses some strength in developing the underrated bop genre, but no other song, unfortunately, comes close to touching the level of potency that "Fiesta" has. There are winners, however: "BooGee" is a witty track, carrying part of "Fiesta"'s sound with it as it accentuates the heavily modified vocals, "Maserati" has a breakneck chorus that begs you to dance along and is really carried by a terrific Lil Durk verse that will have you wishing he did more bop than R&B, and "Bitches N Bikinis," featuring the likes of Twista, has certain appeal as Twista can play along with the eclectic musical style (unlike A$AP Ferg, who clearly struggles to mesh his gangsta rap lyricism and flow with Sicko on the remix of "Fiesta," featured in substitute of the original version of the song on the "NO DJ" version of this mixtape").
Far and away the biggest disappointment on Super Saiyan: Vol. 1 is "Sicko CITGO," Sicko's remix of Chief Keef's "Citgo," a bonus track on one particular version of his debut album Finally Rich. The song not only finds itself messily mixed and produced, but Sicko can't seem to decide how they want to flow on the instrumentation, so what entails is a strange hybrid of incoherent vocals and lackadaisical flows. Sadly, far too many times does Sicko find itself settling for this kind of sloppiness instead of trying to replicate or build off of "Fiesta"'s success in a strong manner.
It's hard to assign a lower rating to a mixtape when one song is phenomenal and a handful of others are fairly strong, but Super Saiyan: Vol. 1, with its candy-colored artwork and regionally subversive approach, struggles to capitalize off of this new ocean of sounds and ostensibly feels more comfortable treading its waters instead of making a splash.
Recommended tracks (in order): "Fiesta," "Maserati," "BooGee," and "Bitches N Bikinis."