A Review of Beast Coast's "Escape From New York"
Brooklyn Hip-Hop groups Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers come together to form the Hip-Hop supergroup Beast Coast. With the forming of this supergroup, Beast Coast released their first album titled “Escape From New York.” The supergroup had released three singles prior to the release of this album, with each having its own vibe to it. The first single being “Left Hand” featuring Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight and Nyck Caution (Pro Era), Flatbush Zombies (Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice & Erick the Architect), and The Underachievers (Issa Gold & AKTHESAVIOR) had a chill lyrical vibe with each artist hopping in to give their lyrics. The second single released was “Coast/Clear” featuring Flatbush Zombies, Joey Bada$$, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Nyck Caution had a party vibe because of the beat’s bass and the easy to follow hook. The third single released was “Snow In The Stadium” featuring Joey Bada$$, Erick the Architect, CJ Fly, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Meechy Darko had a Reggae vibe given with the cadences used by each artist. With the number of artists on this album, the key would be keeping each verse short, while being able to seamlessly transition from each artist. This has been demonstrated throughout the three singles and will hopefully continue throughout the album. Speaking of the album, “Escape From New York” is made up of 13 songs which make up about 47 minutes of music. There aren’t any featured artists outside of the Beast Coast group which is fine because the group has a lot of artists already. Now, without further ado, let’s get to the review!
Categories
The songs on this album divided into three lanes that are prevalent throughout the project
Brooklyn Spitters
Artists putting their fast flows on display over fast-paced beats
“It Ain’t Easy, It Ain’t Easy” ft. AKTHESAVIOR, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, &Flatbush Zombies (1)
“Left Hand” ft. Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Flatbush Zombies, & The Underachievers (1)
“Problemz” ft. Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers, Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, CJ Fly & Nyck Caution (1)
“Bones” ft. Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers, Nyck Caution & Kirk Knight (.5)
“Last Choir” ft. Meechy Darko, Kirk Knight, Erick the Architect, Nyck Caution & AKTHESAVIOR (1.5)
Cadence Versatility
Slower beats with artists experimenting with their cadences
“Far Away” ft. Joey Bada$$, Nyck Caution, Erick the Architect, Meechy Darko, Kirk Knight (1)
“Snow In The Stadium” ft. Joey Bada$$, Erick the Architect, CJ Fly, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Meechy Darko (1)
“Rubberband” ft. Joey Bada$$ & Flatbush Zombies (.5)
“One More Round” ft. Meechy Darko, Erick the Architect, Nyck Caution, & Joey Bada$$ (1)
“Coast/Clear” featuring Flatbush Zombies, Joey Bada$$, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Nyck Caution (1.5)
Flowin and Spittin
Artists flowing on slow-paced beats allowing each artist to choose their flow
“Distance” ft. Joey Bada$$, Erick the Architect, & Issa Gold (1)
“Puke” ft. Nyck Caution, AKTHESAVIOR, Erick the Architect, Meechy Darko, & Joey Bada$$ (1)
“Desperado” ft. Zombie Juice, Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, & Meechy Darko (.5)
Must Listen Songs
The concept of Must Listen songs are the songs that would give the best overview of the album as a whole. Songs that stand out for reasons to be described in the pending descriptions of the songs.
“It Ain’t Easy, It Ain’t Easy” ft. AKTHESAVIOR, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, & Flatbush Zombies
The intro to “Escape From New York” is produced by Sam Wish and Tyler Dopps. The beat starts off with a simple violin and piano before Zombie Juice comes in with his first verse. With this, we hear the fast-paced bass and high hats come in setting the pace for every rapper on the song. There’s no hook on the song, which I like because of the seven artists with verses on the song. The beat switches during CJ Fly’s verse, eliminating the background piano and violin in favor of background bells. The switch is subtle, however, not changing the vibe or pace of the song, but keeping the beat fresh for the listener.
“Puke” ft. Nyck Caution, AKTHESAVIOR, Erick the Architect, Meechy Darko, & Joey Bada$$
Track nine produced by Erick the Architect is a simple piano beat which builds momentum throughout the first verse allowing for the high hats to come in for the second verse. There’s bass throughout the song, but not enough for the listener to feel. I like this beat because it allows each artist to use whatever cadence or flow they feel, giving this song a fresh feeling and surprising the listener with every verse. The piano-driven beat is a peaceful addition to the middle of the album, cleansing the listener’s palate for the second half of the album.
“Coast/Clear” featuring Flatbush Zombies, Joey Bada$$, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Nyck Caution
The second single and penultimate track for Beast Coast’s “Escape From New York” is a bass-driven masterpiece produced by Powers Pleasant. The beat has a slow-paced bass that comes in with high hats that come in at a slightly faster tempo than the bass. In the background is a faint guitar which is more noticeable when the bass and high hats are turned down throughout the beat. The hook on the song is catchy, performed at a tempo that is easy for the listener to follow along to.
“Last Choir” ft. Meechy Darko, Kirk Knight, Erick the Architect, Nyck Caution & AKTHESAVIOR
The outro track on Beast Coast’s “Escape From New York” is the perfect way to end this album. The beat is truly a beautiful piece produced by Kirk Knight and IZAÏAH. The song starts off with Meechy Darko on the intro rapping about his destiny over a choir harmonizing. This choir continues throughout the song, taking a background role to the high hats and hard bass. This bass is different, not really resonating but sounding more like a door being slammed. Some of the best verses on the whole album are on this song, with artists rapping about their inspiration with their creative gifts. The chemistry on the hook between Nyck Caution and Meechy Darko with Caution rapping and Darko singing adlibs over the hook sounds beautiful adding to the inspirational feeling that ends the album.
Final Review
Beast Coast’s “Escape From New York” is a solid collaboration album. The album starts off strong, gets a little weaker in the middle but then finishes with a bang at the end. The production throughout the album, mostly produced by Powers Pleasant, Erick the Architect, Tyler Dopps and Sam Wish, made album’s sound consistent. The placement of the hooks throughout the album worked beautifully, giving the listener a break from the bar filled verses present on the album. However, the bar filled verses were still at times overwhelming, allowing the listener to predict where the vibe of a song would go at times. Overall, Beast Coast’s “Escape From New York” is a quality Hip-Hop album that allows each artist to show their talents on beats that enhance them.
Scoring
Raw Score: The number of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.
Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.
Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.
Raw Score: 10/13
Quality Score: 12.5/13
Playback Value: 3/5
Go out and listen to Beast Coast’s “Escape From New York” wherever you listen to your music. Also, don’t forget to check out OLDMLK’s Instagram page (@OLDMLK) and Twitter (@OLDMLKDOTCOM) for updates on OLDMLK.COM: The Most Essential Hip Hop Blog, The OLDMLK.Com Playlist, The OLDMLK Radar and more!
