Apollo Brown has quickly shot up as one of my current favorite producers in hip-hop and I’m glad to see that he’s really starting to major recognition within the industry. Artists are seemingly lining up to work with the Detroit producer and he’s back with another joint project, this time with the underground vet Planet Asia.
“It’s more than what I write
I meditate, you can see my aura in the light
From the morning to the night
We levitate, smoking, hitting corners in the night
Everything will be alright”
While I’m vaguely aware of Planet Asia as an artist, Apollo Brown’s production is what really brought me to this tape. Whenever I hear that now signature vinyl crackle I can’t help but get nostalgic for the golden era of hip-hop (the 90’s, so what you wanna fight about it?) where production was so much more than a drum loop and sampling was an art form. He’s proven again and again that he’s one of the best samplers in the game and he doesn’t disappoint here; the production is lush, soulful, and has that classic hip-hop boom bap to it. For me his production is hip-hop in it’s essence and in a time when the sound is becoming more and more processed, his sound stands out even more. Lyrically, Planet Asia does a solid job of holding things down. There weren’t any verses I felt a needed to run back but it’s that classic hip-hop lyricism that old heads will love. I didn’t love this project as much as I did The Easy Truth but I’ll take as much Apollo Brown production as I can get.
Have you heard Anchovies? What’d you think about it? Did you like it more or less than The Easy Truth? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions for the album.
