Rochester, NY rapper/producer 38 Spesh (born Justin Harrell) certainly knows how to keep himself musically occupied. From the mid-2000s to now, Spesh has released over three dozen projects, both in solo outings and collaborative efforts. Fairly recently, he’s made rounds with controversial comments about veteran emcees, particularly Jadakiss. Whether he’s issuing an actual challenge to Kiss or just making those comments to plug his latest album is unknown. Who knows? It could be both. But either way, it’s free promotion for Spesh as he dropped “8 Shots” not too long ago. Though an established double threat behind both the mic and the boards, Spesh loosened up the reigns over the latter for this album, relegating himself as producer of little over a third of the twelve total tracks.
The album begins with “Free Game” laced by Bernard Woodside. A victorious-sounding production with female vocals crooning in the background, Spesh raps a semi-autobiographical verse condensing his transition from a no-name to a somebody. The bass line on “The Main Line” is the standout aspect of the TrickyTrippz production. Method Man is featured on the hook only, though a single verse from him wouldn’t have hurt. 38 Spesh & Rooq lace the beat for the more low-key “Used 2”, a short account of 38 Spesh still being able to get paid even in changing times. TrickyTrippz uses some tricks up his sleeve for “Be the Best”, a dramatic soundscape with cinematic elements for Spesh to spit grimy, but uplifting rhymes over.
TrickyTrippz provides some vintage strings for “Trust Us” featuring Ransom & Smooth Haynes. Ransom comes with the toughest verse, but when Haynes began the second verse, both his cadence and delivery had me thinking I was listening to Cormega. The self-produced “Speshal” is described as an interlude, but it’s not exactly that. It’s a means for Spesh to spit some boastful rhymes on how “Niggas talk slick ’til they drip from a leaky face /My gun big and black with a switch like T.D. Jakes.” The slurred sound on “Heavy Burden” is ridden nicely by Spesh, who wastes no time in dropping punchline-laden bars in his first verse. Produced by TrickyTrippz, guest rapper Dave East comes in with a determined flow packed with internal rhyme schemes. This album was released in late May, which is considered Mental Health Month. Perhaps that’s what inspired the LT Beats-laced “Mental Health”. Along with Buffalo emcee Ché Noir, Spesh explores the stress and pressures of street-level figures and how their mental welfare is forgotten about more often than not:
The psychedelic bass-heavy lush production on “Great Wall” is courtesy of Spesh himself. Featuring a verse from Curtis Coke, he spits with the ferocity of one who’s been at different levels of street hustling. The M.Otheproducer-laced “Renovations” is without drums and contains a guitar-synth backdrop as Spesh uses the concept of renovation to describe how he gained the ill-gotten means to do so. There’s a foreboding production on “Cold War” provided by Moose Tarantino. Busta Rhymes is featured and spits a longer verse than Spesh, capping his off with “Thirty-five years a body, but still been killin’ ’em recently / Disintegrate these niggas to particles, they ask for leniency (Leniency) / Pardon God, I’m only bein’ me (Bein’ me). “Everything” closes out the album with ‘everything’ (specifically, the beat and rhymes) done by Spesh. Most of “8 Shots” contains the word “trust” dropped in the lyrics, as promoting Spesh’s label or something else entirely. But in any case, with “8 Shots”, 38 Spesh continues to be a staple in hardcore east coast street raps.
38 Spesh :: 8 Shots
7Overall Score