Tony Shhnow and Grimm Doza link up to bring a modern street mixtape. Using samples from the video game Halo, Tony Shhnow brings luxury street raps. This immediately apparent from the intro track “Dominant.” You’re immediately hit with the Halo samples and Doza’s eclectic sample choice that feels like some funky lounge music. Tony flies in on the track with pure confidence and swagger, sounding untouchable in every bar he spits.
The track “Shooting Star” is one of the best on album. Using the sample, Tony plays with his verses to make a call and response track. Tracks like these are rarities by modern standards, what was once the bread and butter of legendary acts like Dipset is now a lost art. Tony taps right into that effortlessly.
“Sometimes” is him on another level though. He’s vocally invigorated, every bar is delivered with rawness with some of the hardest introduction bars imaginable. He gives the feel of striving and failing, able to capture the ups and downs of life. The track uses these mesmerizing vocals with the occasional west coast perc.
Lately I’ve talking to myself
People never help you out
Unless it benefit themselves
The use of the Halo samples are genius throughout the tape. It gives it the feel of old internet mixtapes without the need for a real mixtape DJ. Playing off of many people’s nostalgia for the sounds, it is a feeling that many can connect to. Its rare to find ways to praise tags throughout a mixtape or album, but here its commendable.
There’s so much to praise throughout the tape even though the tape is only around twenty minutes. Tony’s monotone voice lets his bars breathe on every track, allowing you to focus in on every word. His constant callbacks to the older school of rap highlights his love for the genre, and his hustle bars will stick with you. Even if Tony doesn’t connect for whatever reason, Grimm Doza’s production stays some of the best out today. If they keep it up, they could easily be one of the most sought after producer-rapper duos in the scene.