Recently Caesar dropped a mixtape titled The Drive. You may not be familiar with the name Caesar but we've covered his work before. He was formerly known as Mr. Astronaut but he's dropped the euphemisms and kept it simple. There's also been a few other changes. While there were a few anime references back on The Transformation EP, there's none. He's completely transitioned away from allowing anyone to call him an anime rapper. In the past they would have just went over most people's heads anyway, without them he's managed to make his music a lot more accessible to everyone and opened up his possible fan base.Without the anime lyrics Caesar has switched over to a more personal and story driven lyrics. It works for him. It's not exactly better right off the back but you can't expect a perfect transition. However, on certain tracks you can tell this just works out better for everyone involved. It's from a more meaningful and sincere place. This allows the listener to connect more on a personal level.
Flow hasn't changed much. But, on the track Let it Rest Caesar raps "And I know I'm always losing this flow." Then he goes on to say "If I fuck up, I'm just gonna let it rock." Nah, don't let it rock. We sometimes end up doing multiple takes on a podcast or youtube video if it comes off wrong. My suggestion is to just relax. Sometimes you can feel anxiety in the flow. It sounds like Caesar is just isn't sure if this is the right choice. Sometimes you just gotta relax and let it flow out even if it takes more than one shot.
Production on the album is pretty good and features several different producers keeping a similar sound throughout that lets the mixtapes be played through without noticing the tracks switching. He also takes the time to spit over some more well known instrumentals like Kanye West' Devil in A New Dress. Some people feel off about skits on albums and mixtapes but they really help break up the music and give you a moment to digest what you heard. The skits also fit well content wise and relate to the actual music.
My favorite track is Let it Rest. The track gives heavy insight into Caesar's personal thoughts. Dealing with heavy expectations heading into college which is something that happens to almost everyone, but people rarely talk about it. He debates on his status as Puerto Rican when he doesn't actually have any other Mexican friends. There's just a lot of internal reflection and thought on the track. It's the outro track so it does a good job of summing up what the album is all about.
The Score
- Lyricism - 6.5
- Flow - 5
- Production - 8
- Theme - 8
- Replayability - 6.5
- Individuality - 10
Overall the score is a 7.34/10. It's a good mixtape. Caesar still has to work on the flow and lyrically he's better off but will only get better with time as he adjust to the new style. He's still great at creating a theme, sticking to it and organizing tracks in a way that suits the narrative and feel of the album. He continues to differentiate himself from other rappers by simply being Caesar. He's not going to come out and just follow whatever theme seems to be hot. Right now it's probably race heavy lyrics and trap music, he manages to avoid both of those categories and falls into the category of Caesar. The Drive could have also been titled Caesar being Caesar. It's a demonstration of what makes hip hop great, the individuality. Every person is different and the music should represent that. There's no reason every artist should have the exact same subject matter, standpoints, type of instrumental and everything else. If that happened it'd be pop music. Caesar gets that and doesn't try to be anything more than just Caesar and it works. It makes you take an interest in him as an artist and a person.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
Follow @OriginalKingD
Hey guys, I'd like to say a few things. First and foremost, thank you for the continual support. I'm glad that I have a blog that I can consistently send my music too, and get honest constructive reviews. Secondly, I'm actually Puerto Rican, not Mexican. Though I do speak about being hispanic, they're two different cultures. It was an honest mistake. Finally, I have physical copies available if anyone is interested. Message me on social media, and we speak about that.
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