Do we need another gritty voiced emcee? Well, if he's Arecee, the answer is 'hell yeah'. Dude sure got that raspy voice, that either gives him away as a strong hard liqueur drinker (ala The Pogues), or he screamed too loud as a kid, and his voice never really recovered. Now considering that he wants your attention, it easily could be the first. Considering that on the back of his record, some small totter is gulping from a Coors can, it might as well be the first theory. He further seems to enjoy guest appearances, as off the 10 tracks on this EP, only five are done as a solo mission. And that means really solo, cause this cat is also responsible for the beats, and in case you care, for the artwork too. Whatever the case, Arecee is a gritty voice emcee, he comes from Iowa. Just like him: bear it.

But let's check out the music, and we shall start with the best first. And that happens to be "Vital Signs", a collaboration with Sage Francis, who more and more proves that he is an incredible emcee, and not merely a hype by overexcited avant garde nerds. On here, you can check how easily he rides the track, how well his voice is suited for such a task, and how nicely he keeps a certain arrogant sarcasm continuously present in his rhymes. On the beat tip, Arecee outdid himself, as here the combination of dark elementary boom bap, and a musical add on, is perfectly balanced, making this cut an instant urbansmarts.com charts entry, if there'd be an urbansmarts.com charts. What shall also be mentioned props with a pat on the back, that the tracks always feature some nice and needed elements, like bridges, pauses, etc. What proves that they were conceived with the lyrics in mind, making these actual songs, rather than just a beat paired with a lyric.

Arecee did make many of the tracks for the sole purpose to flow and talk ish, while it's not always too clear what exactly he talks about. Hence he often enough rambles in a drunkard type fashion (and "Acceptable Treatment" seems to prove us right), what doesn't mean though that he babbles like a drunkard. The choruses are often enough too long (or plain annoying after the 12th listen, like on "Whatever's Clever"), what then in combination is hard on your ears. However, having found that out, we are aware that the beats are holding the important position of adding a furthered separation between the tracks, meaning that it's also on them (as well as on the clever lines) to get our head turning. And they do: On the more confusing tip, there's "Choke" that features some sound element, that comes like an amalgam of some French, Caribbean and Mayan sounds. The beat on "Hoeshit" (feat. George Gacey & Antagonist), as well as on "Acceptable Treatment" come dope, while on the other end of town, "Grey" (feat. Know1 and Gai Den) is too guitary and cute.

So in conclusion, Arecee is giving us a nifty record, despite one or two 'eeh' moments. The EP however is not for everyone. Like, it's not for parents that find Disney Films to be too violent. Or for folks that doom alcohol to be devil's liquid. Or for heads that consider bandana wearing cats to be the best emcees on this planet. This is for those that enjoy their hip hop to be arrogant and not giving a fart. So have your ears guzzle it, like it's your very first bear, I mean beer. Prost.