The Pay Off (12")

BreakinBread Records



Ghost is my top producer of the year. I have rarely had so much positive feedback about any artist and it's not often I get this addicted to any style of sound; but this guy has me hooked. This is the first single of off his upcoming album and it's a delicious taste of what's to come. I have no fear of being let down in my expectations of Ghost because I never am. He has a unique style that integrates soft jazzy melodies with urban grit. The instrumental elements hold against emcees delivering conscious lyrics with creative cadence. This is music worth hearing more than once. Easy.



Side A:

1. The Payoff (featuring Verb T and & Asaviour): This is a producers' track. The strength is in the instrumental and it can stand alone as a solid instrumental track… the emcees are just cake for this one even though they have put down a solid performance with strong flows. The vibe is jazzy with smoothed out brass flourishes and over emotional strings blended over an Oakland style funk guitar and bass line. The break and melody are arranged well with key drops and multilayered samples. Verb T and & Asaviour take full advantage of the dynamic changes in the arrangement to wrap their flows around. Between the lyrics properly laying out the thesis of working towards a goal and having that work pay off with fan and critical appreciation and affectively filling in the hills and valleys creating by the changing density of sound, the emcees have balanced themselves well with the beat while adding accents and flourishes of their own. This is a smooth track that deserves to get a lot of play. I anticipate pulling this out of the crate for years to come.

2. The Payoff Instrumental: Once again… a great jazzy instrumental perfect for mic breaks or just to play for it's own sake. Also a great candidate for live remixes and mashups so get your a capellas ready.

3. The Plan (Re-edit) featuring Kashmere & Severe: I've really been feelin both of these emcees as I hear them on various Ghost tracks. This cut is more of a vehicle for the emcees as it less complicated in it's space and movement, but the progressive soft chords and reverse / phased samples give it great progression. I feel like I'm being carried somewhere and the breakdowns enforce that impression with an air of momentary reflection. I love the catchy phrasing and thoughtful yet fun imagery that Kashmere & Severe bring to the mix; it's all over the place but it works and I hear something new everytime I listen to the track whether it be a line about dark stairwells, spraypaint, or mics and recording. Once again, the pieces are in place for the track to be a soft banger.



Side B:

1. Alien Invasion (featuring Finale & Biscuit): A heavy hitter for sure… you feel it in the gut for this one. This cut could have been a perfect battle rap, so I'm thankful that they made it much more. The instrumental elements have more of a thick east coast sound to them. It's urban but not sterile and the lyrics echo that feeling. They bring a life point of view, painting the picture of inspiration and transcendence through music and influence. The dry kick and snare rasp away below guitar and keys; the tambourine fills in the percussion and a great flute loop floats in and out (sorry to get all poetic but it puts me in mind of rays of sun breaking through a cloudy day). The distorted breakdowns drop that sincere blues element that just gets under my skin in a good way.

2. Alien Invasion (instrumental): Once again… a solid instrumental that can stand all by itself!

3. Flip It (Remix) ) featuring Kashmere & DPF:: This track is more on the independent minimal aesthetic. It's a good track but maybe less universally acceptable than the others. It's got a sparse break and the samples are more on the sound design type vibe and less on the melodic flourish tip. If you like solid beats where you can actually focus more on what's being said (because this track is definitely more about hearing the emcees and letting them stretch their cadence and rhythm throughout their deliveries). Kashmere rips it and I am really feelin his verses.