I’ve heard a decent amount of electronic music x rap crossover projects at this point, and I’ve sat with this album for a while before forming an opinion on it. Really gave myself time to consume it properly.
First off, I genuinely think it’s sick that projects like this are becoming more common in the scene, and that KK is getting his flowers. It’s also insanely cool seeing a producer pull together a lineup like this for a debut-style producer project.
That being said, I personally feel like the album goes a little too hard almost all the time, and because of that it loses balance. The writing across the project is crazy, the performances are strong, and the production is genuinely nuts. But weirdly, that’s also what took away some of the enjoyment for me.
The crossover records that really work, from Blood on the Leaves to newer stuff like Rumble or Pepper, usually treat the vocals almost like another instrument. The rap isn’t always trying to dominate the track. Sometimes it exists to build tension and support the production so the drop actually has payoff.
Here, it sometimes felt like every part of every song was trying to be the hardest moment on the album simultaneously.
I know this can come across nitpicky, especially because the talent on display is undeniable, but as someone who genuinely loves both hip hop and electronic music and grew up listening to both, I think KK maybe got a little carried away with the excitement of landing such strong features. Which again, fair enough, because that’s a huge achievement.
But I also think the absence of tighter A&R guidance shows up in some of the song construction and decision-making throughout the project.
Nobody has to agree with me. This is just my perspective, and honestly it’s coming from a place of wanting to see IHH keep evolving and getting better.