Chuck Inglish - Droptops (EP Review)

For some reason it seems like every project Chuck Inglish has been involved with has been met with a delay or two. His debut album Convertibles has been no different. So while we're waiting Chuck has decided to drop a free EP called Droptops. Droptops is a nine track EP produced entirely by Inglish and aside from his popular beat tapes WRKING and WRKOUT it is the first release Inglish has done, that includes his rapping, without his Cool Kids partner Sir Michael Rocks.

On first listen of Droptops it can be at times comparable to The Cool Kids. Inglish was the main producer of the group and handled half of the rapping and in many ways that is the theme of Droptops. Inglish once again proves he has a knack for producing beats. There are a few new sounds on this one but a lot of tracks production wise reminds me of where Inglish was going on The Cool Kids proper debut album When Fish Ride Bicycles. A time or two on this EP especially on the track "Drops" it sounds like Inglish is revisiting The Cool Kids The Bake Sale sound that the duo were so popular for having. It has the flair of 808's and synth style beats Inglish is known for. Beat wise the EP is done masterfully it has a really nice groove and the layering on the beats creates a nice mixture of sounds and adds a lot of texture to the EP.

As far as rapping goes Inglish handles about half of the rapping on the EP and allows a slew of guests to handle the other half, with the exception being the track "Drops" the sole song without any features on Droptops. Some of the guest highlights include Travi$ Scott whose debut EP was released earlier in the week on a remix of "Back Up" and Asher Roth who shows up on the track "For The Love." Scott's appearance is noteworthy especially at the moment due to his buzz being very high and will no doubt be a fan favorite from the EP. "For The Love" features Asher Roth feels a little like a parallel universe, a what-if Asher had been the second member of The Cool Kids. It's one of my favorite tracks off the EP and one I know I will listen to a lot. At times the guests handle major parts of the song with Inglish making his production work his main feature on the track. Tracks like "Contact" and "Dangerous" are fair examples of that. "Drops" the only track not to feature a guest is vintage Chuck Inglish with a modern twist and stands out to me as the best track on the EP in a lot of ways. It showcases Chuck's rhyming ability the best and the beat has the vibe of some of his earlier work.

Overall if you were a fan of The Cool Kids you should have no trouble enjoying this. For comparison sakes I found the EP slightly better than the last couple Sir Michael Rocks solo releases. At the same time if you've never heard The Cool Kids this release should be easy to jump into as this is Chuck's first official solo release. Take in mind this isn't The Cool Kids version 2.0 just without Mikey. This is the start of a solo career. It has elements of what made that duo a success, but it also ventures into some new territory. It's almost impossible not to compare this to The Cool Kids in a lot of ways, but I would suggest trying to listen to this with fresh ears. If this is any indication of what Chuck's long delayed solo album Convertibles will sound like it certainly is promising. The biggest criticism of the EP I have is that after such a long wait for an official Chuck Inglish solo release the amount of guest features is almost a little overwhelming and more tracks like "Drops" would have been welcomed additions on the EP. That being said I'd highly recommend checking this out. It's a pretty good overall release and really shows that Inglish has the skills to do the solo thing at a fairly high level.