EARTHGANG – “GHETTO GODS” Album Review
In this day of age, there are not many iconic rap groups like there were in the days of old school hip hop. We haven’t seen a group of rappers who are able to have a lasting impact on the genre like A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan and N.W.A. did.
But a duo out of Atlanta has slowly been making a name for themselves in the rap game. EARTHGANG, which is made up of Olu and WowGr8, have become one of the most unique sounds in rap with their soulful twist on the genre.
After dropping a solid album in 2019, titled “Mirrorland,” and their impressive performances on “Revenge of the Dreamers III” and “Spilligion,” the duo has created a lot of hype for their album “GHETTO GODS” which dropped last Friday.
“GHETTOS GODS” is another strong performance in soulful rap. It dives deep into the struggle that the black community must go through.
The album starts with an intro from 2 Chainz where he speaks about how Black people are told they’ll never live their dreams.
The album continues this theme of “getting it out of the mud” with the song “GHETTO GODS.” Both rappers give powerful verses about how they came from nothing, and how they are now “God like.”
This is followed by a very inconsistent song, “BILLI.” It includes strong verses from the rappers, especially featured artist, Future. But the melody is very hard to hear at points and the repetitive chorus gets old quickly.
The album picks back up with a soulful beat and strong performances from the duo, J.I.D. and J. Cole on “WATERBOYZ.” Every artist shows off their vocal and lyrical abilities while they each seem to one-up each other as the song goes on.
After a short skit, both rappers and Musiq Soulchild show off their beautiful singing ability on “AMEN.”
“All EYES ON ME” is one of the most meaningful songs on the project. The duo sings about how black men are targeted by society and every move they make is judged. The deep lyrics make up for the faint synths in the production.
This is followed by another powerful song in “LIE TO ME.” The two rap about how a lot of people only care about flexing their wealth and people end up living lives they can’t afford because of this. These lyrics are rapped over a very catchy reverberating synth.
EARTHGANG continues to create songs with deep meanings with “BLACK PEARLS.” Olu and WowGr8 both rap about how women and society don’t care about what black men are going through. But the song includes awkward vocals in the beat that don’t go well with the rappers’ lyrics.
Next is a very emotional song titled “AMERICAN HORROR STORY.” Both artists show off their impressive singing with lyrics about slavery, police brutality and setting up their families to succeed in life.
In “POWER,” CeeLo Green’s verse is very aggressive and doesn’t match with the duo. Olu and WowGr8 produce lyrically strong, mellow bars just for Green to drag down the quality of the song.
The next song has a generally chill aesthetic, but its lyrics are actually very sad. The artists rap about how they use marijuana to cope with their struggles such as racism and relationship problems in “SMOKE SUM.”
“STRONG FRIENDS” reminds listeners to check up on the people you love and allow them to vent, no matter how strong they seem.
The outro of the album gives a recap of the album as it is about the struggles that the rap group goes through and how they are blessed to live the lives they have. Ari Lennox also gives a beautiful chorus on “RUN TOO.”
EARTHGANG continues to push the limits of rap with this album. It is very hard to pull off a soulful rap album, but this duo seems to do it so well.
They also send a powerful message with their music and celebrate Black excellence in “GHETTO GODS.”
Olu and WowGr8 continue to establish themselves as one of the best rap groups of this generation.
EARTHGANG should stick to their unique rap style in future albums, but should also try to include some songs with more replay value to reach a larger audience.
Rating: 7/10
Reviewer’s Favorite Songs: “WATERBOYZ” and “STRONG FRIENDS”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Songs: “BILLI” and “POWER”
Jayson O’Connell is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.
