Elxtt – “Hell of a Year” (Album Review)
Elxtt is a 26 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia who’s been around for a years now. He recently came back from a hiatus after completing college & dropped a new EP this past summer called Just Tryna Rap but fast forward 5 months later, he’s already following it up with his full-length debut.
The album kicks off with “Hell of an Intro”, where Elxtt recaps 2020 over a trap beat with some somber piano chords. The next song “Who is You?” boasts over an instrumental with some rubbery bass & a woodwind while the track “Letter to the City” make numerous references to the Atlanta hip hop scene over a beat that reminds me of College Dropout-era Kanye. The song “Blood on My Jordans” talks about the streets calling him over an instrumental with a well-incorporated sample while the track “Been Ready” with Eleonor Elias is an acoustic flavored R&B ballad that’s just alright.
The song “Ball Hog” talks about being just that over a feel-good instrumental while the track “East Coast Flow” talks about being from Atlanta over a rambunctious beat. After the “Elyon’s Interlude” the song “Therapy Session” gets confessional over an alluring instrumental while the track “Let You Down” with Ice sees the 2 talking about heartbreak over a dancehall beat
The song “West Coast Flow” is a decent rendition of 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” down to the instrumental while the track “Rico Suave” talks about partying over a Latin flavored beat. The song “Underdawg” talks about being slept-on over a luxurious trap instrumental & then the album ends with “Thoughts on a Beat IV”, where Elxtt speaks what’s on his mind currently over a classy beat.
I think this is a solid album & can definitely see Ellxt only improving from here. The passion is undeniably there in his delivery & even thought I really appreciate how diverse the album ranges, a few of the joints wear it’s influences on their sleeves so hard to the point where it can be distract. Nonetheless, I’m curious to hear what this cat does from hereon out.
Score: 7/10
