Ayden – Miles To Go Before I Sleep EP

Artist: Ayden

Album: Miles To Go Before I Sleep EP

Source: Kevin Nottingham

Tracklisting:

1. Ashes (ft. X-1, Mina B, Enormus The Ox, Mokeout)
2. Guerilla war (ft. Havoc, Curt@!n$, Myth)
3. Cold Streets (ft. Big Lou, Famoso, Sha Stimuli)
4. Fam (ft. Shabaam Sahdeeq)
5. Venting (ft. Keith Murray)
6. Life Of Glamour (Instrumental)
7. So Strong (ft. Donny Goines, Famoso, Rap P)
8. Ain’t Going Out (ft. Mokeout, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Tools)

Notes:

Another what I will call “left field” release.  I am not sure who Ayden is, nor who Supabeatz is.  Do I need to study up?  Evident ally, because this little ditty is dope.  Strong production throughout really resonated with me.  Also, if I see a Donny Goines feature on your project, I can be guaranteed that the joint is going to knock.  Goines never disappoints.

This EP is chocked full of dopeness.  The joint, Ashes, starts out like a cinematic feature and then the four emcees just go for delf when the beat settles in.   I am not familiar with a single emcee on this cut but I don’t have a bad thing to say about any of them.  All had a nice flow about them and contributed their part.  The next jam, Guerilla War, made it’s way around the blogging circle earlier this year.   This joint features Havoc  (from Mobb Deep), Curt@!n$, and Myth.   Obviously that is a strong line up and the joint hits hard.  The track is very understated and certainly is not over-produced.  He really lets the emcees shine by the way the production is subtly dope.  That’s true not only for this track but for every track on this EP.

Hip Hop veterans, Shabaam Sahdeeq and Keith Murray also add solo joints to the project and both sound very nice over Ayden’s beats, particularly the former.  I have most of Sahdeeq’s material and I am glad to hear him attacking the beat again.  He sounds very rejuvenated over Ayden’s production.   I would be very interested in hearing an EP or album from Sahdeeq completely produced by Ayden.  I think there is a lot of chemistry there.

Most of the tracks are posse cuts and the production throughout the project makes it very accessible.  The bottom line is if you like the guest list, rest assured that you will certainly like production.   There is a lot of Boom-Bap flavor from Ayden on this joint.  If I understand correctly, this is just a prequel to a much bigger project so we should all be checking for something from him in the future.

Be sure to download this EP and check back here for more information.