Review: Chuck Inglish - Convertibles
[Federal Prism, 2014]
Rating: 6.5/10
By Xavier Veccia, Features Editor
Key Tracks: “Came Thru/Easily,” “Glam,” “Legs”
A good producer is one thing. A producer who can shine brightest on just about any track is another. And if that producer can rap, well, he’s in a league all his own.
Welcome to the Inglish Premier League, where Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll has reigned supreme since his duo The Cool Kids released The Bake Sale in 2008.
The Cool Kids may have not released a new project since 2011, but both of their members, Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks, have still managed to dominate the game with successful release after successful release. Sir Michael has made huge waves with his Lap of Lux series and Inglish released a couple of high-profile mixtapes in 2012. But neither has had a project worthy of a commercial release since The Cool Kids' When Fish Ride Bicycles.
2014 seems to be a different beast entirely. In January, Inglish announced the reunion of Rox and himself for an album later this year entitled Shark Week. And to ease the wait for their fans, Inglish decided to release this amazing piece of production perfection.
Inglish proves yet again that he’s one of hip-hop’s best producers. Nearly every song on Convertibles deserves to be bumped in its namesake. Plus, every song is different.
There’s the soulful sultry songstress-sampling “Glam” that combines jazz and hip-hop beautifully. Plus, there’s a feature from the always amazing Chance the Rapper where the Chicago rapper both sings and spits to take the song to the next level.
Then there’s the funky ode to disco featuring Chromeo, “Legs.” The extremely catchy, synthy song is the next best thing to Daft Punk and Pharrell.
Inglish can do old-school hip-hop, too. “Money Clip” features classic samples of the street and some calming snare and kick drums to bring the listener back to the beginnings of the genre.
However, while Inglish is one of the best producers the genre has to offer, he’s a decent lyricist at best. The Cool Kids were always carried lyrically by Rox and Convertibles is carried lyrically by the vast amount of guest spots.
“Came Thru/Easily” is among the best songs on the album and that’s because two-thirds of it is carried by rappers with more flow than Inglish could ever dream of--Ab-Soul and Mac Miller. Inglish’s ominous banger of a beat deserves a lot of credit for making the song what it is, but when Solo and Mac are comparing themselves to Eazy E and Ice Cube, you have to be able to keep up.
“Gametime” is the same thing. With a feature from Action Bronson][12], the song manages to resemble a Bronson song more than an Inglish track. Granted, this is largely due to Inglish’s ability to cater his production to Bronson’s heavy flow, but he should still be able deliver lyrically the same way his guests do.
This isn’t a huge issue in the tracks featuring awesome guest verses, but songs like “Attitude” featuring BJ The Chicago Kid rely way too much on the hook. And “Legs,” while catchy, accomplishes this through repetition as opposed to the full package.
Convertibles is still a fantastic release thanks to Inglish’s production, but it’s not quite where The Cool Kids were in 2011. That being said, Convertibles acts as the perfect holdover for Shark Week while showcasing Inglish’s production skills and large rolodex in the process.
