Ill Tone Teams with Elcamino for His 2nd EP of the Year “Built for Cuban Links” (EP Review)
Here we have the 16th EP albeit his 2nd to be released this year from Buffalo emcee & singer Elcamino. Blowing up in 2017 off his self-titled EP with Griselda Records, his profile increasingly grew after being followed up by Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018 along with dropped 2 studio albums & a few EPs the year after that.. They Spit on Jesus proved to be a well received Black Soprano Family Records debut the first Camino project that I had covered since On the 3rd Day & that much like No Weapon Formed Against Me was an improvement over some of the material we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. 6 months after having Real Bad Man produce The Game is the Game though, Ill Tone’s now producing Built for Cuban Links named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… produced by RZA.
Estee Nack joins Elcamino for the opener “Stash House Legends” starting Built for Cuban Links by reaffirming both of their statuses in the drug game over a bare soul sample whereas “Mill Prep” puts the drums in the equation promising to stay the same with or without money. “Estate” feels like a 73 second freestyle accompanied by a drumless instrumental while “Red Room” featuring Flames Dot Malik goes boom bap detailing the gangsta lifestyles they live.
“Gold Plated Benz Wagons” classily talks about being upper echelon just before “Cuban on Cuban” works in more kicks & snares flexing that hip hop got him iced up. “Zip Lock Olympics” luxuriously gets back on his hustler shit leading into the flute-tinged “God’s Favorite” declares he’s done doing & selling percs. The title track strips the drums again to talk about coming from a dark street & “I Knew” returns to the boom bap 1 more time winning standoffs instead of awards.
The Game is the Game still remains the best I’ve heard from Camino ever since signing to B$F, but Built for Cuban Links nonetheless finds him going on a 3-peat since I enjoyed it as much as I did They Spit on Jesus when he joined the label’s roster 11 months ago. Ill Tone obviously ain’t no Real Bad Man yet his takes on the boom bap/drumless sounds get elevated thanks to the stories Meechy tells in only 20 minutes.
Score: 7/10
