Young Chris – “Or a Bullet” review

This is the 4th extended play from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper Young Chris. A member of the State Property crew & 1/2 of the Young Gunz subunit, he has since dropped a total of 16 solo mixtapes as well as 3 extended plays & 2 collaborative projects within nearly 2 decades, with the Cardiak-produced The Revival being my personal favorite of the bunch. Coming off the drumless Made in Philly with MadeinTYO this spring & Catch a Vibe a couple weeks ago, Or a Bullet picks up right where the counterpart left off.

Wale appears for the intro “Fly Talk” so they can spit braggadocio together over a old school boom bap beat whereas “Foreigns in the Trenches” featuring Phil Adé finds the pair talking about driving expensive cars around their respective hoods. “On My Soul” featuring Dave East, Freeway & Ransom leans toward a chipmunk soul vibe instrumentally referencing the late WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali just before “The Golden Chile” soulfully talks about people plottin’ on him.

“Try My Hand” moves on from there pleading for God to not let him be misunderstood leading into “Drama Occurred” featuring O.T. the Real & Reese Bangem painting imagery of the gangsta lifestyle with O.T. having the strongest guest verse of the 2. “N****s in the Joint” talks about the very people he took extras from whenever he has enough supply for the whole town at large while “Different Kind of Animal” spends the last minutes of Or a Bullet flexing his level of lyrical skill.

I’m kinda happy that Young Chris decided to split Catch a Vibe & Or a Bullet into 2 separate halves because as much as I found myself enjoying the predecessor 14 days ago, this new EP doesn’t really impress me as much because I feel like the production’s a bit of a step down outside of a few spots & a couple guests. If he’s able to get some fire beats from people like Hit-Boy or 9th Wonder & Nicholas Craven, I feel like that would bring the best outta him.

Score: 3/5

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Young Chris – “Catch a Vibe” review

Young Chris is a 43 year old rapper from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania notable for being a member of the State Property crew & 1/2 of the Young Gunz subunit. He has since dropped a total of 16 solo mixtapes as well as a couple extended plays & 2 collaborative projects within nearly 2 decades, with the Cardiak-produced The Revival being my personal favorite of the bunch. Coming off the drumless Made in Philly with MadeinTYO this spring, he’s mainly holding down his 3rd EP by himself since The Network 3.

“Still Fine Dining” kicks things off with this 105 second intro hopping over a luxurious boom bap beat talking about being the one who weathers the storm whereas “Sativa on the Rooftop” goes for a drumless vibe instrumentally reminding us that he’s made it & some bitch on the verge of getting her boots knocked. “Disappointed” featuring Freeway & Icewear Vezzo finds the trio talking about not letting anyone get ahead of them while “Making Drops” balls on all these bluffin’ cornballs who stay cappin’.

Peezy appears for “The City Up” produced by Swaggyono of Working on Dying so they can talking about shaking up their respective hometowns of Philly & Detroit rollin’ with the pros in the club just before “Was It Ever Luv?” soulfully asks if what he had with this woman was legitimate or fraudulent. “This Life Get Crazy” spends the remaining minutes of Catch a Vibe treading the acoustic trap waters talking about the highs & lows of existing.

Hearing that Fine Dining collaborative EP he put out with Dave East the summer prior had me hoping Young Chris would go solo again sooner or later regardless of me still putting it above Made in Philly & despite it’s own flaws, Catch a Vibe attests to the former Roc-A-Fella Records signee’s longevity whether it be the 3 guest verses or the interesting production choices & Chris’ distinctive style drawing comparisons to the now defunct Def Jam Recordings imprint’s founder JAY-Z.

Score: 3.5/5

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