Jamil Honesty & Giallo Point are Firing “Shots from the Soviet” (EP Review)

Staten Island, New York born albeit Baltimore, Maryland based emcee/producer Jamil Honesty linking up with Giallo Point for his 4th EP. Getting his footing in off the strength of his debut mixtape Verses, he would go on to build a name for himself but putting out 3 EPs & a full-length debut serving as a sequel to one of the EPs that Hobgoblin produced. Coming off the Harbor Kidz’ self-titled debut alongside the Krazyfingaz-produced The God Honest Truth or the Machacha-produced Give Us Our Daily Bread & the final installment of the Martyr Musik trilogy, Jamil’s firing Shots from the Soviet.

After the intro, the first song “Bolshevik Bullets” is this piano-driven boom bap opener comparing the bars to Russian strays whereas “The Hit” strips the drums completely talking about everyone in the streets knowing the name. After an interlude, “Double Barrel” featuring Substance810 hooks the kick & snares back up, spitting that gun talk while the solemn boom bap joint “DNA” talks getting your life in a cypher if you’re made for it.

“Makarov Murders” starts the final leg of the EP dropping bodies with the titular semi-automatic pistol that the Soviet Union has made their standard military sidearm for over 7 decades leading into “Gun Pen” grittily comparing his pen-game to that of a firearm, which is pretty accurate. The final song “No Evidence” prior to the outro ends the EP mixing some sampling with kicks & snares talking about leaving the murder scene clean.

After producing Big Trip’s most acclaimed EPs to date Honestly Filthy & it’s sequel, Jamil taps in one of the UK hip hop scene’s most prolific producers in recent memory to make an EP that surpasses the Martyr Musik trilogy as the most essential offering in his discography. I have no complaints regarding Giallo Point’s boom bap production during the 21 minute run nor is there any regarding Jamil’s performances.

Score: 9/10