Onoe Caponoe – “Tears of the Dragon” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe continuing summer with his 6th LP. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops would continue Onoe’s evolution & Surf or Die has become the most celebrated work of his yet as did Concrete Fantasia succeeding Invisible War, returning a year & a half later shedding Tears of the Dragon.

“Jane Flower” featuring Lofty305 begins with this delicate trap instrumental talking about a woman who has both of their minds constantly spinning whereas “Going Sweet” featuring Ledbyher works in this cloudy backdrop & a guitar so both of can describe the strength of this love they have. “Summer of Love” gives off a chipmunk soul vibe creepin’ in parks during the evening on some slayer shit while the trap-flavored “Red Riding Hood” after the “Deadly Nightside” interlude talks about trying to get away from things lately.

We get some 808s & hypnotic sample during “The Wilderness” until a beat switch telling a woman he’s no longer seeing that he hope she never forgets him leading into the boisterous trap heater “Fright Night” ending the first half of Tears of the Dragon letting off flows like a submachine gun. “Peanut Butter” blends hi-hats & a vocal flip flexing that his words can make bones shatter while the Memphis influenced “Vampire Date” gets in his storytelling bag lyrically, vividly describing a dating experience with a female vampire.

“Angel” embraces a bluesier atmosphere talking about having his back against the wall because of a phone call he had received but after Eter & L-Zee Roselli appear for the hollowly produced “Psycho Planet” averagely describing a world fu of lunatics running around it, “Tamagotchi Girl” experiments with a bubbly plugg flare instrumentally for an ode to the women who still happen to enjoy the たまごっち brand of handheld digital pets.

Continuing to push further towards Tears of the Dragon’s final moments, the song “$1M Cat” recaptures the Memphis rap atmosphere asking if his ex still thinks of him regularly while “Fur Rug” incorporates some soulful sampling chops explaining that he’s trying to hold on to this person, but the problem with that being he legitimately can’t. “Funky Butterfly” however finishes the album jumping over a piano-heavy beat talking about being in a state of chrysalis.

The high praise I gave Surf or Die & Concrete Fantasia would already make it pretty clear that I consider Onoe Caponoe to be one of High Focus’ greatest signings in recent memory for his experimentally abstract style. That said: Tears of the Dragon feel like the weakest entry of his entire discography. It has nothing to do with the production taking secondary influences from trap, cloud rap, tread, Memphis rap & plugg aren’t bad either. My thing with it is that he doesn’t sound inspired as the predecessor did when 2023 began.

Score: 4/5

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Onoe Caponoe – “Concrete Fantasia” review

This is the 5th full-length studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops would continue Onoe’s evolution & Surf or Die has become the most celebrated work of his yet, coming off fighting the Invisible War for some Concrete Fantasia days after Alex Winsdor became the longest reigning RPW British Women’s Champion & a month since Leon Slater was crowned the youngest RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

Zdechły Osa appears during the intro “Purple Haze” stylistically taking inspiration from the Memphis scene dropping bilingually hardcore lyricism in both English & Polish just before “Slayaz / Elf Island” lets off a rapid-fire flow until “Não Podes Fugir Do Teu Destino” by Hareton Salvanini gets sampled during the 2nd half. “Fifi (Mermaid Lagoon)” featuring Lil B goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally thanks to Telemachus so they can spin out their minds together while “House on the Hill” works in this addicting flip for a 3 minute horror film of multiple different genres.

“Pet Cemetery” gives off an experimental trap atmosphere swinging his sword under the moonlight glow just before “The Cheshire Cat” shifts gears back in boom bap territory except there’s a groovy twist to it referencing Alice in Wonderland, asking why stay chase rabbits when they always fall down the darkest hole doing so. “Wipeout” treads the experimental trap waters once more dismantling anybody on the mic who has no game compared to him while the tread/hip house 2-parter “Afro Samurai / Quest”contemplates one another similarly to night & day.

After the “Cat Kingdom” interlude, “Magic Carpet” officially kicks off the 2nd half of Concrete Fantasia promising to make this woman his while the 2nd single “Pinnochio” featuring Jehst documents the many highs &inevitable lows of running the roads on an ill-fated quest to become a real boy. “The Horsemen” likens his pen-game to the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse while the 5th & final single “Ice King” combines cloud rap & plugg to talk about being colder than crystal storm on the twilight tundra.

“Cat in Oz” makes for a jazzy lead single finding himself unable to get sleep because of the witches outside his house while the 4th single “Heaven’s Gates” explores the spaces between reality & the spirit realm. “Outsiders” fuses cloud rap & boom bap for a shimmering lurker’s anthem but once “Psychosis City” suggests those who don’t know him to keep it lowkey, “Age of Aquarius” officially sends things off with a compositional outro clocking at almost 5 minutes in length.

Offering an alternate space for his fans to escape whilst still commenting on the highs & lows of city life, the newest entry of Onoe Caponoe’s discography sticks out to me as the greatest thing he’s done since Surf or Die & makes another example of why he’s amongst the UK’s finest hip hop artists today. The production creatively fuses the sounds of cloud rap, boom bap, jazz rap, experimental hip hop, trap & plugg for an hour long ride inside the mind of High Focus’ lyrically abstract enigma.

Score: 4/5

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Onoe Caponoe – “Invisible War” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops would continue Onoe’s evolution & Surf or Die has become the most celebrated work of his yet, looking to fight an Invisible War succeeding it.

After the “Awakening” intro, the first song “Jungle” featuring L-Zee Roselli begins with the 2 over this dark 808-heavy beat & Caponoe having the more lively verse of them both in my opinion whereas “Starlight Lady” takes the boom bap route instrumentally to talk about the kind of woman who left his heart blazing on fire. “Wild in the Streets” goes for a Memphis vibe in general running laps around listeners with his flow just before “Ur Killing Me” shifts gears in the form of a primarily compositional piece.

“Ghost Castle” maintains a naturally killer chopper delivery & embracing a fittingly spookier atmosphere to the beat just before “Lamp of Lust” talks about being lustful kind of Genie hitting us with some of that good old fashioned funk in the midst of it. “Escape from Darkness” comes through with another instrumental bridge sonically reminiscent to 70s blaxploitation movies while the rage-inducing “Ghosts in Ma Alleyway” talks about not fucking with jokes because he has spirits inside in his head.

After the “Walking Thru the Forest” skit, “Breaking Out the Mist (Into the Light)” featuring Miles Dare pushes the 2nd half forward pairing the 2 over a flute-tinged boom bap beat confessing it’s like the world has both of them stressing lately while “Exorcist” also featuring Miles Dare after the self-produced “Battle of Self (I Love You Gurl)” intermission sticks together for a shift towards a Memphis-influenced direction homaging one of the greatest horror movies ever made.

“The Nothing” somberly asks where the time has gone demanding an answer for one of life’s biggest mysteries while “A Talking Cat” preceding the “Lost in Limbo” spoken word bit talks about painting his Mona Lisa with Surf or Die & constantly staying elevated artistically. “I’m Golden” radiates some rap rock undertones start to finish flexing his greatness, marking the last official song since both “The Message” & “Crying Cat” end in the form of a couple cohesively tied instrumental passages.

Ultimately I wouldn’t say that Invisible War has that same definitively complete feeling Surf or Die had, but I’m still happy this album exists because it’s another appreciable entry in the experimentally abstract Onoe Caponoe’s discography. The production is a menacing fusion of jazz rap, cloud rap, trap, hypnagogic pop & Memphis rap respectively opening a portal to an alternative universe where it feels like he’s taking lesser risks than he did on Surf or Die & in no way am I saying that’s a bad thing. It can be necessary.

Score: 3.5/5

Onoe Caponoe – “Surf or Die” review

Brand new album & the 3rd overall from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops continued Onoe’s evolution & had me hoping Surf or Die.

After the introductory skit, the first song “Suicide City” begins with a mix of Bionic from the London Posse & early Pro Era kicking flows over a nostalgic boom bap beat whereas “Red Planet” goes for a more cloudy Memphis trap vibe inciting an intergalactic mosh pit. “Ms. Universe” feels instrumentally reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest’s late 90s output telling the woman he’s been seeing that he can make the stars shine while “Blood Moon (City Hunt)” shifts treads the trap waters again discussing 169 coming through the back door.

“Valentine’s Massacre” returns the boom bap after the compositional “Carnival of Souls (Hypno Pop)” piece abstractly referencing the murder of seven members & associates of Chicago, Illinois’ notorious North Side Gang just before “Graveyard Funk” shows off a bit of a Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony influence with a Memphis twist to it. “Behind the Wall of Sleep” talks about the good living forever & bad croaking whenever their time comes leading into “Chop ‘Em Down (Mosh of the Dead)” featuring L-Zee Roselli ending the 1st half of Surf or Die with an aggressive crunk gangsta rap fusion.

After the “Last Bittersweet Moment” instrumental intermission, “Heathers” smokily recalls a woman he met during the summertime & getting far away from people together while “Spaceship Funk / Cat on the Roof” talks about being swerved out in our solar system ahead of the spoken word outro during the 2nd half. “Raincloud” brings some jazzy piano chords in the fold speaking hearing voices in the back of his head like the Harry Potterfranchise antagonist Voldemort while the trap-flavored “Phone Call” produced by Telemachus talks about stepping out engulfed in flames.

“Crazy Cat Coffee Party” takes inspiration from jazz rap once again flexing that he’s been high in the sky & there being nobody higher than him generally while “Yellow Brix” confesses to being afraid of changing. “Lost the Love” smoothly samples “Running Out of Time” by Rexy realizing his mind’s true potential & the final song “Cymatics” prior to the “Black Sun (Love’s Key)” outro jazzily leaves a trail of flames behind when it’s time for him to go off.

Capturing the turbulence within Onoe Caponoe’s life these past couple years, I have no doubts of Surf or Die being heralded as the greatest LP in his entire discography & amongst the top 5 projects throughout High Focus Records’ most for years to come. The prominent experimental hip hop direction of Spells from the Cyclops ventures further out in favor of boom bap, jazz rap, cloud rap, Memphis rap, trap & sound collage getting a lot more lyrically abstract than what he’s done previously.

Score: 4.5/5