By Odeisel

The homie Drake has kicked open the door for cats crooning their own hooks (not counting the non-singing 50 and Ja Rule crew). The hardcore committee has taken a back seat to the regular dude and Chicago’s Astonish is taking full advantage of that and if his joint “Shining Like Dilla/Trees” is any indication, he may have a seat at the table for a minute.

The first half of this two song combo is a smooth number with smooth production from The Molemen. The track is brash with cymbal clashes, a nice bassline and atmospherics with a break that runs aa few bars long that really beefs up the track. This track is a nice cool out tempo and Astonish comes off likeable and solid if a bit Drake nasal.

“Trees” is more aggressive and freestyle format with a little too much dependent’ on the word n***a. Even though he sounds ok, this song brings him a lot closer to convention and regular. In this lane he’s just another rapper. He should probably stick to the regular guy lane because his bars are not good enough to carve a niche for himself as a spitter.

Astonish is likeable and as long as he’s with the Molemen, production shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s see if we can get some more music from the kid and see whether he’s got legs. This one/two punch is a solid appetizer. Enjoy.

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