The Breezy Effect loves to bring readers new music and put the spotlight on rising talent. This time around we got the opportunity to bring you both. As I was fortunate enough to be able to review Off The Wall by newcomer Esso and kick a few words with him via an interview about: his career, the album, and hip-hop in general. The review is up first and the interview follows after the jump.
1. “Damn”
The production here is hot. There is a piano sound, a strong bass, and very smooth type of vibe going on. The hook is okay, fairly simple lyrics wise; but it works well within the context of the track. The verses on the other hand are seriously on point. Esso has a very clean and crisp delivery, well put together rhymes, and just does a great job of telling his story about past love and regret. Excellent start to the album in my opinion.
5. “Can’t Help It”
The production here is decent. Has a strong bass line, light instruments, and a very laid back and mellow feel to it. The light sounds and the bass seem to clash a little bit though. So lowering the bass just a tad, would make things blend a lot more smoothly. The hook needs work. The hook is vocals interlaced with rapping. The vocals fall flat and don’t really do anything for the song. So maybe just straight rapping on the hook would be a better approach. The verses are good, Esso delivers a few clever lines and works well with the beat. Overall, I’d say this song was just alright. Needs a little work in certain areas but is still worth a listen.
10. “Pole Class”
The production here is solid. There is bass, an occasional shout in the background, and a very up-tempo street vibe at work. The hook is solid, has some pretty interesting lyrics: “She say it’s her favorite work out. She be in a pole class everyday. No you can’t tip her but she act like it anyway. She even got a pole in the bedroom. You would lose your mind, if you seen what her legs do.” Clever way to approach the topic, right? The verses are good too, again Esso is on point with his delivery and his rhymes are well crafted. The stand out thing is that he was able to do a song about a very sexual theme without being too explicit or tacky with it. Final thought is, this is a decent track. Definitely more for the fellas though.
So this is a brief review of the album, didn’t want to bombard this piece too much, as it has the interview portion too. But on a final note, the album samples and is heavily influenced by Michael Jackson’s own Off The Wall album. Which I’m sure you got some idea of from the title and covers. You can download the album here. Click the jump for the interview.
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