PUSH & PAINT ALBUM RELEASE PARTY @ UFO Bar - 13 Mar feat. Sheefy McFly, Crate Digga
PUSH & PAINT ALBUM RELEASE PARTY @ UFO Bar - 13 Mar feat. Sheefy McFly, Crate Digga
2026 DCFC KIT UNVEILING + AFTER PARTY (Sheefy McFly & JMT) @ Big Pink - 05 Mar feat. Sheefy McFly, JMT (2)
NOTE: PATREON SUPPORTERS RECEIVED ACCESS TO THIS REVIEW ON August 4TH, 2024.
This EP was released on July 5th this year. As I said in Listening Log 001, Ilajide is one of the most slept on artists on my radar. He produces most of his own stuff, including this EP. He has a God-tier flow in my opinion, and he just makes really fun music. On the other hand, I’m not as familiar with Mic Phelps. I’d only heard a couple features from him prior to checking this EP out. I figured that if he was working with Ilajide he was most likely very talented though, so I was definitely expecting this to be a really fantastic project. It ended up giving me exactly what I wanted.
The EP begins with a highlight called Show Me.
https://youtu.be/zwYT6N7jPyQ?si=alkxynRet14sNrYc
This shit is so fire. Ilajide’s groovy, bouncy, danceable production sounds pristine, and he flowed over it beautifully. This dude Ilajide is the definition of “locked in,” man. I swear to God the way he’s always able to find the best pocket in every beat he makes for himself needs to be studied by other rapper-producers. This shit is so good. It’s not just his flow, but the energy behind his vocal delivery too. He sounds hungry without sounding like he’s trying too hard. He sounds aggressive, yet chill at the same time. The second verse from Mic Phelps is pretty nice too. His flow wasn’t as intricate as that of Ilajide, but he still sounded very comfortable over the beat. My head kept nodding throughout the whole track. It’s just a really fun, bouncy track that would work well at social gatherings. It’s dope as hell. The following track, Bling, is even better. The production here is amazing. I love this beat so much. It’s really difficult to hear Ilajide’s production and not wanna move. His verse at the beginning of this track is fire too. I really love his flow during this tercet…
Hand me the blunt, man down in frontThe second verse from Mic Phelps is really great as well. His flow wasn’t super intricate or anything, but the way it’s executed is really impressive. He just keeps going and the momentum kinda snowballs and keeps you hooked as he’s performing. It’s a really well done verse. I love it. The song is awesome. Track 3 is called Get $$$, and it features Sheefy Mcfly, who I believe performed the first verse. The production on this track is kinda cool, but it’s definitely my least favorite beat on the project. The verse from Sheefy Mcfly is pretty solid. It doesn’t stand out as a super memorable performance, but it was cool. The hook and second verse from Mic Phelps is very good. I think each verse on this track is better than the last. Ilajide slaughtered that final verse. I love the hook too.
Get moneyThe song’s very good. It’s definitely not a highlight for me, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s followed by Pounds x Pounds.
https://youtu.be/AfqC5Bo6aoM?si=sTGGNKTIGhunSZ4i
Ilajide’s flow at the beginning is crazy, and I love the instrumental here. It’s light and chill, but the drums are very hard-hitting, and they have a dope pattern. I also really like the slightly melodic hook from Ilajide. It sounds really good. The verses from Mic Phelps are nice too.
Silent, quietAt this point in the project I was enjoying Mic Phelps’ performances, but he didn’t stand out much as a super skilled MC. That changed with the following track, Drop Top Blue Benz Coupe. First of all, the production from Ilajide here is just so fucking cool. The primary loop is very melodic and chill, but the drums are very bouncy and make you wanna move. Ilajide’s flow is crazy on the first verse, but Mic Phelps somehow had the crazier performance on this track. This dude’s breath control is actually superhuman levels. I guess his name is fitting. His flow is so mesmerizing here. He went crazy on this track. The song’s dope as fuck, but the following track, Is We Is, is my favorite on the project.
https://youtu.be/jINKmTIIdOY?si=ysA0fGvKAZEbvMgm
The melodic production here is incredible, and Mic Phelps killed the first verse. His flow was excellent, and he rhymed super well. I actually don’t know who had the better verse on this track. They both gave very stellar, hyper technical performances.
The haters still ain't peepin' itI might actually give it to Mic Phelps here too. I don’t know. It’s definitely closer than it was on the preceding track. Overall, the song’s dope as fuck. The penultimate track is called OG, and I absolutely love the production here. It’s really melodic and fun. I keep using that word “fun.” The opening verse from Ilajide is fire, and I love the hook too. The verse from Mic Phelps is phenomenal. In terms of just his voice, he sounded a lot like Mac Miller here to me. He doesn’t rap like Mac at all though. His flow was relentless. Again, the dude’s breath control is exceptional. I love the song. The closing track is one final highlight called Smoke a Lil. This one immediately entered my weed smoking playlist as soon as I heard it. I mean, the whole EP is very good for smoking, but this track in particular is the most apt soundtrack for that activity in my opinion. The production is phenomenal. The hook is deceptively chill and slow-paced, but the flows on the verses are pretty fast. Both of the MCs here killed their performances, but if I had to choose one of them I’d probably go with Ilajide’s verse. I think if the hook was more exciting this might’ve been my favorite song on the project. It’s fire.
This EP is dope as hell. As I kinda implied multiple times throughout the body of this review, this project is just pure fun. Ilajide is the type of artist that knows how to get people to move. He has very bouncy, danceable beats, and his relentless, nimble flows could elicit a head nod from a statue. Mic Phelps really impressed me here too. I think his best performances were definitely on the second half of the project. A couple of his verses here really blew me away. At first I was worried that there might be a significant gap in talent, but Mic Phelps proved himself as a worthy collaborator. I was sold by the time the project was over. He did a great job. Ilajide has another project coming later this month with the producer Def Dee, so this just made me even more excited for that. I actually think this is the best EP I’ve heard so far in 2024. It’s really excellent. Check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Favorite Song: Is We Is
Least Favorite Song: Get $$$
89
Grade: A-https://focushiphop.com/2024/08/08/ep-review-ilajide-mic-phelps-chief/
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