On Candy Paint & Texas Plates 2, Killa Kyleon feels like the fully engineered product of the unchanging Houston MC matrix. There is no Kid Cudi in Houston.  The city and the state of Texas in general, have no time for nihilistic depression or meandering introspection. To be a Houston rapper is to grind. So the title of this mixtape may seem foolish to some, but for its star it’s a reaffirmation of values.

On every track, Kyleon lays down aggressively tense verses that hit as hard as the masterfully orchestrated production. While it is twenty one tracks deep, it doesn’t come off as long, some tracks are shorter freestyles but this is not an interlude laden affair. The tape is an absolute stampede, with a rabid, unapologetic vision from a collection of wonderful guest verses from Mac Miller, Bun B, Pimp C, but maybe more notable than the great features is the utter lack of bad ones. Killa really hammers home all the important details of making a good mixtape. If you have great features use them, but don’t give important spots to less talented friends or posse members. He holds that space to make his own way.

Great production from Cookin’ Soul, Big K.R.I.T, and Lex Luger make some of the songs like “Come on Baby” and “Bodies Hit the Floor” good enough to be real radio hits in any market. Cy Frye might have best claim to production glory; however, with 3 credits in total, especially the fantastic “Regular/Average” which establishes Killa Kyleon with trunk thumping bass and squealing samples as something to ride too, but not slowly.

He never says snitching, but he throws out cryptic statements like “hope you choke on the feathers from all that pillow talking.” Snitching would be downplaying his ideology. For Kyleon, there is only being honest, and being determined to succeed. On “Top Down” he elaborates: “Rather touch some dough before I touch a ho.” He’s not creating a character like Too $hort- this is him. On the song “Money Talks,” he defines his history with it further “I used to dream bout it/ pour up a cup, sip/ sleep and then dream bout it.” It’s that day to day dedication to grinding, hustling, and succeeding that makes him go, but the other half of his ideology is just as important as stated in the track “Dope”. “If being real is a crime, then give me the death penalty.” This is on the fifteenth track of the mixtape, and by then you really believe him.  The Candy Paint is bragging only if you don’t understand the symbolism.

In a Hip Hop world filled with a dedication to the back and forth exploration of hedonism and the subtle regret of hedonistic sin, it’s refreshing to know that Houston is unchanged. You don’t lie to people or fake anything. You try as hard as you can, and never give up, and the only people you really hate are those who hate and those who betray. It’s so simple that at times it seems naïve, but a lot of great ideas fit snugly underneath the term. You have to download this mixtape to really understand why “Texas Rap” and “Southern Rap” don’t have much in common.

“Letter to Pimp C” ties everything together. In his guest verse earlier in the tape, Pimp, in the ongoing pursuit of merciless honesty, posthumously throws a subliminal dart at Young Jeezy. Killa Kyleon never feels like he is pouring his heart out, just paying reverence to the real talk which is his gospel “Bring the whole city together what you tried to do/ but it seems like whole city died with you.” Before that he says “The City’s got a flat tire; I’m the one to change it.” He pays tribute to someone who defined what it was to be a Texas MC; who didn’t care what anyone outside of the state felt, and he does it by taking the responsibility for being Houston’s future. In a way, the most refreshing thing about Killa Kyleon is not the blazing production or the intensity in his flow, but the fact that you can count on him to never betray the content of his music. Kyleon will never stop waving the flag for the Screwed Up Clik, and will maintain what it stands for. Funny thing about Houston rap is it doesn’t have a time stamp; its engine is its street values. That being said, not everyone has the talent to represent. It is good to know that Houston still has an MC at hand strong enough to wave its flag, and who is determined enough to never stop.

Dan O

You Can Download Candy Paint and Texas Plates 2 at the link below. http://www.datpiff.com/Killa-Kyleon-Candy-Paint-N-Texas-Plates-2-mixtape.262912.html