There’s power in silence. Or slight silence. Can we really say silence at all for a beat tape? Oh well, West Coast multi-talent 92 Colby recent delivered his project Threat but it’s not your typical album. A majority instrumental tape, with one conventional song including lyrics “The Dude” which we covered before. It was a strong performance, and while I anticipated some more exceptional lyrical performances like that, I surely wasn’t disappointed with what we got.
There are a ton of vocal samples laced throughout the tape. 92 is indeed saying a lot without saying much at all. Just look at the project’s name. Then listen to the beats. Then look at the name of the project again. Let’s get started. West Coast vibes galore.
“Goons” is a knocker. “Spiritual” made me feel ascendant. I was levitating above humanity and exchanging jokes with an angel. “Mikio” is the next logical step, with the chimes of “Spiritual” but surely more of a knock. “Oooo 420” is trippy as hell. I can say that this two minute 56 second beat would surely heighten any psychedelic experience one partakes in. “24 Hrs” is just a beautiful piano key symphony. “Sik” overwhelmed me immediately with the sample. Good overwhelming though.
He gets into his bag toward the end. “Luv@Firstlast” was heart-warming for me and I’m not ashamed to admit it. “PlayAnother” felt like an 80s love song, and I might have started two-stepping in my seat. “Brown Eyes” had a warm feeling to it, I think Colby made this one for us folks on the East coast dealing with the winter. “Splash Mountain” should sound pretty familiar, and my what a song to choose as your penultimate. Good call. Because “Ice Cream” and the repetitive “get up out of here” was the icing on the cake that is this project.
The enjoyable part of this project is the true cohesiveness. Each beat in a way feels like an extension of the other, simply with a significant alteration whether in pace, specific instruments, or toggling between mellow, hard or anywhere in between. I definitely found myself listening to some beats wondering how certain rappers I like would sound on them, but having spent more time listening to beat packages as of late I actually enjoy just getting lost in an instrumental.
92 is a true musician. Thus, creating sounds comes a bit easier but it’s his attention to detail and seamless combination of specific sonic elements that makes this project a true treat. Maybe the h in the title was a typo? Nah. The kid’s a Threat. See for yourself below.