Tag: Nickel Plated

O.T. the Real – “The Devil You Know” review

This is the 8th studio LP from Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping his last 7 albums as well as a mixtape & 8 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living, so Nickel returning for The Devil You Know only makes sense.

“GOATS” grimly starts with this boom bap opener warning to watch what you say around him because you might wind up dead because of it later on at some point whereas “Silverspoon” morbidly keeps it in the basement instrumentally talking about making it out on his own. The beat on “Wall” kinda gives me a Griselda feel to it giving praise to the plug who helped him get into his current position while “Countryfried” featuring Smoke DZA cops a turkey on the low without knowing what it took.

As for “Highland”, we have O.T. over an uncannily raw instrumental suggest to watch who you servin’ just before “Eyes” ruggedly demand you show him the product & the bread right on the spot. “Insane” maintains the boom bap sound talking about staying outside trappin’ for what his leading into “Talez” taking about the stories of a hustler & wanting others to have his back whether it’s right or wrong.

“Devil” aggressively kicks off the final leg of The Devil You Know with O.T. getting right back in his zone over this rap rock/boom bap crossover while “Friends” featuring Dun Dealy finds the 2 talking about being unable to enter Canada & having homies out in Mexico. The song “Damn” is a dreary one reflecting on a homie texting him saying he needed to talk to him & “62” ends by explaining his come up was a dream come true.

Starting the deluxe run, “Bracelets” brushes off any notion of his competition being anything like him while “After Midnight” featuring SKNJ decently trades the mic back-&-forth with each other. “Carved” talks about being the only one who can see the blood on his hands while “Dead Opps” featuring Lik Moss talks about how nasty it is out here. “Lows” speeds up his flow over a piano-driven boom bap beat & the final bonus track “Junkie’s Son” coincides with his Long Bright River appearance.

Both You Are Who You Eat With & Cost of Living remain quality bodies of work within what’s already an impressive discography for O.T., unless The Devil You Know can now be included during conversation. Nickel Plated’s production for a good run of it primarily sticks out as being based around boom bap locking in with the Philly standout for another round of pressure.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

O.T. the Real – “Cost of Living” review

Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut in the form of his 8th EP. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping 7 albums as well as a mixtape & his last 7 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman& the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, but Nickel Plated producing Cost of Living happened to peak my interest.

“Kicked” begins by hopping on top of this eerie boom bap instrumental putting listeners on game teaching that there are only 3 types of people in this world whereas “Mahomes” works in more kicks & snares with eerie piano chords referencing the titular Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. “Eminem” morbidly talks about having a white girl in the trunk much like the titular Detroit icon’s now deceased alter ego Slim Shady just before “Footstep” declares putting his trust in the scales over bitches.

Finishing the Cost of Living’s first leg, “Blow” ruggedly suggests getting rid of the cocaine while “Yet” starts the other half talking about how you can’t be out here drawing if you wanna keep continuing to win in the streets. After the “241” skit, “Naked” pays homage to those who never made it or never saved it when they had it while “Bridesburg” represents the titular neighborhood in his hometown. “Amputate” closes the EP cautioning that hoodie season’s coming over pianos.

Zombie was the most I’ve enjoyed a project from O.T. in nearly 2 years, the Moving Base O.T. album from a few months ago showed us the duo’s tightly raw chemistry & now this 10 track EP running at almost 19 minutes joins the latter 2 in further redeeming O.T. some of the more lackluster offerings he’s has given us in the last year & a half. Nickel Plated gets a chance to shine by cooking up a consistent batch of beats for the Philly lyricist to body.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!