Review: Boogz, The AfterMath

Name: Boogz [on twitter: @boogz315]
Affiliation: the Phakshun/Audio Intelligence/Starfleet Records
Title: The Aftermath
Best Tracks: “This is what I Do”, “Fleet Gang”, “Deep Cover”
Bio: 26 year old emcee/engineer, 1/2 of the Duo Boogz & I.V. League, from Utica, NY by way of Houston, TX. Major influences are life and hip-hop, which for him are one in the same



September 13, 2008: Hurricane Ike crashes against the Texas Gulf coast. What’s left behind has been dubbed The Aftermath: a 18 track assault on all things quasi-hip-hop and pseudo-rap.

The Aftermath starts off with a intimate interlude which I admit lulled me into a false sense of complacency. When the horns came in on “Dumbout Season”, my mouth flew open. Boogz kills on a classic track, delivering venom laced punchlines amidst substance laden bars. He brings decidedly East Coast lyricism to several classics and beats we know, even The Game’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” & “Not a Stain On Me” by Big Tuck. On “Deep Cover”, Boogz gives listeners a glimpse of the talents of his affiliates before touting his skills: “me? I’m the wordsmith/Boogz make words flip/And connect like cursive letters/They should’ve learned ya better” and continues on “4,3,2,1“ with: “nice with the pen/verbally serve and slaughter/beat boogz?/you’ll have better luck burning water” afterwards an ad-lib chimes “Good Luck with that”.

He takes the tracks to chill mode with cuts like “Top Flight” and “I’m Diggin You”, which at first listen to “Diggin”, I immediately labeled it as the ‘Panty Track’; the staple track that’s written for/about/geared toward women, but the track has a vibe that doesn’t soften the strength of the rest of the music. He also boasts social awareness on the track “Little Piggy” and gives a crossection of the current state of music with a sort of ‘state of the industry’ address over the VIC song “Get Silly” entitled “That’s Silly” admonishing music listeners for supporting and aspiring to be like artists who have little substance, character, or talent and the consequences of such in a storyteller fashion. My only source of disappointment would be his choice of song to use for a sort of ‘Regional Track’ on “Fly in the Afterlife”, but his wordplay still shines through.

Boogz goes on to seal this body of work with “In Da House“ and “The Matrix”, the latter in which he outlines the plan for his takeover of the rap game. True Hip-hop heads await your arrival.

download The AfterMath