Black Ego
Mello, 2018
8/10
Though he’s most known as a hip-hop artist, Lando Chill is well versed in funk, gospel, jazz and plenty of other genres, too, and here he brings his varied influences to a listen where plenty of guests help him flesh out tunes that were inspired by the passing of his father when he was 4 years old.
“Ego Vanish”, with The Lasso, starts the listen with ambience in the beat heavy and rap acrobatics, and “Clypped” brings help from MotorKam for a rhythmic and soulful display of universally embraceable hip-hop.
In the middle, “Fauna” recruits electro-pop influences into Chill’s groove friendly formula, while “Cess” unleashes a rugged delivery of anthemic hip-hop. “Koolaide”, one of the strongest collaborations, then makes great use of Psychic Twin’s inimitable execution in a dreamy setting.
Closer to the end, “Free Pack” finds a soulful place to reside with an immediate memorability, and “From The Hip” offers some psychedelic aspects, illustrating even more diversity. “Love Cold” finishes the listen with some funk nods, exiting the listen with a playful aspect to Chill’s strong song craft.
An extremely ambitious and adventurous offering. Chill brings a poetic quality to his art, where each tune brings new surprises that are effectively carving out a very unique niche for his music to exist.
Travels well with: The Lasso- The Sound Of Lasso; Homeboy Sandman & Edan- Humble Pi