Mixtape Review-Roachy Balboa 4 by Roach Gigz

by Dan-O

The mental picture created when listening to Roach Gigz is that of a race car driver or X Games participant. He seems to have a flow faster than his mind if that makes sense. He doesn’t just surprise listeners with odd entertaining imagery at times he seems to surprise himself. His new mixtape Roachy Balboa 4 is full of smiling shake your head moments like stunting so hard you get a crook in your neck (Too Easy) putting in more work than your right hand (Like This) and the line “thank you Mom you did not abort me now I can get drunk and have orgies (Misfit).” This kind of careless freewheeling imaginative sex and party talk is what sucked America into early Lil Wayne and we are talking about skill level in that ballpark.

Unlike vintage era Wayne this isn’t someone who switches gears into different tempos. Gigz runs the track like the 7 seconds or less Phoenix Suns always pushing the ball. Not only does he never stumble but he can’t help but find the craziest things to say “kill that p#$% now we talk through a Ouija, psychedelic Gigz might walk through your TV (Zombie).” If you feel as if you’ve exhausted your love of ratchet let me pitch you. I don’t think you have. The problem is not the proliferation of a trend it’s the decay of its quality. Great ratchet is still inescapably dope and three elements hold it there: great flow, fun rewindable raps, and a beat that feels like the collective hum of a crowd losing their mind. All are present on Roachy Balboa 4.

While Jay Ant could bottle and sell his cool demeanor resulting in a large profit Roach is the opposite (their collaboration on this project I Just Want works despite any logical assumption to the contrary). He seems to be running with the bulls all throughout Roachy Balboa 4 trying to move faster and more uninhibitedly through whatever it is he wants to discuss whether its meeting women on Telegraph Ave or snakes. In my running of the bulls metaphor C-Loz is the bulls. He produces seven out of thirteen tracks including the first three which really set the pace of the race. C-Loz determination to maintain the stampede velocity is as pronounced as Gigz. Any sample used, every clatter or jangle or hand clap you can hear is moving in the same direction; forward and fast.

If you were to tell me that what Gigz does is stupid I’d call you half right. Have you ever had a friend that you thought was stupid but the more time you spent with him the more you found genius in what from far away seemed daft? That’s how it is for me. The first time I heard “rather be loved than feared rather make love from the rear (Talking My Sh#t),” my face looked like a confused dog but at this point if you think its stupid its my kind of stupid. The kind that glimmers like a sharpened blade and slices through ratchet beats. When you mention the top ratchet names or top Cali rappers Gigz should be amongst them. None of the others would even think about saying the stuff he does. That counts for something.

Download and bump Roachy Balboa 4 below:
http://www.thizzler.com/blog/2014/5/28/roach-gigz-roachy-balboa-round-4-mixtape.html