Artist: AG Da Coroner
Album: Crushed Grapes
Tracklisting:
1. Welcome To My World
2. Problem (ft. Lord Nez)
3. Not Gonna Cry
4. Ghetto Love (ft. Lord Nez & M. Reck)
5. Luca Brasi (Sleep)
6. Stars Are Born (ft. M. Reck)
7. What We Have (ft. Meyhem Lauren)
8. Live From Cheeta (ft. Lord Nez, Nutso, Spit Gemz, Realm Reality & Termanology)
9. New York Never Left
Note:
I saw AG Da Coroner make comments on Twitter a few weeks ago suggesting that some underground fans didn’t like Crushed Grapes because it wasn’t all just “hot bars”. I couldn’t fathom it when I read it, so I feel obligated to set people straight. This project is full of not only top notch bars, but also production, guest shots, and content. There’s really no other way to put it. I have never heard the Coroner make anything remotely soft or borderline and to suggest this project is less than stellar seems sacrilegious in the house of hip hop.
Tracks like Not Gonna Cry and Ghetto Love may not be exclusive to hot bars but it certainly gives AG Da Coroner the depth that’s required to actually be a complete artist. ATG, who produces the entire project, gives these particular tracks a bluesy and soulful vibe. On, Not Gonna Cry, the single for the project, Coroner relates the trials and tribulations he has encountered in both adolescence and as an adult. He has crossed paths with a lot of obstacles and is done shedding tears for things that he can’t control. Subsequently, on Ghetto Love, gives the listener an insight as to what it’s like walking a mile in his shoes, in his hood. These cuts are more than just clever wordplay and similes, they are about painting a vivid picture for the audience.
Aside from those two tracks that focus on story telling and imagery, Crushed Grapes is actually chocked full of those ill lines and flow that we are familiar with in AG Da Coroner’s music. On Luca Brasi, Problem, and New York Never Left, he grabs you buy the throat and doesn’t let go. ATG produces these tracks with the organ being the highlighted instrument. It sounds like he’s playing a eulogy for all these ’emcees’ who are about to get it. The music is dark, and haunting are as these words from AG Da Coroner from the track Luca Brasi:
…you can have every summer, NY runs the winter / It’s a cold world boy, dress warm when you enter / Tell ’em Coronelli sent you / Don’t forget to remember / When I’m walking with my ninjas you might wind up losing ketchup…
Crushed Grapes also brings you what is sure to be one of the dopest posse cuts of the year with Live From The Cheeta which will get even the most fickle of hip hop fans open. The line up is ferocious. We’ve got Lord Nez, Nutso, Spit Gemz, Realm Reality, and Termanology who jump on this track and drop napalm. It’s these kind of tracks that give way to the thought: “Oh. This is why I love hip hop so much!” I just stated this in an earlier commentary for another post, but is it just me, or is Term upping the ante with his bars? I know he has a nice spit game but lately he’s been damn near unparalleled.
So in essence, hip hop heads are right, Crushed Grapes isn’t solely about hot bars. It’s about life and thought through the mind of the artist, but that’s not a detracting factor to this project. That actually accentuates the project. Throughout the EP, AG Da Coroner shows us that he’s not just a one dimensional emcee but is capable of giving us meaningful lines while at the same time dropping those high caliber verses. That’s why Crushed Grapes will stay in many a rotation for 2013.
Hip Hop Dependency 