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| Given that the first track on this is called "Chicago Spoken Sense", and the 804 area code is used at the EP's title, there are no prizes for guessing where LinC hails from. And clearly his Windy City heritage is important
to him. The easy bass-track that opens "Chicago Spoken Sense" transforms as soon as LinC's lyrics touch it into a really simple but really affecting piano loop, and he kicks verses and a hook that culminate in the lyric 'I'll never let this
city go to waste.' Mr.rha.gers production surrounds the track's piano keys with an effect that sounds like steam rising from city drains, making the sonics more dense and captivating, and making the image of the urban that's conjured up a more succinct one. |
| Regrettably, none of the other six tracks are quite able to match the success of this opener, although none of them are without their individual merits. Eliot's two production offerings - "Data Systems" and "Feeling Fine"
- help construct two fairly good tracks, the latter aided by the use of Laura Vitucci's vocals. And LinC's delivery over these tracks (with the added lyrical aid of Mr.rha.gers on "Feeling Fine") compliments the production style nicely, even
changing tempo to meet the progression of the beats but, for whatever reason, the impact isn't quite the same. |
| The collaboration with producer Kenny Keys on the EP's final track "Survival Of The Fittest" comes closest to reaching the same heights as "Chicago Spoken Sense". Not a reworking of the classic Mobb Deep track, this
is a sweet production with understated keyboard notes and horns, and LinC chooses to rhyme about a definition of 'fittest' that has more to do with thought-out intelligence than firearms and streetsmarts. |
| The "804 EP" is an unassuming slice of considered Chicago Hip Hop. Characteristics such as the soft piano usage and the presence of LinC's artistic lyrical vocabulary coupled with the Chicago origins of the whole thing can't help but make you think this might be a new-millennium
take on the sound that Common (back when he was still Common Sense) came out with. Certainly some of LinC's producing friends have some progress to make, and LinC himself will benefit from further practice on the levels of vocal delivery and rhythm, but the "804 EP" is a subtle assurance that
there's talent to be found in those windy streets. |
| review: cornerstone |
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