This album was released on January 26th this year. fly anakin is one of the most popular members of Mutant Academy, which is the hottest thing in the underground right now if I’m not mistaken. I think one could argue that [sLUms]. are bigger, but I think the growth and increase in attention surrounding Mutant Academy is more rapid at the moment. Out of the three rappers in the collective, fly anakin is who I’m most familiar with personally. He’s released a lot of collaborative projects with Big Kahuna OG, who is another one of the most popular members. In general, I’m certain that Ohbliv is the most well known member since he’s landed placements on projects from Armand Hammer, Your Old Droog, and MIKE, among others. Anyway, I’m still relatively unfamiliar with Mutant Academy, but I’m trying to learn more about them and be on top of things so that I’m not completely lost when they eventually make it big just like Griselda did. I think I’m gonna really love this project.
1. Intro
This is basically just audio of a few people saying “shoutout to fly anakin.” It sounds like his hometown was trying to honor him by having a mural of him painted, and someone said he doesn’t deserve it, so the people in the audio clip are just talking about that. It sounds like it’s taken from a podcast or maybe a radio show, but I don’t know. This track isn’t really worth discussing. I don’t mind it being here, but I’m never gonna listen to it again.
2. Proceed On produced by GRAYMATTER
The production here is pretty nice. The lo-fi aesthetic makes it kinda difficult to make out what he’s saying, but that really isn’t out of the norm for fly anakin unfortunately. It’s just a shame that his lyrics aren’t ever on Bandcamp. The main selling point is definitely his flow though. He sounds great here, and I love his weird ass, high pitched, kinda squeaky voice. The few lines that are actually discernible are pretty solid. That reference to the Melon was cool.
Couple bodies in my closet, let the needle drop on you
I could give a fuck about reviews if it ain’t classic talk
I could give a fuck about your feelings, we ain’t gotta talk
I kinda wish he said “we ain’t have to talk” because “have to” actually rhymes with “classic” better than “gotta” does, but I suppose that’s just a nitpick. Again, the selling point is clearly his flow and delivery. I like this song a lot, but I’ll admit that I’d probably get much more out of it if I could understand more of what he was saying. This is still pretty good to me though.
3. Watchu Need featuring Nickelus F produced by GRAYMATTER
The beat on this song is fucking amazing. As much as I liked the preceding instrumental, this one completely blows it outta the water. This shit is gritty as fuck. Nickelus F is an artist whose name I’d seen here and there in the past, but I believe this was my first time actually hearing him rap if I’m not mistaken. He slaughtered that first verse too.
Call shots, they don’t want this onslaught
If you was a baby, I’d grab your head and dig my fingers in your soft spot
This shit is hard as fuck. The piano keys on this song are glorious. The different bell sounds that are incorporated in this instrumental make it one of the coolest beats I’ve heard all year. fly anakin killed that second verse too.
My last fight, ripped his sternum in half
You pieced it up off the gas
Then blast Gucci Mane to make time pass
I genuinely don’t know whose performance I prefer on this track. It’s definitely a highlight for me on the album. I think this shit is dope as hell.
4. Don’t Smoke produced by Foisey.
This beat is relatively smooth, but it still has some slight lo-fi grit to it. fly anakin was spittin’ his ass off on this joint too. The first verse is great. The little outro is also cool.
God blessed with a shorty that don’t smoke, so I don’t gotta pass shit
The song pretty much ends after a minute and a half, and the remainder of the track consists of the people from the opening skit further discussing the mural thing. An additional verse from either anakin himself or a good feature probably could’ve made this song more memorable, but I still think it’s very good as it is. This shit is dope.
5. Cartoons featuring Big Kahuna OG produced by GRAYMATTER
Once again, GRAYMATTER’s production is really fucking cool here. The strange sound that’s panned to the right is very interesting. It kinda reminds me of the “clicker” creatures from that overrated PS3 game, The Last of Us. The first verse from anakin is pretty dope. The hook is nothing special, but it serves its purpose well enough. Big Kahuna OG killed the second verse. Honestly, I don’t know whose verse I prefer on this track. I’d probably give the edge to Big Kahuna OG, but it’s pretty close. The song isn’t one of my favorites just because I think the beat gets kinda old after a while, but I definitely like it quite a bit. It’s pretty good.
6. Eddie Drummond produced by Foisey.
I don’t think the production on this track is bad at all, but I just kinda wish that it was less repetitive. It’s solid though. Thankfully the song is barely over a minute long, so it’s not like the beat really has much time to get super tiresome. As a result of the short length, the entire song is just one verse, but it’s very good.
I been your father since the first tape
Before I even had my first court date
Motherfuck the race, he first place
Worst case, I’m famous with a lotta bread
It’s not the most interesting track sonically since it doesn’t really go anywhere. There’s not much going on here, and it feels like an interlude since it’s so short, but it’s definitely an enjoyable track. I think it’s pretty good.
7. Chess Pieces produced by Foisey.
Out of all the beats from Foisey., this is definitely my favorite on the album. This is my second favorite beat on the whole project honestly; it’s dope af. The way he incorporated the telephone ringing into the instrumental is really cool. anakin killed the first verse too.
Toast to the most high, you fold & die
Beat you to a pulp and blow your insides
The coroner was big fried
The truth is what I symbolize, you ill-advised fool
Takin’ pointers from the villain’s side too
I really liked that line about how he’s from a different school in which they beat up the popular dudes. That was hard. The hook on this track is pretty simplistic, but it’s cool. The second verse is fantastic. I don’t really have any major gripes with this track; anakin’s lyrics are still kinda hard to hear, but that’s a nitpick honestly. This shit is dope as hell.
8. Wavey Wun (Let Me Fuck Ya, Girl! Pt. 5) produced by fly anakin
Unfortunately the album kinda goes downhill at this point. I personally hadn’t heard any of the other Let Me Fuck Ya, Girl! songs before listening to this one, but just based off the title alone, I assumed that I wouldn’t like it. I wasn’t wrong. The issue isn’t really anakin’s rapping at all; I think he rapped well here. I personally just don’t really fuck with the content that much. This kinda stuff just doesn’t interest me at all. I also really don’t care for his production here unfortunately. The loop is annoying as hell to me, and it’s way too repetitive. I wouldn’t call this a bad song personally, but the only thing I really liked about it was anakin’s flow. It’s mediocre to me overall.
9. Buffy featuring ANKHLEJOHN produced by All Ceven
ANKHLEJOHN is another dude who’s been making a shit ton of noise in the underground scene that I unfortunately haven’t covered much, which I’ll have to change soon. Anyway, All Ceven’s production here is fantastic. However, once again, the sexual content isn’t really that entertaining to me. I think the first verse from anakin was cool overall though because not every single line was about getting his dick twerked on or motor-boating a pair of tig bitties. I unfortunately don’t really care for the hook here at all though.
I know you love me
Wanna fuck me
I call her Buffy ‘cause I slay her like that
I think ANKHLEJOHN and fly anakin are a really good pair, and I like when they work together. They have two very different voices, which provides a really nice contrast. The closest thing that comes to mind whenever I listen to ANKHLEJOHN is Sonny Cheeba of Camp Lo, but that’s kind of a stretch honestly. I think both of them had solid performances on this track, but it’s just not really my kinda thing. I don’t care to hear about stuff like this. It’s a solid track though, and by no means bad.
10. Fuck Ya Shoes produced by n2deepbeatz
This track clearly isn’t meant to be taken too seriously. It kinda reminds me of that interlude from Freddie Gibbs’ Freddie mixtape in which he pretends to be a soul singer. fly anakin sang throughout this entire song, and it’s not exactly good, but I personally think it’s more listenable than Freddie’s singing. It also helps that n2deepbeatz’s production is really good here. With that said, I’m still never gonna listen to this again. It’s decent though.
11. Late Bloomers Check-In
This is a thirty second audio clip of more of the conversation that was featured on the intro of this project. It was kinda interesting on the first listen I suppose, but it’s not something I’m gonna keep in my library. With that said, I’m not gonna pretend to have an issue with this being here.
12. Rap Music produced by Ohbliv
Ohbliv’s production on this track is really nice, and fly anakin’s flow on the first verse is fantastic. The hook is solid too, and his flow on the second verse is really great as well. I think this is one of the better songs on the album, but I feel like I can’t appreciate it as much as I’d like to since it’s still difficult to make out a lot of what he’s saying. The lo-fi mixing on his vocals is clearly intentional, but I honestly never really like when artists do that. This is certainly a good song, but I think I’d like it more if I had a better grasp of what was actually being said. This shit is still dope though.
13. Scroll Talk produced by Sycho Sid
For whatever reason, Big Kahuna OG isn’t credited as a feature on this song. I assume it’s because he just handles the hook, and they didn’t want to mislead fans into thinking that he’d spit a full verse. I’m personally not crazy about the production from Sycho Sid on this song, but it’s definitely not bad. It just kinda reminds me of one of those Hip Hop x R&B crossover hits from the 90s, and I was never into that style. Unfortunately, this song has more sexual content, which I guess I should’ve seen coming as soon as I heard the shiny instrumental. I think the hook from Big Kahuna OG is solid, and anakin’s flow on the verse is cool, but overall this isn’t for me. I don’t think it’s a bad song, but it’s not something I’d listen to again.
14. Hood Rockstars produced by GRAYMATTER
I was happy to see one last placement from GRAYMATTER since he contributed a lot of my favorite beats to this project. He didn’t disappoint me here either; this beat is fucking awesome. It’s kind of somber, which is thankfully reflected in the content. Again, it’s still difficult to discern certain lyrics, but it’s obvious that this isn’t just another song about fucking hoes, smoking weed, and being threatening. This is another standout song, but, as I’ve said on previous tracks, I’m certain that I’d like it even more if I could understand more of the lyrics. It’s still one of the better songs on the album in my opinion though; it’s dope.
15. Ingenuity produced by All Ceven
All Ceven’s production on this track is very pretty, although I wouldn’t call it one of my favorite beats on the album. It’s definitely good though. Once again, the content of this song is a bit more personal and reflective. I still can’t really hear a lot of what he’s saying unfortunately, but uh… I mean, it at least sounds good lol. This kinda thing is always very frustrating for me because I place most of my value in lyrics in most cases. I can at least enjoy this mainly for the production and anakin’s flow though. It’s technically the longest track on the album, but the last 45 seconds or so are taken up by more of the conversation from the intro and Late Bloomers Check-In interlude. The song itself is pretty good though.
16. C-Span produced by Sadhu Gold
This song kinda pissed me off to be honest. I really like the production on this track, but the vocal sample is so loud that it almost completely drowns out anakin’s voice. It was certainly a problem on the preceding material, but it’s far more severe on this track. This might as well be a completely different language because I can’t hear what he’s saying at all, which is annoying as hell. With that said, anakin’s flow is very aggressive here, so it still sounds pretty awesome. It’s a frustrating song because it sounds like he’s killin’ it, but I have no idea if he really is since all the lyrics are drowned out. I still like the song to some extent, but I was very annoyed the first time I listened to it.
Comments
Post a Comment