Joey Paro – “Victory Gin” Prod. by Illinformed (EP Review)

Here is the solo debut extended play from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Joey Paro. A member of the Split Prophets collective, he & Bil Next would team up on New Year’s Day 2014 for the collaborative EP Weedmasons, but hasn’t dropped a full project by himself up until this point. I did however enjoy his guest appearances on Eric the Red’s debut album Caught Red Handed & Res One’s sophomore effort A Dog’s Dreams both entirely produced by Illinformed, the latter of whom has now been brought in to fully produce Victory Gin.

The title track jumps over a cinematic boom bap instrumental talking about catching him inside of the kitchen sipping on a type of distilled alcoholic beverage he’s been saving from a celebratory occasion whereas “The Fall” featuring Eric the Red & Smellington Piff finds the trio dropping hardcore verses without a hook over this orchestrally raw beat. “Mobin’” featuring Datkid & Res One sees all 3 of them talking about living fast until their vitals crash while “No Fill” featuring Upfront MC work in some keys to discuss growing up with white trash.

Bil Next & Flying Monk are the only 2 Split Prophets who have yet to go solo, but I’m happy one of the Weedmasons was able to share some Victory Gin with the fans who’ve been waiting for this day to come & bringing one of the UK hip hop scene’s greatest producers on board to provide a brief look at Joey Paro individually. Illinformed’s production is on par with Res One’s latest album A Dog’s Dreams & despite there being a guest appearance on almost every single song, they’re all on his level of penmanship.

Score: 8/10