New music alert!
Last weekend (June 25th, to be exact), the controversial banter Xtraordinary Gentleman Maltritzz dropped his sophomore project, The Food Court Tapes. It’s an 8-track project for us to feast on, as the title suggests, and the boy delivers. Following up from the bright and colorful 48 Degrees, this project is more mellow,the music more personal and darker, as the cover art implies.
This is exemplified right from the beginning of the tape, with the bass-heavy opening track, “Food Court.” Mal’ sets the tone for the project with witty, food-related one-liners, like, “might go swimming in the sauce cause I’m lost in it.” The beat is sure to rock whichever speaker or headphones it’s played in, and really gets the project off to a flying start.
It’s followed up by arguably the best track on the project, the “This That Freestyle” with Sempa Ty. This drill-inspired track sees the two go back and forth over a dark, bass-heavy beat, typical to the nature of that genre. “This that kung-fu cadence, this that kick,” Ty raps, setting the bar quite high as the first feature on the project. If you’re looking for the “stank face”standout track on the project, this is probably the one.
“Lost in the Sauce” continues the the menacing feel to the tape, as Mal’ raps over a keys-inspired beat at a much more lax speed than at any other point so far. The next track, “Godfather,” is one of my personal favorites. He links up with Hypnosys over a synth-laced distorted beat that is sure to keep your head rocking. While these tracks are hype, “Peter Rd” featuring Sha Renai slows the tape to a near standstill moment, a relaxed vibe that consolidates, if anything.
To see out the final stretch of the tape, Maltritzz calls on the help of fellow Xtraordinary Gentleman Notorious B.I.Bi on the tape’s lead single, “Super Saucy Saga,”a trap-inspired track that embodies what the two friends are about: having fun and enjoying themselves. “Hours” with LCJ takes the tape back to its more mellow feeling, while the closing track “Breathing” kicks up the tempo a bit, reminiscent of the style he showed on 48 Degrees. All in all, he balances the moments between the dark and light of the project well, and follows up to his first tape in a way that expresses where he currently is as an artist in a concise, yet effective manner. If you haven’t listened yet, this is your signal to go and do just that.
Listen to The Food Court Tapes on the streaming platform of your choice here. It is also available on SoundCloud.
Wenguss Khan 