Mixtape Review-Come As You Are by Audio Push

by Dan-O

The title track on Come As You Are is the first song after the intro and has far less to do with the Nirvana song as it does The Pharcyde. It acts as a microcosm of the tracks that come after it. Nostalgia is a distinct part of the attraction, not just with the Pharcyde sampled beat but the record store interlude after the track where a customer asks for some “cool laid back” music that will enable him to “put one in the air” and feel like the 90’s again. Pricetag’s verse that comes before the interlude is a mystifying stew of paranoia, childhood remembrance and reverence for his Mother. Audio Push certainly feel like the 90’s all the way through this project and in a good way.

Come As You Are is packed with lyrics. Group members Oktane and Pricetag tear into every track but they also make room for guests like K. Roosevelt, Overdoz, TI, Joey Bad@$$, Vic Mensa, James Fauntleroy, Lil Wayne, Wale, Ty Dolla $ign, and IAMSU! Every feasible bit of song space is filled with active thought without time for ad-libs snorts or 50 cent like spoken word post-song threats.

Hitboy, Hazebanga, Mars1500, and Eric Choice do a masterful job taking music we all know and adding to it. Shine is a great example. Hazebanga and Eric Choice take Janet Jacksons I Get Lonely and add enough bass, finger snaps, and brass to make it soar in a different direction. It doesn’t at all take away from the songs source, it makes you want to go back and listen to I Get Lonely again and compare the two. That’s what great sampling production is about and it’s all throughout Come As You Are.

The thing I like most about the decisions made by everyone involved in this mixtape is that they result in an offering that provides many moods. The purposeful uptick in tempo on the frantic Rowdy A is masterful, the bass and the chorus demand we bounce. Once that song closes Turn Down follows (produced by Matthew Burnett) and provides a cool off period for the audience to kick their feet up equipped with lyrics that understand the pressure of the week “See Monday you wake up wanting to stay home no job all day long just trying to get over hangover from Greystone but you still go to work…” but as this song closes we ride the tide back up for Smack. It’s a bubbling sex talk post-hyphy west coast staple that showcases a great IAMSU verse, to its credit the song is playful enough that it doesn’t jeopardize the themes presented elsewhere.

All these mood changes do not mean we go from awesome music to less awesome music. We just travel different areas of awesome music. Shine, I Like It, Told You So and Theme Song feel like big beastly hits. Brown Bag feels like DJ Quik era west coast (to the point where I was waiting for Suga Free to jump on it). It’s not just full of catchy fun songs it’s a distinct artistic message. These guys have a lot to talk about, a lot of different songs they want to do and the capability to achieve it all. A lot of that has to do with the skill level of Octane and Pricetag but a lot of it has to do with having the musical posse of Hitboy and Hazebanga to back your play. You can afford to experiment when your team is that darn good.

stream or download Come As You Are below:

http://www.datpiff.com/Audio-Push-Come-As-You-Are-mixtape.529033.html