Tag: Protect

Protect – “slimedude2003” review

This is the debut extended play from Buffalo, New York rapper Protect. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me followed by the sophomore effort albeit major label debut Ball Hog of Life under Atlantic Records a couple years earlier, his previous LP 500 Days of Summer last August was my introduction to him & remains his strongest collection of material today. 10 months later, he’s dropping off slimedude2003.

“RAF Trench” starts us off with a plugg instrumental talking about shooting as if he’s Cade Cunningham whereas “Firearm” cloudily admits to constantly pouring lean like he’s awaiting his own death. “0s” could be a weaker moment here since he’s pretty much sandwiching an unacceptably underwritten verse in the middle of a chorus, but then “Makatussin” continues to express the love he has for consuming cough syrup over a bubbly beat from R8 of Vanguard Music Group

As for “Whole Crowd”, we have Protect talking about getting concertgoers turnt soon as he he hits the stage prior to the plugg-influenced “RE4” referencing one of my all-time favorite video games Resident Evil 4 & dissing N3on for seeking attention online. “What Doesn’t Kill U” begins the 2nd half talking about sending out convoys over a synth-driven trap beat just before “Reset” confesses to feeling overwhelmed by a handful of things.

“AC130” gets slimedude2003’s last let going talking about making opps bleed soon as he catches them while “Sk8r” samples “believe me” alyorra discussing the importance of finding yourself & getting it together. The highlight “Last of Us” produced by Cade makes a nod to another all-time favorite video game of mine & the outro “U da 1” finishes the EP with 1 last motivational anthem about the audience making an impact too by doing it.

500 Days of Summer stands tall as the most refined musical statement of Protect’s career & although I do acknowledge that slimedude2003 was meant to be a collection of “grails”, I felt that the final production turned out to be pretty average compared to his previous LP. You can definitely tell these were recorded sometime before or after All on Me & Ball Hog for Life when he was getting his footing in even if I wouldn’t call it some of my favorite material he’s done outside a couple joints.

Score: 3/5

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Protect – “500 Days of Summer” review

Buffalo, New York rapper Protect hitting us with his 3rd studio LP almost 9 months since his last one came out. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me & the sophomore effort Ball Hog for Life under Atlantic Records a year earlier, the latter being significantly more well received than its predecessor & some of the producer credits throughout 500 Days of Summer garnered my interest in giving it a proper chance almost a month until fall begins.

“Think About Ya” starts with a woozy trap instrumental from Noah Mejia talking about calling his girl 1,000 times & for his young slime to pick their head up whereas the blissfully rage-inducing “Hasta La Vista” suggests to come check his swag down. “Gossip Girl” produced by Cade gives a nod to The CW’s hit teen drama of the same name while “IfUGotMe” talks about his preference of having no one around because a lack of social battery.

Moving on from there, “Count Up” brings the hypertrap influences back in effect flexing that he has a kind of swag others would kill for leading into the trippy “Jumbo” comparing himself to King Kong & talking about being on fire. Rio Leyva & Vendr of Internet Money Records both killed their shares of the beat they made for “Redeye” wanting the world to watch him blossom while “Vlad” chaotically suggests to do what his gang says.

“Sip in My Room” ends 500 Days of Summer’s first half by talking about wanting to consume lean by himself in a bedroom while “Cartoon Network” named after the Discovery Global subsidiary of the same name flexing that he’s on TV & the channel can’t be changed. “Peyton List” talks about being in love with the racks in addition to asking for his twin to not break the code while “New Jeep” shows off his new whip, taking it for a quick spin.

As for “Sly Cooper”, we have Protect talking about not needing a discount for whenever he pulls up to the club bouncin’ while “Gee Wizz!!!” finds himself continuously trappin’ & being so geeked that he can’t even feel his face. “.Tor” makes a sick reference to the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon series Danny Phantom while “ICU” talks about seeing the way this unnamed individual stays moving.

“Lifeline” nears the conclusion of 500 Days of Summer advising that you don’t wanna fuck with him & having demons watching him despite lying about being ok while “World is Yours” explains that a cold day in Hell is more likely than him switching up. “Betray Ya” ties up the LP with him looking to race in an open road & waking up with a smile on his face because his life at this point has been nothing short of amazing.

Gonna say this right now & I don’t give a fuck if anyone disagrees with me on it: I could definitely imagine Protect crossing paths with local underground icon, Griselda Records founder & 4th Rope founder Westside Gunn on either Heels Have Eyes II or FLYGOD is an Awesome God III since And Then You Pray for Me was West’s example of holding down trap production similarly to his Hall ‘N Nash cohort Conway the Machine & of course Benny the Butcher. Anyways, I feel like 500 Days of Summer ditched the rage & plugg aesthetics of Ball Hot for Life in favor of cloudy pop rap to result in his strongest album currently.

Score: 3.5/5

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