Album: Gladiator School
Artist: Strongsmith
Released: Available now digitally
Gladiator School is an academy of tracks that takes it back to graffiti raps and boom bap. The beats sound like vintage drum machine breaks with a twist of California sunshine in between the bong tokes. Strongsmith is representing Long Beach on this one, and he does it to the fullest with an intricate knowledge of the streets. Not only does he handle the majority of the production work on the album, but he also works double duty on the microphone. He spits stories for true to life players based around his own experiences in the badlands of the LBC, painting descriptions of everything from veteranos with tattoos on their eyelids to armed Leukemia patients. If the Beastie Boys held degrees in criminology, it might sound something like this. Strongsmith’s delivery is more subdued than Ad-Rock or MCA’s. but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t come equipped with a cornucopia of rawness…
Stand out cuts include “Posted in the Clouds”, “Unlawful”, and “Blitzed”.
“darts swarm like alien life forms that ruffle the natives we escape thru the crevices, cage wrestling a faceless nemesis till our mental states are desolate, the terrain is treacherous keep your boots laced, your wits sharp
or get your wig sparked when it’s pitch dark (ouch) the one with all the crack pot theories… so eerie, you’ll swear he had brain clots yearly” -Strongsmith on “Blitzed”
There are a handful of oddball skits on the album that lighten the mood, and Strongsmith never forgets to radiates your chromosomes with some humor in his raps. Whether its back alley war stories or UFO’s, Strongsmith got some funk to light your blunts to. Crate diggers with a taste for the p-funk and fans of heavy bar work should check this out. Gladiator School is available independently in the streets and online at strongsmith.bandcamp.com
-you know ya man’s drop jewelz.
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