Review | MAD TRIGGER CREW “Before The 2nd D.R.B”

MAD TRIGGER CREW guide us through the challenges of being a gangster as well as the importance of bonds, loyalty, and family in the gangster’s ode that is MAD TRIGGER CREW Before The 2nd D.R.B.

Title: MAD TRIGGER CREW Before The 2nd D.R.B
Label: EVIL LINE RECORDS
Release date: 29/01/2020
Genre: Gangster Rap/Hip-hop

Tracklist:

1. Gangsta's Paradise (performed by Samatoki Aohitsugi (CV. Shintaro Asanuma))
2. Uncrushable (performed by Jyuto Iruma (CV.Wataru Komada))
3. 2DIE4 (performed by Rio Manson Busujima (CV.Shinichiro Kamio))
4. Drama Track（All in the same boat）

Track by track analysis:

1. Gangsta’s Paradise

A nostalgic piano melody and a deep bassline make way for Samatoki‘s distant yet vivid Gangsta’s Paradise. The instrumental is slow-paced and dreamy in its verses and picks up the pace a bit in the chorus with the addition of a drum and bass-inspired beat.

Brass adds more notes of nostalgia to this track, creating a unique soundscape. It is as if you are staring in the distance, watching the sunset as you are told the stories of and by an original gangsta.

It is a sort of confessional song that pulls the listener into the close circle and brotherhood that are MAD TRIGGER CREW.

The verses feature the tricky, fast-paced, one-breath rap technique that Shintaro Asanuma pulls off, time and time again, with flair.

This is, without a doubt, a first for this crew and in the Hypnosis Mic franchise as well. Asanuma also tackles clean singing parts and laidback rap parts in the chorus, something that helps make the song gives off a strange chill-out vibe.

There is auto-tune in the vocals but it is a minimalistic touch in a performance that will make your jaw drop.

Gangsta’s Paradise‘s nostalgic vibe, the powerful rap, and tasteful clean singing parts set the tone for this release, one filled with nostalgia and pride in the crew’s gangsta life.

2. Uncrushable

Uncrashable features one of the best instrumentals in all of Hypnosis Mic franchise. A big, summery piano melody, minimalistic synths, and a looping women’s R&B-ish vocal samples help paint the image that Jyuto creates for you.

That of a world with and without rules, where loyalty plays an important role and in which you are never safe. Trusting others, having each others’ backs.

The gritty ways of being a gangster are told with pride and with this nostalgic instrumental, that takes the listener on a ride down the Yokohama coast is something that really helps the listener get into the story and feel it.

It is an amazing experience to listen to this song, enjoy its good vibes, the story being told, all through Wataru Komada‘s sharp rap. 5/5

3. 2DIE4

East side’s gangsta rap overflows in 2DIE4. A distorted sitar melody and ominous, muffled panning synths take over as we dive into the grittier, darker sides of gangster life: doing whatever it takes, even if it means being prepared to die.

Rio‘s 2DIE4 has a soundscape characteristical of 90s east coast hardcore hip-hop, the simplistic instrumental, the menacing vibe that the slow-paced drum machine’s triplets and deep bass drum create, the slow and low rap that is meant to intimidate, this is a textbook gangsta rap track with quality on both the instrumental and rap parts that was not expected yet a pleasant surprise in the end.

Shinichiro Kamio goes really low for this performance, with his “What what” entering deep bass territory, a first for him.

Kamio does have the range and talent to pull it off, as a result, his low/bass toned rap ending up being a missing piece to make the dangerous vibe materialize into this banger. 5/5

Final considerations

MAD TRIGGER CREW brought the good vibes of Yokohama giving us a collection of songs that explore bonds, loyalty, family, what being a true gangster really means in the eyes of this crew. The image painted is gritty yet with its bright, proud spots.

It is hard to choose the song that best captured that essence because all three crew members have different yet, deep down, similar stories to tell on what is a gangster’s life. It lacks glamour but everything they do, they take pride in it.

There are multiple nods in each song at MAD TRIGGER CREW‘s brotherhood. If that isn’t enough, it shows in the insane consistency in themes and sonorities explored throughout this release.

MAD TRIGGER CREW Before The 2nd D.R.B is a flawless release in its purest, rawest essence. The rap is powerful, the lyrics meaningful, the emotions overflowing from the instrumentals and performances resonate with the listener.

Its “driving along the coast” vibe immerses you, taking you on a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime ride to MTC‘s gangsta’s paradise.

Welcome to Yokomaha.

MAD TRIGGER CREW Before The 2nd D.R.B is available for purchase at CDJAPAN.

New CD: Title is to be announced

MAD TRIGGER CREW