ShrapKnel & Controller 7, Nobody Planning to Leave

"Nobody Planning to Leave," a collaboration between ShrapKnel and producer Controller 7 unfolds as a kind of fragmented tapestry.

Nobody Planning to Leave is a collaboration between ShrapKnel — Brooklyn rappers Curly Castro and PremRock — and producer Controller 7, who’s best-known for his work with Sole (Bottle of Humans) and Sage Francis (A Healthy Distrust). Controller 7’s frequent beat switches on tracks like “LIVE Element,” where he shifts from a psych-funk groove to a sleepy jazz blues, turns the album into a kind of fragmented tapestry, and a 45-minute scroll where titles like “Deep Space 9 Millie Pulled a Pistol” are more of a cryptic sensibility than a thematic title. PremRock gives one of his better performances, and his droll delivery makes “Human Form” a standout. Curly Castro has a punchy voice that jumps off the aux, but his verses sound like he’s doomscrolling through tweets. Every line he writes references a musician, a pop-culture artifact, or a subterranean icon like Atoms Family. One of the better examples comes on “Illusions of P,” where he charges, “Follow Puffy off a cliff until you finally make it BIG.” Guest appearances include ELUCID, who offers a fine cameo on “Uru Metal,” as well as Open Mike Eagle, Onry Ozzborn, Wrecking Crew colleague Lungs//LoneSword, Breezly Brewin from Juggaknots, and D-Styles. Backwoodz Studioz released Nobody Planning to Leave.

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