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A couple weeks ago, I was enthusiastically discussing Subjxct 5’s beats over breakfast with Laron. The New Jersey producer’s recent tape with Papo2oo4, Papaholic Vol. 1, is especially hard-knocking, perfect for booming out of car speakers. Subjxct’s sound is rooted in East Coast hip-hop without falling into naked nostalgia, pulling the sounds and textures of his youth firmly into the now.
He’s got that in common with frequent collaborator YL, who he’s teamed up with for RRR & 2oo4 Presents… Only Ones Taxin’. Last year, YL told The FADER his label RRR’s sound, “has a fresh air to it… We’re not trying to scare the hoes.” Subjxct’s production here hits that mark, unfurling various emotional backdrops for YL to muse and meander through. There’s the downtempo churn of “Popstar Worldwide” (“Got my eyes on the Benz but I’m still on the train,” YL shrugs), and the halcyon bounce of “100 On;” YL interpolates a little Tay-K (“Lipton”) and Subjxct channels Swizz Beatz early on “Who RRR Be.”
Album centerpiece “Bobyahead2dis” is a real smash-and-grab, but YL makes the most of his time over a vivid ripple of bass and refractive chords, his verse careening through a day in the life: waking up with a beautiful girl, cleaning his jewelry, pulling up to Jersey rocking Foamposites. The assonance of the bars makes his raps even denser, so although YL’s rapping at an easy lope, it all feels a little breathless, especially when, “New York trying to bury me whole.” Early he’ll advise, “Same faces you see on the way up the same ones you see coming down, I’m telling you now straight up,” sounding totally unfazed, as if he’s already summited the mountain he’s currently climbing.
