Russ - Chomp EP REVIEW

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Russ is an artist I never got into. I simply just haven’t listened to his stuff yet, and it’s not that I have anything against him. It’s just that he’s never crossed my mind. I know that he’s notoriously hated for some reason. I don’t know this reason, and quite frankly, I don’t care that much, but this EP right here really caught my attention. After nearly 12 years of recording music, Russ is back with his second EP, Chomp. What really caught my eye is the features. KXNG Crooked, Ab-Soul, Busta Rhymes, Benny the Butcher, and Black Thought all guest verses, and one of the tracks has production from DJ Premier. This five-track EP was a quick listen, so I decided to give it a shot. Let’s get right into Chomp.

Chomp is a hip-hop EP. Right off the bat, I can say that the cover art is definitely one of the more eerie covers I’ve seen this year. It definitely fits the more stripped-back sound of the project, and the sample-heavy beats act as a sucker punch to me because I gravitate towards more of this type of sound than anything. The Primo beat on “Inside Job” makes this a standout cut on the project mainly because of the best, with Russ’s vocals touching on topics about being the G.O.A.T. and racial tensions being a little on the bland side. Admittedly, this is what most of Russ’s vocals are, and his delivery doesn’t really sell it, even if he does have the technical prowess. The features on here are stellar, and one of my favorite batches this year so far. My favorite track on the album has to be the nearly seven-minute closer “Momentum.” Russ gave me a good laugh on the ‘bigger than The Beatles, no holding hands’ bar, and both features from Benny and Black Thought are stunning.

I think I understand why people don’t like Russ too much. His writing is stale and one-note, but on Chomp, he more than makes up for it with the choice of beats and explosive features. The weakest thing about this Russ EP is Russ himself. He doesn’t ruin any of the project, but it’s clear that his collaborators have more going for them.


7/10


Stream Chomp here

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