Tag: Rasheed Chappell

Rasheed Chappell & XP the Marxman – “RX” review

This is the brand new collaborative album from Rasheed Chappell & XP the Marxman, the latter hailing from Los Angeles & the other coming straight outta New York. Both of them have been putting it down for a while in the underground by dropping acclaimed projects like Keep Firing or Sinners & Saints, but I don’t think they’ve ever worked with each other prior to RX so my interest was definitely there going into it given how much I enjoy their solo works.

“Congregate” kicks off the whole thing off with a downtrodden Reckonize Real instrumental reminding everybody they’re from the real whereas the Illwerd-assisted “Hefty Loc” goes into the boom bap direction talking about being the last ones left. Oran Juice II tags along for the drumless “Water to Wine” getting on their kingpin shit just before “Ganji” has a more dustier feel to the production celebrating their lifestyles.

Meanwhile on “Coke Pirouette”, we have Rasheed & XP extravagantly talking about how it seems like the game has changed leading into the tensioning “Mahogany Chips” speaks on being engineered from real life. “Orale” wickedly details the lives that they idolize, but then “Here” with Tim Hall incorporates some jazz influences remembering where they came from.

Jay Royale comes into the picture for the Roc Marciano-produced “Toss the Metal” spitting that fly gangsta shit while the song “Sinful Saints” finds Buckwild working in a soul loop looking back on the choices they made to live so well. The penultimate track “Reminders” works in some solemn horns talking about the days they used to slang dope & “Save a Spot” finishes the album on a more optimistic note by saying they won’t let Satan take their souls as well as trying to vibrate higher.

If anyone reading this is a fan of either one of these guys or both, then you’re really gonna dig what they bring to the table on RX. It’s cool to hear how well both MCs ping off each other detailing the hardships they both had to face from the respective coasts they grew up in with the production being rooted in that traditional old school sound we all know & love.

Score: 4/5

Rasheed Chappell – “Sinners & Saints” review

Rasheed Chappell is a 44 year old MC from Passaic, New Jersey who’s been making music for a little over a decade now. He just dropped an EP produced by 38 Spesh this past spring called Ways & Means but to follow it up, Rasheed is enlisting Buckwild for his 3rd full-length album.

The opener “Tour Bus” with Che Noir & 38 Spesh finds the trio comparing Trust Gang to the Wu over a piano instrumental whereas the title track is essentially Shannell Griggs rapping from a penitentiary phone line. The song “Rock Bottom” with Ransom sees the 2 talking about the struggle over a melancholic instrumental while the track “Mass Media” takes a jab at news outlets over a boom bap beat with a sample kin to “#OkBye” off of KXNG CROOKED’s 2011 EP Million Dollar $tory.

The song “Crime & Punishment” talks about never letting down over a harp-inflicted instrumental while the track “Bredren” with Planet Asia sees the 2 flexing their prowesses over a soulful beat. The song “Dyckman” with The Musalini finds the 2 getting romantic over an instrumental with some beautiful vocal harmonies & after the “Post Game” skit, “The Blue Hood” tells the story of a corrupt cop over some demonic string sections. The penultimate track “C.E.O. Shug” talks about how “everybody can’t go” over a glistening beat & then closer “Black Owned” talks about doing it himself over a grim instrumental.

Personally, I think this is Rasheed’s finest body of work to date. The concepts that he brings to the table all come in together like an audio documentary series as Buckwild provides him with some suiting soundscapes.

Score: 3.5/5