JUSTxUS – “Before It’s Too Late” EP (Album Review)
For JUSTxUS, it took the E-Three-featured “No Es Nostalgia,” a single that accumulated over 13,000 plays for the L.A. underground act to blip on the West Coast radar. With the popularity, JUSTxUS prepare to launch into the mainstream with the release of their new EP, properly titled, ‘“Before It’s Too Late“. With no looking back, JUSTxUS give their all to be recognized as the hottest new act to emerge from the West Coast in 2018.
‘Before It’s Too Late’ is a bilingual 20-minute non-stop lyrical invasion from the emerging group. Being able to speak to the underground backpackers and latin culture makes the group a duality that sets them apart from the average superior lyricist in Today’s Hip-Hop. Giving them an edge of intrigue that gives their voice a message that must be heard.
What standouts out most on the EP, the chemistry between the duo is brilliant. JustxUS builds each other up as they trade verses back and forth. Playful with the witty humor here and there, the duo have no issue dueling each other on the track to see who can best the other on the track with a familiar vintage Hip-Hop lyricism socially impactful rhymes. Stacked with infinite bars, the group falls short on the flavor on the project that quickly because one of the biggest flaws on the EP.
With vintage rhyming format, the duo sticks with an equally vintage production selection of old-school Hip-Hop production that was dusted off it seems upon the press of play. Type casted production, JustxUS often moves to fast for the track or can’t seem to catch the track on occasion. The best representation of this appears on the tracks, “Appropriation” and “Purgatory”. Lastly, while they EP is depicted to address Justice, it is unclear the type of justice that meant to protest on the album as the duo focuses solely on crafting the most lyrical verse for the track.
Listen to ‘Before It’s Too Late” Below.
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Relying heavy on the lyricism is a fearless move by the group that can be appreciated; however, the sound quality of the project took a major hit as it was often unclear and scratchy. While the group delivers exceptional bars the entire 7-tracks, it’s often falls on deaf ears as parts of the track is muzzled when the vocals and productions collide. An issue that can be easily configured with a more experience engineering behind the boards.
While the act indulged in the Golden Age of Hip-Hop’s traditional sound, with their lyrics being deeply rooted in conscious and latin-descent, it would be interesting for the group’s sound to incorporate more of a deeply rooted latin cultural sound into their music.
Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Lyrics
Follow JustxUS on Twitter: @JustxUS310
