It's been quite a while since I've come across a new artist that grabs me quite like GoldLink has. The heavily buzzed about DMV rapper artist dropped his debut full-length project yesterday - The God Complex - and set the internet on fire with love from all over. With only nine tracks in under a half hour, GoldLink delivers vivid lyrical imagery, warm-nostalgic inducing sampling choices. and cinematic sequencing elements as part of an inviting and exciting recipe for his debut. The (so-far) faceless MC rides and glides between snapping boom gap, up-beat funked out disco and a slew of other mixed-and-mashed re-imagined deeper throwback electronic dance music styled-backing tracks.
The tracks themselves, mostly produced by Louie Lastic, are dynamic and daring. Upbeat disco-leaning numbers like "Planet Paradise" provide no challenge GoldLink as he effortlessly flows through them; rides with them. Beyond that, the album also features production from fellow DMV artists LAKIM and Teklun on select tracks "Fuck Being Polite" and "Hip-Hop" respectively, and a few others including Fingalick, JFK, Jaylen!, and McCallama. No matter who's behind the boards though, GoldLink displays a lyrical dexterity that so few "up-and-coming" emcees display today. There's no auto-tune croak (although, there's a time and place for that and I do love that), and there's no played out gangsta tropes. The record sounds dope from the front to and through the back.
Overall, this IS a great first project. It should be refreshing for nearly every music head and it's beginnings of something great. GoldLink oozes a mature sound, charisma, a gift for wordplay and vivid vocal imagery. At only 20 years, it's just a taste of what's to come and i'm excited for whatever that is.
Favorite tracks include: "Ay Ay," "Bedtime Story" and "Planet Paradise."
