Vandal Savage – “Sauvage” Prod. by Sonnyjim (EP Review)
This is the 5th extended play of solo material from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Vandal Savage. A member of the trio VVV alongside Cappo & Juga-Naut, he would additionally drop a total of 4 EPs on his own throughout the 2010s from Savagery Over Everything to 1000th Prestige & the Bic Master duology. Stakes however were significantly raised upon learning Birmingham, West Midlands veteran Sonnyjim was gonna solely produce Sauvage being a fan of his for some time already.
After the “0.00” intro, “Prep the Shark” opens up with psychedelically funky vibes talking about fighting for peace & living rather gnarly than the average person whereas “From the Balcony” featuring Da Flyy Hooligan finds the pair over a vibraphone-driven instrumental reminding us of the golden rule: Sticking to the script. “Roll Safe” featuring Juga-Naut talks about coming a long way from their small towns while the funky “Pesci Poker” searches for peace in the midst of a piff cloud.
“Savvy” kicks off the 2nd half of Sauvage on some temporary orchestral vibes talking about his shrewdness just before “Holy Mackrel” featuring Sonnyjim himself teams up for a brief period of time to get boastful with each other. “The Dilly” has a funkier tone to it talking about these muhfuckas actin’ silly out here & l the “Run with It” remix preceding the “Unst” outro concludes the EP explaining all he’s done since he was a youngin’.
Out of everything Vandal Savage has done by himself between 2016 & Sauvage, the latter could most likely become my favorite EP of the 5 he’s dropped despite Cappo being the illest from VVV & putting Juga-Naut behind him. In no way am I trying to imply Vandal can’t spit because Sonnyjim’s production here is a vast improvement above Vandal’s previous output, the small handful of guest appearances including the producer himself all maintain his intensity regarding their performances.
Score: 8/10
