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| This entire EP was produced by T1 of the Golden Monkeys (except the "Machine Gun Rap" and "Live To Def" Remixes, which are unlisted, and remixed by Malik(s) of the Golden Monkeys) so, for those who are unfamiliar with Impervious himself, he has some
pretty decent associations through both the Monkeys and Mondrian Sound. It's therefore not entirely surprising that Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox turns up on "Live To Def", but more on that later… |
| "The Cool Out" appears initially to be a lazy intro track, until after 45 seconds the beat switches up and Impervious delivers his first verse of automatic weapon wordplay. The beat recedes down to its original lazy flow between
verses to form a hook of sorts, but Impervious is out of the gate, and the combination of him and T1 is off to a good start. "Machine Gun Rap" (as you might have expected) samples Raekwon's 'machine gun rap for all my niggas in the back' lyric,
which Impervious then follows up with a couple of verses of his own quick-fire lyrics. Vocally, Impervious draws comparison with the grit of better-established rhymers such as Vordul Megilah, and this track in particular is built upon 'street' themes. |
| In conjunction with Impervious' rhyming, T1's production is tight throughout the EP, although some of the tracks come across as a little bare, either because the vocal isn't charismatic enough to lift the beat or vice versa. The best track is, without a doubt, the distinctly old-school-sounding
"Live To Def", featuring a repetitive James Brown (or similar) spliced vocal, and a hook on which Vast turns up to tell us that Impervious is 'juggernaut status: unmovable'. Vast's presence is, however, a double-edged sword, in that his emphatic
hook and last half-verse, while enhancing the track as a whole, also manage to upstage Impervious' verses a little. |
| The tracks on "Machine Gun Rap" show Impervious and T1 to be very competent at their chosen crafts, but it suggests that both might benefit from slight improvement, or from stronger support. Vast's lyrics on "Live To Def"
aren't notably better than Impervious'; he simply delivers them with greater personality, and that's something Impervious should be able to learn from. This is a solid enough release, but its real appeal lies in the suggestion that Impervious and T1 - either separately or together - will develop and
deliver even better music in the future. |
| review: cornerstone |
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