With his latest release madebyXXII brings his raw energy and candid emotion with ‘ATLA$’. The title track sets the tone with a sparse spacious delivery over a laid back instrumental of chopped samples and guitar loops. Immediately following the intro ‘Burning Desire Part 1’ cuts through with personal stories and real life tales delivered with brutal honesty. Sonically the EP is filled with atmospheric keys and synths combined with gritty drums and heavy distorted 808s. Numerous vocal samples are played throughout the project, a Kevin Gates interview is used as a pep talk before ‘Thanks’, a straight forward tale of depression and triumph. MadebyXXII takes the creative control of his work personally, altering tracks and adding intros and slowed down augmented outros to various tracks, acting as artist, A&R, and executive producer. The striking cover art is both eye catching and mysterious, a visual representation of the content and feel of the entire EP. ‘LUV’ displays grand ambitions and a desire for the removal of all distractions and defeats. ‘Gullwing Doors’ has madebyXXII getting greasy with a low octave vocal effect on the hook and gritty lyrics. ‘Highway’ is another chapter out of the story, detailing his personal life with no restrictions over a soulful piano loop and slowed down dusty drums. The Atla$ imagery hits it’s pinnacle on ‘California’ with madebyXXII shouldering all his burdens. ‘Trust’ was released prior as a single and has the energy for a full length movie, a Kevin Gates samples comes back in to further the message and keep the theme going. The EP ends on ‘vORHEES 3’ wrapping up the personal tales and trials over a somber instrumental, a great victory lap for a truly cohesive EP that is as creative as it is conceptual.
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