« EP Review: Roach Gigz - Bitch, I'm A Player »

Click To Download Roach Gigz - Bitch, I'm A Player

On the real, Roach Gigz needs no introduction here on Thizzler. If you don’t know how we feel about Roach’s music, feel free to peep the 126 articles from this site that he’s a part of, including his Under The Bay Interview, Bay Area Freshmen 10 Recap, and the What’s Slappin’ In My Trunk review of Roachy Balboa 2. Therefore yesterday, when I found out that his camp hooked us up with a link to a private, advanced stream of his new free project, Bitch, I’m A Player, my day at work couldn’t finish fast enough. 

Before I get into any of the details of the EP, let me remind everyone that Bitch, I’m A Player officially drops, for free, tomorrow, Wednesday July 20th [Editor's Note: It dropped early, you know what to do.]. There’s no need for second thoughts, when the link becomes available, click download. Also, in August Roach will be releasing a limited edition package that will include physical copies of Bitch Im A Player, Roachy Balboa 1 & 2, and Roach’s solo debut mixtape, Buckets and Booty Calls. If you’re a fan, be sure to show your appreciation for all this free music and cop that as well. 

Now to the project itself. Bitch, I’m A Player is a 12 song EP pairing Roach Gigz with his long time go-to producer, C-Loz. Throughout Roach’s career, C-Loz’s up beat, percussion heavy production has served to be the best format to draw the most out of Roach’s lyrical ability and comedic personality. In other words, instrumentals like the one for “Can I Rap?” have provided the perfect backdrop for Roach to lyrically spazz out and clown. On Bitch, I’m A Player the chemistry between the two not only remains intact, but it appears the time spent working together has refined their overall sound and has helped to make their music more accessible, all the while managing to not lose it’s unique character. The project is everything fans have grown to love about the duo’s music, except it’s mixed, mastered, and arranged at a level that now makes it ready to dominate trunks, the club, and possibly even the local radio, in addition to headphones, house parties, and computer speakers.  

In terms of personal favorites from the album, a few tracks stand out. As the name suggests, “Big Fat Beat” goes hard. The bass is heavy, resonant, and has serious bounce, while Roach delivers 3 verses full of his patented cocky and unpredictable party raps. “Gina” is a great example of how Roach is a step above many of his peers in terms of lyrical talent. While meeting a girl and eventually going over to her house to smash is a pretty simple story at it’s essence, on “Gina” Roach is able to give that story life, personality and uniqueness by cracking jokes, showing off some punchlines, taking time off to give his thoughts on gentrification and the exodus from San Francisco by many long term residents, in addition to his opinions on the police. “Headache” is a great pairing of a trunk ready instrumental with some personal insight into the difficulties and challenges of being Roach Gigz. Then, finally there’s the features. On paper, the “Stupid Dumb Knock” remix ft. Husalah and Lil B might be the most interesting. Long term Roach fans will remember the beat from the original “Stupid Dumb Knock” off of Buckets and Booty Calls. Lyrically Roach shines, but it’s exciting to hear Husalah get back to form (when are we gonna get a solo project?), and Lil B’s verse is... Lil B’s verse. If you like his shit, it’s probably passable, if you aren’t a fan, don’t expect this track to convert you. Yet possibly my favorite cut from the entire project is “Drugs” ft. DB Tha General. It’s not the first time the two of them have appeared on a track together, but it is definitely a collaboration that needs to continue. Say what you will about a song that glorifies drug use, but the combination of the monstrous beat from C-Loz, and the charisma and energy from both MC’s makes the song addictive. If I was a club DJ, “Drugs” would get regular burn. 

If I had to point out room for improvement I would probably lean towards “F A Chorus”.  It’s a non-stop rap in the same vein as “Respect It” and “Can I Rap?” which happen to be some of my favorite records from Roach. Yet in this case, “F A Chorus” didn’t seem to catch Roach’s interest the same way the others did. He seems to put noticeably less emphasis in his delivery and his punchlines for some reason don’t seem to hit quite as hard as usual. That's not to say that it ain't dope, because it is. It just falls a little short of it's two "predecessors". Additionally, while I was happy to see Roach reunite on wax with Lil’ 4Tay, the beat to “Wild Child” stands out as a little bare and flat. Luckily the verses more than make up for it (Roach’s is hell of funny), and prevent the need to use the skip button.

All in all, Bitch, I’m A Player is another great example of why Roach is ready for the next level. He’s able to cover all sorts of ground topic wise without sacrificing the most important thing about his music: it’s extremely fun to listen to. It’s Bayed out to the fullest, and will most likely make you laugh out loud or at the very least break into a smile on a few occasions. Additionally he continues to stand out due to his rare ability to have a strong female fan base (which bodes well for commercial success), while also regularly showing an MC ability that should impress even the most critical of ears. In terms of production, with this album C-Loz has further defined his sound. He's proven that he can provide as much low end knock as the rest of the industry, flip a sample or two in his own, unique style, and put together a cohesive project from start to finish. Long story short, the album is 35 minutes of non-stop slap. Roach has said on numerous occassions that his goal is to graduate from dropping free projects, and eventually get signed. Therefore I don't know how much more free material fans can expect from him. So come tomorrow, I strongly recommend that you download the project before all his music begins to cost something. 

Click To Download Roach Gigz - Bitch, I'm A Player

Roach Gigz - Bitch, I'm A Player Tracklist:

01. No Applause
02. F A Chorus
03. Wild Child (feat. Lil 4Tay)
04. Big Fat Beat
05. Headache
06. Drugs (feat. DB Tha General)
07. Gina
08. Lost
09. Stupid (Remix) (feat. Husalah & Lil B)
10. Backseat Hotel Room (feat. 1Oak)
11. Elegant
12. Overdose