By Odeisel

Young Chris has been repping Philadelphia hard since the days of the Roc. While that ship has seemingly sailed, Chris forges ahead, presently aligned with Rico Love but still retaining relationships from the past life on his latest mixtape, The Re-Introduction along with Don Cannon and DJ Drama. The tape features hard beats, crisp rhymes and a Young Chris with veteran skills and a real hunger.

The title track, with intermittent keys, a hard drum and recurring gunshots has urgency and a bang that gets the head bopping. Chris lays the groundwork and lets you know this is not for the faint of heart. “Break Em Down” features Rico Love on the hook and Young Chris ripping apart Lex Luger beat x (they all sound the same). Chris got those girls on lock and he’s gonna show you how to do it, son. Rico rapping is not the best but it’s serviceable.

“Philly” is the latest in a slew of hard hitting anthems devoted to the city of brotherly love. Chris takes you all over the various hoods and pays homage to Philly’s Hip-Hop legacy. At least he didn’t take the easy way out and piggy-back Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow.” Rico returns to play Robin on “Take A Picture,” a synthed-out player’s anthem bathed in light distortion on the bottom of the beat. A mini Roc reunion forms on the Freeway-guested “Street Secrets” where snitching is a no no and the former Roc Boys go ham (hold the swine for Freeway) over a bump-bump-snare rhythm. Mentions of infamous “rats” like Alpo and  Nicky Barnes are interlaced with tough talk and Chris declares, “I hear you n***as rapping, but you sounding like police, telling them street secrets, they ain’t keeping it ‘G.’” A small electric guitar bridge ramps up the energy on Chris’ second verse and Freeway’s middle verse makes for a good change of rhythm.

The club-clap and bounce returns on “My Money” featuring reggae artist Busy Signal. Muffled cymbal clashes cradle the subdued boom of the drum. Chris adopts a rhyme scheme similar to American Gangster’s “Sweet” for the second verse. Busy’s bars relegate this track to club domain but it works in that environment. Rico does his best Ma$e impression on the hook for “None of Dem,” a track about a baller who’s seen it all and is now ready to settle down with that one special lady. Not original in idea by any means but executed well.

The aggression returns on “I’m Choosin” a raucus, arrogant track that’s more about screwing than wooing. The brass on the wings and the running bassline smothers the drum track and keeps the rhythm moving. The ghost of Pimp C resonates from the sample chosen on “Top Notch” which features Billy Blue and JW. Down South rhythm is all over this and the slow flow, while not Chris’ best is solid. The snare drums are annoying (because they are everywhere at this time in music). This song shouldn’t have been attempted because it detracts from who Chris is and smacks of blatant crossover attempt.

Chris gets back on that Philly shit on “Air Out” with big brass, clashing cymbals, a sneaky bassline and a SERIOUS knock of a heavy drum. A 50’s Rock & Roll piano run (think Jerry Lee Lewis or Lil Richard) provides the perfect pacing element. The high-low track movement keeps your ears involved and brings the best performance on the tape from Young Chris. Chris brings that street grit back to the forefront on “Harder to Leave,” discussing the addictive struggle of the streets that is hard to live through but even harder to escape. Moody wails and low tone electric guitars bring melancholy mood to the track and the second half beat switch brings a drastic urgency. The emotionally gripping track brings a suitable end to the tape.

Harder to Leave

The Re-Introduction does a solid job of showing the range and skill of Young Chris. There are a couple missteps but the flow and continuity. Cannon and Drama don’t hurt the tape with excessive screaming. Not the greatest you’ve ever heard but a promising appetizer that allows you look forward to what’s next.
out of 5

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