LIVING TYPE DANGEROUS Vol. 1 "North Face Nace"

Each of the tracks on this feel like they’re over as soon as they’ve settled down. And Starker sounds very late for something on all of them, in a hurry to say what he has to, his raspy, rushed syllables piled against each other. The loops underneath barely shift to accommodate him; a dozen different producers all digging the same dusty, near-drumless crates. Which leaves the writing with nowhere to hide. Sneakers, sports, New York specifics, boasts all fly past before you’ve checked them. (Except “The gang don’t change like the cast of a Happy Madison production”, I caught that straight away.)

It’s the first Starker I’ve heard, so I don’t have anything to measure it against. Some of the beats recall Wu-Tang and Roc Marciano. If the idea of a man talking very quickly over four bars that rarely change appeals to you—and it should—this is worth it.