Description
Boomkat Review:
“Whew!!! Coldest rap fire and neon club sleaze from James Massiah, aka Babyfather’s DJ Escrow, brilliantly advancing on his standout 2019 EP for Jon Rust’s Levels – lowkey EPOTY steez right here RIYL Dean Blunt, Giggs, Jawnino
Hard in the pocket and swaggy with it, the ‘True Romance EP’ is an achingly on-point description of UK love and nightlife – from gobbling gear to bussin’ a nut, and Ubers in between – from the perspective of London poet and musician Massiah. The six tracks mark a dozen years since Massiah first emerged, and built a resounding rep lending vox to records ranging from tech house to Massive Attack and Dean Blunt’s Babyfather, where he played the alter ego DJ Escrow. The ’True Romance’ EP now follows from 2019’s ‘Natural Born Killers EP (replete with Joy O remix) to unfold a confessional, narrative-based theme faithful to the title, flowing unflinching bars on Afrobeats and dembow-compatible grooves oozing the greaziest, noctilucent hooks. We’ve lived with this one for minute and can fully confirm it’s a banger end to end that we keep coming back to.
Between the acid-etched ‘Heartbreak Freestyle’ and the almost sickly sweet swang of ‘Last Kiss (End Scene)’, Massiah chronicles themes his generation can surely relate to in direct terms, and lathered with fluoro hooks that fix the bars in mind. As rapper/poet/storyteller/protagonist, Massiah excels in drawing us into his PoV, chatting about waiting for the man in ’Soon Touch’, and serving a lowkey anthem with his declaration of love for the snot, but not shirking its politics, in the scudding dembow bop ’Charlie’, whilst emptying his emotional pockets in ‘Hot Forever’, and letting it all fade away to frank passage of voicenote poetry with ‘Wagwan’. Everything about this EP, from the gripping lyrics to coke-oily flow and its uncanny mixing is just a massive chef’s kiss. One for the times. Bravo.”
