Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed - Magic & Brid

Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed
Magic & Bird
2017
Spotify

From the jump this mixtape is tough to wrap your head around. It has about 10 different names making it tough to locate on streaming services. Is it Magic & Bird? Is it Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed Present Magic & Bird? Who the hell knows, but the mixtape seeks to pay homage to the 90s hip hop that Mineo and Wordsplayed love, but also bring the sentiment into 2017. The first track KIDZ is a pretty hot trap beat coupled with the two rappers incredible lyrical skills. The major complaint about most trap music from the uninitiated is how repetitive and devoid of lyrical depth it is. Some standouts buck this trend and instead push the lyrics and rapping harder which is what Mineo and Wordsplayed are doing here. The tape is also put through this prism of the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rivalry blending in basketball and early hip hop tropes really well. There are some times where Andy Mineo can sound a bit like Drake in his delivery, especially when He raps slower and more subtly. However when He decides to turn it up He is damn hard to compete with. the thing about mixtapes is they can really tackle a super specific topic, artists are seeing them as chances to dive into something really deeply and explore that space, for better or worse. There are times where this tape really does succeed, but there are others where it starts to sound like it is collapsing in on itself.

"JUDO" and "BREAK BREAD" are the first two tracks where the novelty starts to wear off and you begin to notice the biggest flaw on the record, the beats. Plenty of trap is on display, but not much else. The aesthetic and 90s vibe is so dialed in with the skits, the lyrics and the visuals but the beats reflect nothing of the time. These really do feel like paint by numbers trap beats that have been done over and over. You want something like "Regulate" to creep in or some kind of evocative beat but it just never comes. It's a shame for lyricists this good to be weighed down with basic beats. This lack of diversity makes the later tracks tough to get through and whatever the duo has to say fall away. "LEGEND" is the only track to switch the style up and guess what? It works! The song has this hip hop DJ centered beat complete with a little scratching which is such a welcome change even though it needed to come tracks ago. There are some really great ideas on this record but the execution just falls short of the promise. However there are a few tracks worth your time, which ain't nothing.

6.8 out of 10