Worst Case Scenario

Worst Case Scenario -- Elaquent [review by J-Simma] FCC Clear (favs: 2,5,9,10,11)
A solid hip-hop instrumental project. Blends heavy drums, skittering hi-hats and spacey synths, occasionally accenting the tracks with instrumental riffs. Has some soft mellow grooves with great vocal features as well as boom-bap tracks. Tracks start simple but often build, sometimes getting too cloudy and busy. RIYL: Dilla, Madlib, Oddisee, Kaytranada, MF DOOM, Lo-fi hip-hop.

1) Nollieflip (3:43): Relaxed tempo, like late night Adult Swim music, nice melodies throughout

2)Gyoza (3:05): Lo-fi feel, nice build of different elements throughout, vintage and spacey, nice synths

3)Shibuya ft. Budamonk (3:00) Dusty drumline, crisp vocals layered on top with a few different synths

4)Spur of the Moment (3:04) Heavier drums, jazzier feel with trumpet, flute and piano, very jazz-hop

5)Maharaja ft. a l l i e (4:03) More stripped-down than others. alt-R&B feel, gives good room for a l l i e’s vocals, glitchy bassline and light flute-like synth go great with the harmonies.

6) Perchance to Dream (4:00) Heavy drums and bassline, slow, brooding, jazzy feel. Track builds other elements throughout but gets a bit too cloudy toward the end.

7) ThisCouldBeUsBut (3:56) Starts with heavy/jumpy drums and vocal samples--almost a Southern, early 2000s hip-hop feel, but gets more balanced when bassy synths come in. Gets busy again, and switches into a dancier vibe toward the end.

8) Caviar ft. Octavio Santos & Goyama (3:42) Groovy, smooth jazz type feel. Great mid-tempo pace with solid guitar & trumpet accompaniment

9) Cookies and Cream (3:48) Laid-back, mellow boom-bap beat. Cool and consistent, nice low-freq. Synths

10) Sweet Dreams (2:40) Lulling synths and soothing bassline, almost like lo-fi study beats

11) Last Breath ft. Iman Omari (3:06) Downtempo, also a lo-fi/dreamy/study beats feel, hypnotizing vocals from Omari, ambient rain in background.

12) Come to Me (3:24) Uptempo, 4/4 light club beat, almost like Kaytranada; switchup around 2:10 to a more R&B vibe