Elcamino – “Don’t Eat the Fruit” (Album Review)

Elcamino is an MC from Buffalo, New York who‘s been blowing up within the past couple years. He dropped a self-titled EP with Griselda Records in November of 2017 & a mixtape last summer called Walk on Water but now, he’s delivering his long-awaited debut.

The album kicks off with “Davis St.”, where El talks about being made over a soulful beat. The next track “Devotion” talks about just that over a luscious soul sample while the song “Ghetto Luv” talks about making out of the struggle over some horns & an organ. The title track gets bloodthirsty over an atmospheric beat while the song “Venice Beach” with Benny sees the 2 getting mafioso over some epic string sections.

The track “Flu Game” is an unfinished yet gloomy minimalist piece while the song “Redrum” pretty much speaks for itself over an eerie beat. The track “Big Bro” is a dedication to his older sibling over a beautiful instrumental while the song “Too Grimey for the Radio” with Meyhem Lauren truly lives up to it’s title in every aspect. The track “9 on My Lap” with Conway gets back on the confrontational tip over a sinister boom bap beat while the song “Alter Prayer” with Crimeapple gets back on the mafioso tip over a synth heavy beat. The album then ends with “Hidden Hills”, where El Camino continues to brag over a Termanology instrumental with some congas & an infectious horn lead.

Man, it makes me really happy to see Elcamino outdoing himself with each & every project. The production’s more refined & El sounds harder than ever, but I just wish it was longer than 29 minutes.

Score: 7/10