Left Brain is a 35 year old producer, rapper & photographer from Los Angeles, California who helped form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future alongside his MellowHype cohort Jerry, I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow. His solo debut tape Mind Gone & its sequel Gone, Never Forgotten were both welcomed to mixed reception & was interested to see this extended play under EMPIRE Distribution having no guest appearances whatsoever.
The self-produced “Neck & Neck” combines a guitar, hi-hats & a woodwind for an intro about having his foot on muhfuckas’ necks whereas “Gameboy” incorporates advising not to give the game away since you either have it or don’t. “On My Brain” smoothens things out explaining what’s running through his head & after “Wildlife” cooks up a synth-driven trap beat talking about being here 1 day only to be gone the next, “Smoke Clears” ends Wild Fire 5 Ball with a trap outro getting flamed up.
Going back to the Odd Future era, there were always moments where Left Brain had proved his skills as a rapper since there was always a song or 2 throughout MellowHype’s discography where occasionally contributes to verses & there’s no doubt in my mind that Wild Fire 5 Ball offers the strongest portrayal of what an entire full-length debut could potentially sound like compared to the Mind Gone series. His trap production aside from “Gameboy” is still as good as it was when OF, MellowHype & even MellowHigh were all still around in my high school days & those who enjoyed his older verses will appearing hearing where he’s at presently.
Score: 4/5
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