Here is the 4th extended play from Baltimore, Maryland emcee SK da King. Emerging as a member of the Checkered Flag Boyz under the original moniker Paul Skola, it wasn’t until a few years ago where he signed to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group as a solo act as announced by his debut single “Actions” & would go on to introduce himself to the Drumwork fanbase that fall in the form of the debut EP Horus. His full-length debut studio album Made 4 This came after Before the Album & has enlisted Haas Almahdi to produce Due Diligence following No More Mr. Guy.
The title track begins with a powerful boom bap intro talking about him trying to build his catalog strongly whereas “Animal” featuring ItzGitty makes for the only song I didn’t care for dustily responding to people calling them beasts. “Top Spot” ends the 1st half talking about his name ringing bells & coming back hot just before “East Side” mixes a piano with some kicks & snares to explain that this is a lose-lose game along with having shit locked from side to side.
“Cruise Control” winds down the last few moments of Due Diligence talking about him riding for this shit & how heavy Drumwork moves over another boom bap instrumental while “Early Bird” gives off a more nocturnally rawer vibe talking about bringing the money home regardless of not knowing when he’ll return home. The closer “John Gotti” spends the last few minutes of the EP comparing himself to the iconic Mafia boss of the same name.
Familiarizing myself with Haas Almahdi after producing for the likes of Lloyd Banks or 7xvethegenius & more recently Courtney Bell, hearing that he was linking up with SK da King gave me the feeling that SK was gonna outdo every single EP he’s done up until this point & that’s exactly what he does. Outside of a guest appearance, Haas’ boom bap production & SK’s lyricism make for a great pairing even if it’s only for 23 minutes.
Score: 8/10