Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee Roscoe P. Coldchain enlisting Montréal, Québec, Canada producer Nicholas Craven for his sophomore effort. Blowing up in the 2000s when he signed to Star Trak Entertainment, he would leave the label without releasing anything & dropped a couple mixtapes preceding his full-length debut Almost Famous produced by Fatin Horton formerly of The Soul Council during my freshman year of high school. For the Mature on the contrary divided audiences last February & he’s looking to make up for the mixed reception of that extended play advising to Play with Something Safe.
“Benz Sprinter” comes out the gate with a drumless sample talking about moving coke & being a gangsta whereas “Hold My Hand” soulfully comes to the realizations that he brought these problems onto himself due to his heinous ways of living. “Frankenstein” works in some creepy organ melodies talking about being the lord of the underground leading into “The Future” speeding up his flow to boast his authenticity.
Malcolm Kamal’s appearance on “Magnesium Chloride” was alright even if I enjoyed the boom bap instrumental & Roscoe’s verse talking about having bad habits despite both of them looking after “Prayer Group” begins the 2nd half bringing back the chipmunk soul vibes so he can confess that his family is all he has left, “Die Slow” featuring Bruiser Wolf hooks up some tense sampling techniques talking about being the newest members on the rise to be respected by bosses.
The title track featuring Ab-Liva & Jimmie D finds the trio uniting over a drumless loop to explain that nether one of them have time for any bullshit while the funky “Boogie Nights” talks about how right it’s gonna feel when he puts the crown on after being away for over a decade. “Refined” featuring Malcolm Kamal wraps things up finding peace from these mean streets whenever they’re with their lovers.
Nicholas Craven himself has said that Play with Something Safe is the closest thing he’s ever done to making a horrorcore album & not only would I have to agree with that, but it wipes For the Mature & dethroned Almost Famous to further validate why Roscoe P. Coldchain has been one of the most underrated MCs in the game. The sample-heavy production style Craven has become known for is a lot better than the previously mentioned EP, bringing an improved guest list compared to his debut on board for some entertainingly dark street lyricism.
Score: 9/10