This is the 3rd EP from Bronx emcee BeenOfficial. Coming up in the winter of 2015 off his 1st single “Why U Lie? (Y U Lie?)”, it wouldn’t be until 5 years later where he would put out his debut EP God’s Jewelry using that time to put out more songs to build up anticipation & eventually followed it up a couple months later in the form of America’s on Drugs. But as the 2 year anniversary of the latter continues to approach slowly & surely, the man himself’s returning in the form of a sequel merely days after Christmas.
The intro starts things off by briefly yet ruggedly reintroducing himself for those that don’t know whereas “Can’t Get Away” has a more sample-based trap flare to it looking back on the days when he was down & how he’s been doing better as of late. S.C. Money tags along for the luxurious “Life or Death” spitting that hustler shit just before “H.W.T.C. (Heavy Wears The Crown)” follows it up with a horn-inflicted boom bap instrumental talking about being his way now.
S.C. Money comes back 1 last time in the form of “I’m Working”, where both of them detailing that they’ve been putting it on over top of a beat that’s reminiscent to that of my favorite Slaughterhouse cut “Microphone” while the penultimate track “Got a Gun” returns to the boom bap acknowledging just how crazy it be out in his parts. The outro is just as short & raw as the intro, except the lyrics touch on those not knowing what it’s like to have a price on your head & thinking about the money he’s bout to collect whilst driving on the highway.
It’s really fresh to hear how much this guy’s grown as an artist in the last 7 years because as dope as his last EP was, America’s on Drugs II: America’s Still on Drugs to me further proves that evolution as much as the predecessor did almost a couple years ago. Lyrically, the themes of drug trafficking are stronger as they were before with Adwerdz’ production continuing to pull from boom bap & trap keeping it at a healthy balance.
Score: 7/10