Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis and Left Brain –
three members of the rap collective Odd Future – have teamed together to create
this new project, MellowHigh, hip hop designed specifically to get baked to. The
beats produced by Left Brain are chilled as bongwater. Whilst on occasions they
can come across as a little clunky or simply uninspired, other tracks such as the
smooth “Yu” with its sampled piano chords show Left Brain has beat-smithing
talent. Hodgy and Domo spit some killer lines over the top. Subject matter is
largely limited to smoking up, but the two rappers offer enough creative imagery
and quips to keep things interesting.
What they sadly lack is their own personality. Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt stand out from the Odd Future crowd because of their characteristic identities. Hodgy and Domo give me no hint as to who they really are. Yes, they’re stoners, but that's hardly a personality trait.
What they sadly lack is their own personality. Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt stand out from the Odd Future crowd because of their characteristic identities. Hodgy and Domo give me no hint as to who they really are. Yes, they’re stoners, but that's hardly a personality trait.
The album definitely has its own sound – drowsy and aptly mellow - and there are no tracks that I think are
downright terrible. However, overall, it just doesn’t grip me all that much,
perhaps because of a lack of hooks and personality.
★★★☆☆
TRACK TASTER:
TRACK TASTER: