At first listen to rapper E. Harper's Raydo produced mixtape Audio Crack...it's evident that he isn't a "n.o.w." rapper. And by "N.O.W." i mean,
"Never
Over
Whelm".
'Cause let's face it, most rapper's these days are just mutant rehashes of styles & flows past that to the weary, sonically traveled ear can sound...shall we say...unexciting. This however isn't the case with E. Harper. He can't be a mutant rehash because he's from a time where skill & content was actually, vehemently given a f@ck about. You can think of him as the hip hop Scott Bakula, making the Quantum Leap from then to now, skill set & work ethic intact.
Truth be told you really don't know what you're in for from the intro. Although DJ SussOne does a great job at getting the listener warmed up you just kinda miss the whole thing because if you're as cynical a listener that I am, you've heard it before and you've been disappointed with the outcome. So you can probably tell i was surprised by what came next "Audio Crack" officially opens the mixtape and Harper wastes no time in getting to work over the breezy sonic backdrop.
On "A.D.I.D.A.S." he could've went in the safe, unsettlingly braggadocious direction but instead decided to keep humbly braggadocious. It's on this track you get the feeling that Harper's everyman perspective won't let him over do it in the "brag" department. And that is refreshing & relatable as an objective listener.
Next we get "I'm Good" which for me immediately brought to mind Jay's "Imaginary Player" with it's funky baseline sparkly keys and overall "f@ck y'all ni@@az" feel. I mean he does say in the hook, "I'm good, they love me in the hood...i wish a ni@@a would."
"It's My Time" is a stirring "on my grind" type track with a wavy guitar and knocking drums work. "Terrible Terodactyl" is a cautionary chick joint similar to Az's "Ho Happy Jackie" & EPMD's "Jane" but way more funky and introspective (that beat was killer). "Lady Heroine" has Harper on some concept ish flipping witty acronyms. My only quarrel with that record is it probably went on longer than it should have. However the concept and delivery were dope throughout. On "Girlz N Gunz" Harper flips an old Jay-z beat talmbout the state of rappers these days. "Pray For Me" is an introspective track where he raps "they say i gotta Christ shaped whole in my life..." over some 70's style, blaxploitation soulful theme music. "Internet Sex" finds Harper giving a lil' something up for the ladies but manages to keep it rugged enough so the fellas can listen to it. Ultimately the song is another high functioning concept joint that gets the job done & entertains at the same time.
"APB On My MP3" & "How To Rhyme" are "don't f@ck wit me" type tracks that again easily get the job and entertains at the same time. Finally Harper finishes out the mixtape in grand form with the Nudge produced "The Recipe". Whether he decided to make it a bonus track or not it was definitely a good look for Harper to close out the album with that cut. It sums up the whole project perfectly. All in all AUDIO CRACK PT:1. NEW JACK CITY is a solid listen that showcases E. Harper's sharp word play and capable song writing capabilities. His beat selection only adds to that pleasing formula. Making it evident that E. Harper definitely isn't a "N.O.W." rapper he is on the other hand a rapper to continue to check for in the future. If you're interested in picking this up for yourselves head on over to DATPIFF.COM to cop that.
Rating: 4 out of 5 ninja stars.
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