While sitting and digesting an album, mixtape or an EP is the only way to fully appreciate an artist and their body of work, there’s something very special about that first listen.
We’ve tried to capture that magic with our series of first listen reviews; our unfiltered thoughts on an album, track by track, as it get listened to. Pretty simple, right?
This time, our editor Griff has got his hands on AJ Tracey’s brand new EP – which is out today – Lil Tracey. We’ve heard a couple of tunes from the six track project, but the majority remains unheard.
He’s been nominated for (and won) plenty of awards in 2016, has travelled the world performing and networking his music and has cemented himself as one to take over next year, with BBC naming him on their Sound Of 2017 long list.
It’s an exciting time for AJ, as he brings his Ladbroke Grove roots to the world. There are more eyes and ears on him than ever with the release of Lil Tracey, so the pressure is really on for him to deliver.
Read our first thoughts below and make sure you grab the project here.
“They Said” (ft. Bonkaz)
Gunshots and gurgling basslins kick this one off, as AJ wastes no time in bringing the dark and grimy atmosphere. He’s laughing at ‘them”, all the haters that said he weren’t ever gonna be sh*t. He proves that the “bet you thought I was gonna say…” scheme ain’t going anywhere soon, with one of the biggest wheel up worthy interpretations yet. Bonkaz comes through with a guest verse, after the pair have teased a collaboration for a hot second. He does the ting too, making this one a club ready banger.
“Buster Cannon”
Tizzy premiered this one back on Halloween, but boy does it still bang like it did back then. Tre Mission absolutely laced him with this riddim, with its skippy drums and haunting vocal samples. This is when AJ can do what he does best, with his violently dexterous flow. Some mad, no nonsense quotables on here about poking your ex, getting a job and guns the size of an elephants trunk. See this live and AJ moves like Trunks… that room is getting blasted.
“Capri Sun” (ft. Chip)
Since AJ appeared in Chip’s “Bluku Bye Bye” video, I’ve been curious about these two linking up for a collabortion, but also had my reservations. For some reason I didn’t think their styles would necessarily match up. So far, I’m very, very wrong. “Handed the ting to my runner like a baton” is another wheel up, straight off the bat. I can see Chippy floating all over this with some cheeky bars. I WAS RIGHT, he interprets some of AJ’s bars and flips them. Chip the MC or Chip the artist, it’s good to hear him duppy something again. His verse is wedged between two from AJ, like a greezy chicken fillet. This could be a favourite so far.
“Pasta”
This one also came out already, although a lot more recently than “Buster Cannon”. It’s a slower and less skippy tempo than what we’ve heard so far, as he name drops Complex, Hov and more. This one feels like it’s directed at a broader audience than us lot familiar with grime. “Pasta” could certainly act as a jump on point for any American listeners, with it’s trap snares and catchy hook.
“Luke Cage”
Yo, Luke Cage is a sick show. Was only a matter of time until he started becoming part of rap canon wasn’t it. The lyrical hook is a typical grinding story, with AJ’s blunt and gritty twist. More distored vocal samples lay on top of the insturmental for this one too, something of a trademark of the project. He claims he’s been spitting since the age of six and he’s already so good at 22 that I kind of believe him to be honest. Imagine AJ Tiddly at six years old duppying boys in the playground. Very real image.
“Hating On Gang” (ft. Remy Banks)
The final song of the EP features Remy Banks, an underground rapper from the Bronx in New York. Straight from the jump it’s obvious that AJ is bringing him to his world though. This one sounds like it’s straight from the London streets, with Remy going back to back with him on the chorus. Just like Skepta before him, AJ sees the importance in bringing the yanks into our world and our sound. He does his ting too and doesn’t drown in the instrumental that a lot of other rappers might. This is an unexpected but successful transatlantic collab, and I f*cks with it.
Overall, this is a very solid project. At just six tracks long it’s not too much to digest, with AJ mostly sticking to familiar grounds when it comes to his lyrics; it’s full of a rang of tongue in cheek, cheeky, violent and straight rude bars. We don’t learn too much about him as a person from Lil Tracey, but let’s be real, nobody was looking for that here – not yet. Hopefully 2017 sees the release of his full length album and we see AJ Tracey take over on a global level.