Soul Assassins Records, 2021
Listening to Rome Streetz rap is like watching a basketball prospect sink 100 3-pointers in a row in front of a crowd full of scouts. Each shot made is just further proof that they’re worthy of the attention. Rome Streetz raps in a similar fashion. His distinct delivery makes him sound like he always has a chip on his shoulder, getting each clever bar off with even clearer pronunciation and more prominence than the last. He spits with evident hunger and confidence that can be heard from a mile away; he’s a clearly talented emcee, yet he still raps as though he isn’t respected as such. This is clearer than ever on his first release of 2021, Death and the Magician. It’s produced entirely by Cypres Hill member DJ Muggs, who provides a platform full of samples and raw drum patterns for Streetz to both flex about his current lifestyle and candidly express the struggle of the lifestyle he grew up with. On Death and the Magician, Rome shows off his ability to get off witty bars that find him flexing about how good of a rapper he is, while also addressing important issues, making for one of the earliest candidates for hip-hop’s best release of the year so far.
The album begins with a chilling and hectic skit titled “6 of Cups,” which is comprised of a number of news clips reporting on both the legal and illegal acquisition of firearms: “The entire city became an arsenal.” This is followed by Rome preaching about keeping yourself safe, violence on the streets and dangerous mindsets surrounding shootings: “Shit’s been fucking crazy lately. It’s always crazy, but different,” he exclaims, seemingly his take on the current state of the world and senseless violence. On top of the intro’s subject matter, the cinematic horns in the background make for an intense opening that perfectly set up what’s about to follow; 12 songs of lyrical madness.
The next track, “Prayers Over Packages,” finds Streetz detailing the environment he was surrounded by throughout his childhood. The title and the hook are a direct reference to him literally praying to God over packages of drugs, in hopes that he can sell it quick, in order to both get them out of his possession and get paid. This is as raw as it gets, and you can hear the pain behind Streetz’s voice; “Coming up, had mad friends, close ones, homies, associates / Some died, went to jail, some overdosed on opioids.” On “Zig Zag Zig,” he raps about how he was introduced to the drug game; “Got some info off the dark web and started makin’ E’s / Pill pressin’ and bonding agents, duckin’ the agency.” On “The Devil’s Chord,” he plays into some recent conspiracies; “The world fucked up, we got crooked cops and fentanyl / COVID, is it real or is it fake, they tryna kill us all.” On “Fuck You Know About Me,” he raps “Live from where they give a dealer more time than a rapist / The system racist, this ain’t no new revelation.” It’s moments like these, which range from dark to intimate to woke, that show off his diversity. Rome’s chaos is artistically organized and beautiful. He’s like a podcast host, scrambling to touch on every subject with a guest before time is up, but somehow successfully executing an efficient interview nonetheless. Not knowing what he’ll address next, but being pleasantly impressed each time ultimately makes the album such an enjoyable and entertaining listen, especially when considering that its runtime barely exceeds half an hour.
Songs like “Ace of Swords” and “The Manuscript,” Rome uses to gloat about how great of a rapper he is. It’s an essential aspect of hip-hop, but he’s able to brag in such unique ways that make it seem as though it’s never been said before. “What we on is far beyond you pions / I glow like neon, kill everything I be on” is just one example of Streetz doing so, while flexing his rhyming capabilities at the same time. He makes it clear that he thinks he’s the best rapper out, and it’s a believable argument after hearing the entirety of the album.
Perhaps no set of bars sums up Death and the Magician better than when he raps “My lifestyle wild illegal slash slightly woke / With a splash of punch you in ya mouth fast, like a Floyd jab” on “High Explosive.” Not only does this perfectly sum up his music and its subject matter in his own words, but it also showcases the variety of his abilities; he can be “woke” and address issues without sounding preachy, while still being freshly braggadocios in the same breath.
The album ends with “Fuck You Know About Me,” a track that finds Streetz getting a lot off of his chest, allowing listeners to enter his intelligent and troubled mind for one last time before the album’s end. We’re able to learn a lot about him through this outro, like the fact that he could care less about being famous and the money involved in music, and his true main concern is freeing his friends from jail. Ending the album with questioning us what we know about him is his way of telling us that this album should’ve taught us enough. He pours his heart, soul and every burdening thought that he has into Death and the Magician’s 13-song runtime, allowing us to enter the intimate and sometimes grimy world of Rome Streetz’s mind, the home of trauma and an array of talents which he uses to candidly express himself.
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