Amidst a sea of familiar names on A$AP Rocky’s debut album, Long.Live.A$AP, stood one unknown: OverDoz, an enigmatic collective that seemed almost as comfortable drifting within the synth waves as the chameleon-like Harlem MC for whom they featured. It’s very hard to sound more comfortable than Pretty Flacko. Overdoz often sounds more than comfortable; they sound completely relaxed, as if they aren’t plagued by the weight of potential failure and they have nothing to lose. This, in essence, makes their music very fun to listen to.
OverDoz has four members: Joon, Cream, Kent, and P, and all bring a distinct flavor to the unorthodox records they come together to create. After opening 2013 with a Rocky credit to their names, Overdoz is looking to close out the year strong with the release of a solid mixtape chalked full of brand new music entitled, BOOM. The mixtape is produced primarily by THC, and it is an incredibly complete effort that showcases the group’s sonic diversity. The group tries its hand at a lot of different things, but it is at its most lethal when it employs its weirdness to abstract musical arrangements. There is no better proof of that than on the closer “Hiroshima”.
As far as abstract sonics go, Iman Omari has crafted his fair share of winners, but “Hiroshima” has far more texture than even some of his greatest releases. The drum programming is both heavy-handed and subtle at the same time. The synths hang from the finely crafted audible soundscape shingles adorning the outside of a Colonial-style home—both aesthetically pleasing and structurally important. OverDoz approaches the record the way they, seemingly, approach all records: with casual nonchalance. There is a great vibe produced by the record, and a lot of that energy is courtesy of the bouncy flows and the animated vocals. The hook compares the explosiveness (Read: attractiveness) of the female subject in question to that of an atom bomb, and the verses don’t really echo that concept, making the song more or less nonsensical but very entertaining. Flex will probably never drop bombs on this one, but it’s still fire.
Check out “Hiroshima” below and look out for OverDoz on tour with A$AP Ferg in a city near you. Their next stop is in Houston, Texas on November 22nd. Go peep.
