(Photo By Sound Cloud)
“Lead The Way” (previous review)
“Reggie Miller” (previous review)
“Living Through Pictures”
The production here is attractive. It is comprised of: a full base, flattering secondary ingredients, a subdued pace, and a reflective vibe. The hook is delightful. The vocals blend in nicely and the lyrics are expressive. The verses are satisfactory. Joey Burbs supplies a conversational style flow, detailed wordplay, and particular rhymes. He takes the listener through the struggle of trying to balance pursuing his dreams with maintaining significant personal relationships. A snippet from his conflict includes: “I missed three weddings and a graduation. Feel like I just need to get back to basics. I’m trading seconds for a stack of pages. I’m getting caught up from a lack of patience. I never could of seen myself in this position. It’s everything I dreamed but it feels like something’s missing. See I remember coming home from my visit telling my mom there’s not a chance that I would go there, forget it.” Those words right there create a torn essence that really brings to life Joey’s dilemma. As a whole, this is a deep & favorable track.
“Celebration”
This makes for the very final song on the project. Luke Christopher serves as the genius behind the boards on this one. The instrumental happens to be a sample of his creation titled, “The Parade.” The production here is official. The plush foundation, savvy musical components, fetching cadence, and upbeat vibe are of a grade A quality. There is no hook on this cut which works out smoothly since it is a shorter number. The elongated verse is top-notch. Joey Burbs serves up a confident flow, lasting wordplay, and cheeky rhymes. He embraces his gifts and his success in a slightly braggadocios manner that one can’t help but to love. A highlight from his merriment is as follows: “Look, I’m dropping verses of the year in my dorm room. Like Nickelodeon, I’m always making car tunes (cartoons). She sending snaps of me playing through her speakers. If she with you, why she hit me saying I need to meet her at my next show? Sending xo’s like a game plan. Ex hoes looking retro in my Ray-Bans. Thinking that she loyal. Better listen very closely. Got my name all in her phone with the kissey face emoji.” Those are some pretty resourceful introductory bars right there. In the end, this is a site favorite as well as a premium way to conclude the EP. Added bonus, there is a video for this single. The visuals can be viewed here.
**My Two Cents: The Redshirt EP is a gratifying collective. The content is actually about something, not just padding to take up space on the album. So that’s a big plus. The production is efficiently done. It also suits Joey’s style well. Since he is a producer for three out of the seven cuts, that serves as a great example of his other talents. And it is not drowning in features from other artists. It’s a smaller offering, so the lone guest appearance is just perfect. My only critique is that the lyrics could stand to be a little more captivating in a couple of spots. Otherwise, I think Joey does a stand up job of bringing together the elements of Hip-Hop & Pop to give music heads something different to rock with. Readers should definitely give The Redshirt EP a full listen. -MinM
