With obscure pop culture references throughout every song you’ll struggle to catch them all.
Scam rappers have enjoyed considerable success in recent years, especially in Detroit. Shai Coke looks to capitalize on that success with Gasoline Alley his latest contribution to the genre.
Shai Coke doesn’t have a single feature on the 31 song project but his variety of sounds throughout the project fills in perfectly. While other might bring in a another rapper to change the tempo or bring a new flow, Shai elects to do it all himself.
The opening track “Alley of Gas” features the lyrics “ I started rapping just to hear me, I didn’t do it for fans”. That way of thinking becomes apparent as he unloads many references that most people will have a hard time understanding.
While some of his references are hard to catch many of them will provide joy for fans who may have thought they were the only ones to remember some of the tv shows or underground cultural icons that Shai Coke references like he does on the song “Chad Warden”.
Every song is prefaced with the artists signature howl that works together with the cover art and dark beats to give the the project and Shai Coke himself a mysterious aura.
Gasoline Alley includes remixes of classic songs like LL Cool J’s “I need love” and
Young Jeezy’s “Scammin Ovation” again showing his love for the memories of his childhood.
The deeply personal song “Dark Dimension Diary” that concludes the tape is clearly directed at someone in the artist’s life and is one of the most honest songs on the project. Songs like these set him apart from other scam rappers who struggle to open up on tracks and usually rely on shocking or even comedic elements to appeal to listeners.
While Gasoline Alley has its flaws like it’s hour and a half run time that is a bit much for any artist and a few production mistakes like the ending of “Art of The Punch Interlude” where there is about thirty seconds of dead space, the creativity of the project cannot be overlooked.
Kommentare