Montréal, Québec, Canada producer Nicholas Craven fully producing a 5 track EP for Rochester, New York rapper Rx Papi. Beginning his music career when he was 9, Lil Meechy has since build up a solo discography consisting of 6 proper full-length studio LPs as well as his last 17 EPs & 13 mixtapes on top of a dozen collaborative projects. Essentials of Papi’s include the sophomore effort Numbers Tell a Different Story, his 13th EP Foreign Exchange, his 10th mixtape 100 Miles & Walkin’ and lastly the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul. I even enjoyed Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em & his eponymous collab EP with 1600J last spring, with Where I’m From becoming highly anticipated for me as fan of both Papi & Craven.
“2 5th Rick” drumlessly samples a church organ to talk about the east side of the Roc & not wanting anyone to get that fucked up whereas “2am on the Eastside” switches it up for a chipmunk soul direction wanting to chill in the late night hours with a cup & a pill. “Walked Me Into the Wild” is a drumless sequel to the Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em track that I prefer over the original while “Groovy Lou” works in a jazz-funk sample getting in his penthouse bag. The closer happens to be the 8th installment of the “Fay” saga, joining the last couple entries to go on a 3-peat speaking straight from the heart.
The singles teased in the Where I’m From rollout were already amongst his best 2020s output, but what we get out of these 15 in a half minutes is a drumless gangsta rap EP with minor boom bap & chipmunk soul influences that I’d have to put behind Foreign Exchange as my favorite one in Rx Papi’s whole entire discography. Obviously they’re different in sound because Foreign Exchange’s more cloudier & pluggier, I just mean in a way that compliments his range artistic range pulling off all those styles.
Here we have a brand new self-titled collaborative EP from New York rappers Rx Papi & 1600J. Both of whom have established themselves individually within their local underground scene off projects like Foreign Exchange, Pack a Punch, NextDoorNeighbors or more recently 16GTC & Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em. Now both of these guys have previously crossed paths with one another before on tracks like “1 Time” or “Blowin’ My Phone”, so a whole EP from them together only make sense.
The cloudy “All Day Long” produced by Harrison couldn’t have been a more perfect opening track to the EP flexing that they making money all day every day whereas “Flood Warning” takes the psychedelic route instrumentally callin’ the cappers on their bluffin’. “Not the Night” melodically promises their significant others that they still love them no matter how big they get just before “Cross My Screen” returns to a cloudier vibe talking about getting excited when their bitches numbers hit their phone screens.
“Only Fans” starts the 2nd half of the EP on some melodic, romantic plugg shit while “Special Ed” delves into pluggnb refusing to go back to their old hoes since they bagged the right ones now. “Ain’t Shit” has this luxuriously smoother trap vibe to the beat clapping back at the bitches that told them that they wouldn’t be shit, but then the closer “Money Hunt” closes up shop with 1 last plugg track talking about being on a hunt for the bread.
What Rx Papi & 1600J give us on this eponymous EP joins the ranks as one of the best collaborative projects they’ve ever done, reaching the bar set by Fleechy’s joint efforts with RXKNephew & the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul. I’d even argue it’s on the same pedestal as the NextDoorNeighbors EP that 1600 did with Pasto Flocco couple years back. It’s more plugg/pluggnb centered production-wise & both artists do a noteworthy job of elevating the chemistry.
Rx Papi is a 28 year old rapper from Rochester, New York originally emerging under the original moniker Lil Fleechy. Beginning his music career when he was 9, he has since build up a solo discography consisting of 3 proper full-length studio LPs as well as 15 EPs & 11 mixtapes on top of 11 collaborative projects. Essentials of Papi’s include the sophomore effort Numbers Tell a Different Story, his 13th EP Foreign Exchange, his 10th mixtape 100 Miles & Walkin’ and lastly the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul to name only a few. However in light of his born day next month, he’s following up My Name is My Name by releasing his 4th album.
“U Gotta Believe Me” seriously has to be one of the best opening tracks to an Rx Papi project that I’ve ever heard from the sample-laced trap instrumental to Fleechy talking about those that ever doubted him whereas “You Must Love Me” mixes a pitched soul flip & hi-hats together addressing everyone who didn’t want to see him shinin’ at all. “Melinda Told Me” has these amazingly jazzy undertones to the trap production & Rx admitting he should’ve listened to what his mother had previously told him prior to “Designa” clashing these horns & hi-hats flexing on the lyrical side of things.
Meanwhile on “When the Smoke Clear”, we have Papi talking about being paranoid & the hood loving him similarly to DJ Clark Kent since they both hail from the City of Dreams giving a Detroit trap vibe to the beat, but then “Legends Never Die” is this soulful trap rock hybrid getting high & reminiscing over a special person in his life the other day that can’t be with us today. “Collect Call” returns to that Motor City trap sound asking if you gonna press 5 when he hits you up on collect & the bells & strings on “Made Man” are a great touch asking why you want war with gravediggers.
“Riggs” goes for a bouncier trap approach with instrumentally except with crooning background vocals & Rx painting images of the gangsta lifestyle while “You Gotta Be Crazy” expressing his annoyance at naggin’ ass bitches who think they know it all & how you’re really supposed to be ballin’ out here backed by 808s & solemn sampling. “No Deal Bill” taking shots at those who wanna see him on the bench when he’s out on the courts over more 808s & looped vocal harmonies behind it just before the cloudy, self-explanatory “Love Me While I’m Here” says it all.
Papi lets out true anger all throughout “I Need All My Money” responding to a hoe that the reason he’s so heartless being due to the fact that he grew up in darkness & “Something Seem Funny” samples Sade talking about everyone quickly ducking as soon as his squad hop out of their whips. The bell-heavy albeit exuberant “You Need Your Grass Cut” promising brody that ties will be cut if he ever catch him tucking his chain that is until the grisly “N.M.N.G.H. (Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt)” talks about putting any & all oops under pressure.
“I’m Only Gonna Say It Once” heavy builds itself around flipping “Gunz Come Out”, which happens to be my personal favorite song off 50 Cent’s officially released sophomore effort The Massacre cautioning that playing with his money will get you shot dead in your shit & the “Walked Me Into the Wild” beat is the same as “Town & Country” by Boldy James wanting an explanation for being lied to. “97 Harris St” saves the jazziest instrumental for last asking what a bitch want after getting 10 missed calls.
I’d love an LP from Papi on the same pedestal as the Foreign Exchange EP at some point & Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em undoubtedly takes a step above the previous one My Name is My Name regardless of Numbers Telling a Different Story remaining as my favorite full-length of his. Being more gangsta rap & trap oriented cumulatively, it’s one of if not the darkest body of work in his discography filled with interesting sample selections with additional dark plugg, Detroit trap & pop rap undertones.
Legends Will Never Die 