Red Bag is an independent hip hop artist from Long Beach, California whose music puts a he world in the shoes of his lived experiences built for the ones still in it from the lens of a cinematically raw point-of-view. For his full-length studio debut however, fellow Rich Mind$ collective brethren Cynematic has been enlisted behind the boards for the inaugural half of a 2-part series that he calls The Message recalling the roads he once walked that many are walking to this very day.
“Winter Stone” begins with a 90 second drumless intro talking about letting his mind drift when he smokes weed whereas “Blanc de Blancs” goes for a jazzier vibe instrumentally asking if anyone can rip microphones better than him. “Gourmet Chops” finds himself getting boastful over a soulful beat leading into “Fresh Water” talking about him doing this for the ones he’s lost.
Terry joins Red Bag on “Fools Rush” continuing to drop braggadocio over a lo-fi boom bap instrumental reminding me of Domo Genesis during the Odd Future era just before “Parallax” talks about his refusal to fake shit because of the way he came up. “Broken” moves on from there admitting to be more gentle with himself going forward while “XTC” reaches the halfway point of Could This Be? with a compositional approach not even an entire minute long.
“In Due Time” kicks off the 2nd half of the album with a 63 second freestyle talking about his capability of making an entire crowd listen whenever he takes the microphone while “Deja Vu” speaking of his purpose of being destined for this shit & overcoming any obstacles. “Came to Age” spends a minute & half honoring the legacy of my 2nd favorite producer of all-time J Dilla behind the Quincy Jones of hip hop Dr. Dre himself prior to Terry returning for the title track.
To wrap up Could This Be?’s final act, “Stripes” talks about staying a student of the game when you’re constantly holding yourself back while “Burning” treads the lo-fi boom bap waters discussing how the legacy you leave behind going forward is the one that rally counts. “Twist” talks about recruiting new members for his crew to replace the older ones & the outro “Full Circle” sends it all off reaching the point of being past all the bullshit in his life.
Catering his music to the people across the world who’re experiencing his past presently, Red Bag looks to make a wider introduction to the west coast underground by presenting the world this inaugural half of this saga split into 2 completely different sections & Could This Be? marks a personal debut for the west coast artist in general. The production Cynematic brings to the table is a mix of drumless, boom bap, jazz rap & lo-fi hip hop reminding us all he overcame his obstacles by pushing forward.
Score: 7/10