MobbDeen taught Arsène Wenger how to drip
Nicey Most Likely, unwieldy moniker and all, graced this space a while ago when I was under the impression that I was an A&R genius of some sort. I’ve since sorta quit the business of amateur A&R-ing but Nicey has kept recording and 1st Plc Cmpgn is the sweat of his labor to date. Apt characterization since Nicey’s attitude and delivery throughout the project strikes me as exactly how Russell Westbrook would sound if he made the classic and misguided bored-NBA player decision to rap. As an aside, I also happen to think that if Russell Westbrook made music, he’d probably vacillate between counterintuitive Carl Thomas Cry & B and weird ass songs that convince woman to throw their loins at him through sheer effort.
But back to Nicey Most Likely. He’s a Mac Miller aged Floridian with a pre-med degree that’s stylistically indebted to Drake* (or more accurately… well, you know), J.Cole, and Meek Mill. The influence of the latter two MCs is clear from the effort in every bar and I suppose you could call it passion but I have to admit that it’s the kinda thing I used to criticize J. Cole for before that nigga lost his virginity on wax. I suspect Nicey is probably aware of this, given the allusions to Russell Westbrook and disdain for vowels. There’s nothing wrong with a simple, straight-ahead delivery but switching that shit up generally doesn’t hurt. Unless you’re Meek Mill and you pick the worst possible fucking time to start whispering and mumbling on a track.
As for the sonics, they’re generally impressive and ‘contemporary’ sounding synth-based beats from the sole producer of the project, The Sharke. The kinda thing Vinylz or Boi1da excel at. Both parties clearly put a lot of thought into putting this EP together and that’s obvious from the structure and chemistry on display. Outside of an awkward sex jam detour tacked on to an otherwise great song, an outsourced wobbly-voiced hook and an unrelenting desire to deliver his bars with nothing less than full intensity, I’d have to say this is a decent first effort from Nicey. The flaws on this EP are probably just the result of Drake* leading niggas astray.
Nicey’s a decent rapper and he’s much better off sticking to and improving what he’s best at–straight ahead venting about his struggles disguised as rapping. I suspect that he’s the kinda MC that’ll display more depth, variation, and intricacy with more reps. Most importantly, I think he might achieve some shit if he stays away from famous beige-toned rappers. As we learned recently, it takes at least 3 different niggas to write the pablum that passes for the best mainstream rap in 2015.
https://soundcloud.com/1png/sets/nicey-most-likely-x-the-sharke-1st-plc-cmpgn
