Posted on: July 1, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Cashis – The County Hound EP / 2007 Shady / 8 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/cashisoc / http://www.shadyrecords.com /

Cashis is the latest project put forth by Eminem and eir Shady Records. Eminem’s touch has not been the strongest with the last few releases on the label, with Obie Trice being the most notable failure up to that point. “That Nigga A Gangster” is the first full track on the disc, and it has a strong flow. The fuzzy backdrop for Cashis to flow on works well as well, and the second set of vocals give a nice contrast to the track. Overall, Cashis starts this EP in a strong way. The great thing about “The County Hound” is that there is nothing in the way of skits with which to decrease the energy created by Cashis here. “Gun Rule” starts with another interesting backdrop, and the cold sound of this backdrop simultaneously brings something new to the disc and furthers the general sound created by “That Nigga A Gangster”. The flow during this track is still strong but it does not seem as fresh or as hard-hitting as It did on the first track.

Cashis is still able to scrap together a solid chorus, and this track slides in to a place where it is almost ready for rap-radio rotation. The opening of “Ms. Jenkins” has a sped-up version of Queen, but the energy created by this inclusion does not influence the flow in any meaningful way. The track is opened up by this Queen snippet, but the track takes an 180 from there. The inclusion of strings during “Ms. Jenkins” is a nice addition to the gritty, distorted backdrops of “The County Hound”, but the track seems to lack the luster necessary to bring Cashis to the next level. However, as a hump track it is strong, and the unity of the Queen and the Cashis is a nice addition, even if it only happens a few times during the track.

While I have no clue what the plan will be, I would presume that “Pistol Poppin’”, the track featuring Eminem, will be the single off of this EP. This is based on the fact that individuals will pick up the disc just because Eminem is on that. The energy of this track is more than other tracks on this EP; the pushing forward to its inevitable end is what Cashis needs to really shine here. The EP is a nice start, and I know I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for Cashis’ full length on Shady.

Top Track: Pistol Poppin’

Rating: 6.0/10

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