Here we have the latest & 20th extended play from Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his almost a decade ago with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that next spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko, the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not Thatproduced by Apollo Brown, Rose Gold & the V Don produced Bulletproof Chicken. Last time I covered him was when Evidence produced War Cash several months earlier & Top 85 Dead or Alive dropping out of nowhere had me anticipating it making up for Beemer on Broadway.
“Marv Albert” opens up with this cinematically produced beat demanding to prove if one’s really active with the strap like they claim to be & after “Jayson Williams” shifts towards an atmospheric vibe instrumentally talks about possibly killing rappers for even thinking they could fit in his shoes over a sample, “All Star Weekend” already finishes up the 1st half of the EP flowing on top of a lo-fi boom bap beat getting himself ready to make his competition feel uncomfortable.
To get the 2nd leg going, the “Foul Line” combines some pianos & a tuba so Crime can kick it off-top for a little over a couple minutes while “Wristbands” luxuriously talks about opinions being exactly like bust down Cubans in the sense everyone has them. The closing track “Trick Shot” spends Top 85 Dead or Alive’s concluding moments coasting over this groovy instrumental boasting that he’s printing paper on the mobile phone getting high out in the Grenada region of the Caribbean.
I very much understand & appreciate what Crimeapple was trying to do with Top 85 Dead or Alive since he pretty much took it back to the essence of his earlier EPs nearly a decade ago when he was on the come up but regardless of War Cash still holding the bragging rights for my personal favorite thing he’s done this year, I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be giving it more spins than Beemer on Broadway since he’s singlehandedly laying out short & sweet barwork that gets directly to the point.
Score: 7/10