Curtiss King: DIY ep

Curtiss King: DIY EP
Curtiss King is a California emcee and producer. Recently he dropped an EP titled DIY. The nine songs King delivers were my first listen to anything by him and I found it all a bit interesting.
King doesn’t really fit into any particular genre of rap. He definitely has his own sound and his own style. Musically speaking he’s willing to just whip up a track with synths and drums on their own or he can sample some horns and vocals to add a different flavor to his music. Strangely enough, I found similarities between his songs and the artist Rob Roy, though I definitely prefer King’s music. Not only does King focus his music more on hip hop beats as opposed to dance themed tracks, but he raps better than Roy as well.
Lyrically, it’s interesting to see King dance on opposing ends of the spectrum. He can be sincere and honest as when he opens up “21Se7en” rapping, “I named myself King and I don’t take it lightly/Martin had a dream and it looked just like me”. He follows up by going to the heart of who he is, not the character of Curtiss King, but Curtiss himself.
Yet, he takes tracks like “PCC” to show his more flamboyant side, even if it is in a humorous way and I’m not entirely sure it is. “PCC” stands for pumas, cubs, and cougars. Delivered in a cadence similar to Lloyd Banks‘ “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”, King raps about his adoration of older women. He quips that he’s not interested in the young girls who worry too much about clubbing and partying, admitting that he’s fine staying in and watching “Lifetime for a lifetime” until his cougar falls asleep. Only then will he try to seduce her by whispering subliminal messages into her ear. In this case, just repeating the word “pussy”. And so, he can sexualize his music and move away from the more sincere, honest delivery of “21Se7en”.
All in all, the simple formula of synths over drums works nicely. Afterall, the point of hip hop is to display the vocal abilities of the emcee. Curtiss King has the goods. Unfortunately, the music didn’t seem to change all that much from one song to the next and it started to feel as though I’d already heard it before on the EP. Still, I think it would be best if everyone decided for themselves.
Rating: 6.4/10
MP3: Curtiss King “Thats How My Days Goin”
Buy: FREE on Bandcamp