Album Review: Carnage – Papi Gordo
2 min read
He’s been making waves in both the hip-hop and the dance scene for years but the Los-Angeles based fusion king Carnage has finally dropped his full length debut release Papi Gordo. The collection is home to features from fellow DJs as well as a bevy of hip-hop heavyweights rapping alongside the hard hitting trap that Carnage is know for.
Starting off angrily is opener Gordo, with Rick Ross rapping a heavy verse and fellow DJ Araabmuzik lending some beats: it’s fairly dense in comparison to the rest of the lively tunes on the album. Taking elements from Gordo is the gritty rap The Mud and as the name suggests it is quite muddy. It’s crowded with yelling and some gunshots complete with a minimal rhythm that really doesn’t flow with smooth fusion of hip-hop and dance that Carnage pulls off with other tracks on Papi Gordo.
But the bouncing club bangers are when Papi Gordo certainly comes into its groove. Take the first single and certifiable trap track Bricks, it’s a thumping tune with a bevy of beat behind it that features hip-hop/trap trio Migos. Lyrically it’s pounded with rudimentary party lyrics, with the main theme all about getting “fucked up”, similar to track I Like Tuh with iLoveMakonnen stating “I like to make money, get turnt”. Keeping on with high energy EDM trap Carnage enlists fellow DJ Junkie Kid to bring the bass on BTFWD and The Sound, both build up slow towards the epic beat drop, where the sound explodes and the party really begins. Or in the case of BTFWD the wonderland of sound comes together to “Break the fucking walls down”.
Carnage has delivered a 15 track crazy collection with Papi Gordo, boasting so many musical collaborations it’s almost hard to count. Taking the hard world of hip-hop and fusing it with intense trap beats that shake your body makes for an album that isn’t for the faint of heart – the parental advisory warning is more than warranted on this one.
