- Red Bull Music Academy’s United States of Bass - July 19, 2016
- Red Bull Sound Select: Adrian Younge, No ID, Joey Dosik - April 14, 2016
- LA Red Bull Sound Select: Stormzy, Lizzo, and Kauf - March 28, 2016
Intro to review:
Last week GroundSounds attended the exclusive listening party for Khleo Thomas and Chris Batson’s new EP, After Everything Fades. The 9-track EP is an impressive body of work, especially when paired with the visual aesthetics of the 35-minute “visual album.” Here is our official GroundSounds review:
Review:
The best music has always been made by a small group of people, all working together in the same room. In hip-hop, the combination of the producer/DJ and the MC is a time-tested and unrivaled force.
With the release of their new EP, After Everything Fades, the duo of Khleo Thomas and Chris Batson are now another testament to the producer and MC pairing. Throughout the 9-track EP, producer Chris Batson provides stellar production and accessible hooks that reinforce and compliment the candid rhymes of Khleo Thomas’ verses.
The delayed vocal harmonies and brief string parts of the intro sweep gently into “Lights.” Spatial and ethereal guitars sway across the stereo spectrum as Chris Batson confesses, “I pray to God sometimes, but I don’t think he here me.” The two young musicians try to find success without being thwarted by “The ups, the lows, the sluts, the hoes…the lights.”
The lights dim down into the darkest track on the project: “Delay.” Introspective and extremely heartfelt, the track deals with thoughts of suicide as Khleo and Chris beg for death to come “with no delay.” “Don’t get fooled by this fame, it’s a blessing I maintain,” Khleo recites in his criticism of the ill intentions of Hollywood hustlers and hoes. The echoing delays of Chris Batson’s grave pleas work perfectly on this track.
On “Becoming,” Chris Batson’s shadowy and aggressive production could easily fit in with Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And with lyrics like “Lethal with a pen, I repent for my worldwide domination intent,” Khleo Thomas knows just how to attack the beat.
There is an intrinsic and uninhibited honesty in both Khleo and Chris’s verses on “Time,” and “Just Fine.” Based on that honesty and emotional content, comparisons to Drake are certainly warranted. Although Khleo and Chris exhibit similar honesty and emotion, they are able to get their sentiments across with less navel-gazing and better singing than Drake.
My favorite track on the entire project is “Ride.” The beat has that perfect bounce for any of your riding activities; be they bike, automobile, or boudoir. The visual for “Ride” on the 35-minute music video for the album will certainly spark your imagination of what to do when this song is on.
The album closes with “Someday.” Chris and Khleo remind us that life will eventually catch up with you someday. The gentle piano parts and claps press on while Khleo questions, “how much a body can take.” The solo piano and percussion makes for a really nice ending.
It makes us wonder, what happens after everything fades?
FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AN EXCLUSIVE AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF AFTER EVERYTHING FADES – CLICK HERE
