Outside World’s own Frankie X gives fans just what they need for the summer, a mix of bars and bangers on “Angels EP”.
After dropping a few singles like “Janet” and “Gyalis Freestyle”, I had big expectations for Frank and he delivered, blending more melodic songs with a couple certified bangers.
The project starts off with the aggressive “The 24th Hour (Intro)” Great way to start off the project instantly locking in the listener. Frank rides the hard hitting beat with confidence, proving that he’s the best Rican rapper. The “Imma Tiger to these rap cats” line was a stand out for me.
“Benz Baby” is one of my favorite tracks on the project. The Spanish guitar sample on the beat gives it that Latin vibe, which Frank thrives on. This track shows the perfect balance between dope bars and a melodic flow. Sometimes emcees hit the melodic flow but don’t have any substance to their bars, Frank is the contrary.
“Elevate” featuring Rich Lex is on some triumphant shit. The flutes and the trickling hi hats give off a summer time vibe to me. It’s a feel good joint, but still on some flex shit at the same time. Rich Lex does his thing on the track. I really mess with Frank’s double time flow towards the end of the track.
“Taboo” featuring ASM Swerve is my favorite song on the project, they had me at the Sade sample. Really dope way to flip a classic track that we all know and love with out coming off as corny. Frank and Swerve both hold their own over the more smooth tropical production.
“As Friends” with Aja Iman is a really dope duet style track, giving both a female and male perspective. On this one Frank asks a common question “Can we fuck and still be friends doe?”. Frank killed it with the vocals and melodic flow, coming from the male perspective. Aja Iman cane at it from the female perspective, floating over the beat with some Jhene Aiko like vocals. Really great song.
It’s always something special when two of 813s dopest emcees come together on one track. “No Bonnie” a flip on the “Me and My Girlfriend” or “03 Bonnie & Clyde” style track puts Frank and Jay Browne on single mode, going against the traditional Bonnie structure. Jay Browne has been killing his features over the last few years and this is no exception. This song could have came out corny as hell but Frank and Jay really did their thing on it.
The close out track “Bite The Bullet” is on some introspective vibes, a nice change of pace at this point in the project. I really dig the message of this song, with Frank saying despite being right or wrong, he’s gonna be the bigger person and “Bite The Bullet”.
Really solid EP from Frankie X. A lot of these tracks are going to be heavy in the rotation for the summer. The only thing is I wish “Janet” was on here but I could see how it wouldn’t fit sound of the of this project.