Eccentrically entertaining, and ready for a new beginning, the local Langley veteran rapper Bitter Taste Bud has returned this last year under the new alias Bud-Ski, and has presented us with a short and sweet release that verges somewhere right in between an EP and an album. Charting just past 25 minutes with 7 tracks, this guy knows how to pack a solid punch with his releases. Not feeling so long that the release seems beefed up with filler, which gives each track on this release the space it needs to stand out on it's own lyrically and instrumentally. Anyone looking for some fresh and engaging material that's different then their usual run of the mill bravado and gang themed rap, that's all to popular nowadays, will have a pleasant surprise.
Truly feeding off the title of The Wanderer, the album seems to have an overarching worldly theme to it. Introspectively spitting fire by punching his lyrical dissections of his internal and external reflections, this man is not afraid to get raw and dirty with his exposition of the highs and lows of human existence. Spitting series of dense multi-syllable raps that push past your usual boundaries of girls, booze, drugs, and bravado and instead work more towards the deeper understanding of the human condition, the artist known as Bud-Ski provides deep thoughtful and engaging depictions of the struggles of life: the trials of how we learn to live, love, and survive.
Regarding the overall instrumental theme of the album, there seems to be a consistent boom-bap style sound going on, however that's where the stylistic continuity seems to end between the different tracks for this release. As I mentioned above, the album's tracks each stand on their own, with the album moving between more naturalistic tracks, like the piano focused "My Kinda Jam" and "Standing At The Edge" or the rock inspired guitar driven "Stressed For A While", to more atmospheric and sample driven music like "Pain & Poetry" and "NBK". Each of the tracks, no matter which category of instrumental presentation they fall into, manage to flow and construct themselves uniquely, creating an moody, groovy, MC-oriented experimental underground hip-hop album of the highest caliber. Truly an interesting collection of different tones and energies. Don't miss it!
Download the release at a very reasonable "Pay What You Want Price" on his official Bandcamp: