Today underground rapper Sadistik unleashed his latest EP Phantom Limbs. This EP is a collaboration with producer/rapper Kno from Cunninlynguists and in this project he lends most of his talents to composition for a package that's all around superb. Sadistik is known for his gravely morose voice and flow which is present on this album in spades. You can feel the anguish he's going through in his words and he has a way of making his words visual. Take these lines from "The Darkness" for instance, "Petals falling off the daffodils, I can't appeal. There's never monarchs in this monarchy only caterpill. Hurts while leaving shadows on the moon, teach me how to drown in the shallowest lagoon". These sad and dark images of dying flowers shadows cutting into stone and attempted suicide helped create the somber tone and also added a bit morbidity to the song. These subjects are present throughout the entirety of this project. "To Be in Love" is about missing a lost love, "Hers Forever" expresses painful love for a woman who rejects him, "Phantom Limbs" talks about coming to terms with painful memories and thoughts, "Daydreams" is talking about getting caught in the nightmares that torment, but sooth him while also trying escaping from the pain, and "In Heaven" he talks confesses that he feels that he is too sinful for heaven and perhaps enjoys tormenting and being tormented in the bridge in between the two after lives. I could not pin down the theme of "Unaware" however.
As you can obviously see this isn't an album for partying or lifting spirits. Lyrically it is very layered in flow, rhymes and wordplay. Metaphors, alliteration, and puns can be found throughout this audio journey into descent. The featured artists also contribute in these respects, "Unaware in particular" has three guest emcees that lend their talents to the mic. Chino XL, Sheisty Khrist, and Metasota all add something unique to the track while also keeping in lime with the tone of the song. Chino XL's verse in particular impressed me the most. His flow is raw and unforgiving.
To touch upon Kno's contribution to this EP, his instrumentals play well in hand with Sadistik's rhymes. The beats are slightly electronic reminiscent with lost of drums, a couple of choir samples, and piano pieces. They are good instrumentals on their own and I hope that Kno releases an instrumental version of this album before the year is up. While Kno is a producer, he also raps from time to time. His only mic contribution is on "Hers Forever" and I'll say that he's as good as Sadistik on the track and I would've like to seen him rap on at least one other song. This is a great album by two incredible artists and right now I say it ranks among the best in the year.
8.5/10
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