Born in Pittsburgh, Pa, Little Pep started writing his first rhymes when he was 8 years old after being inspired by an Eminem song. He then started out rapping under the stage name Fyve5, with EaziDuzIt412. After a period of lull, Pep Kravitz created a project called Lin Kuei, after which time he continued to drop music. His latest release is the EP, entitled “Sluggernaut”, which dropped on all major digital platforms on the 15th of July 2018. Respect must be paid. Pep Kravitz, has practically grown into something of a rapping guru with his attention to detail and knack for intricately ambitious sound textures. You know as soon as you dive in that the sound throughout these 3 tracks is going to sound creative. Sure, the term’s overused, when we don’t know what to say beyond, “Damn, that sounds good!” Here, it just applies. I challenge you to listen to “Sluggernaut” over any half decent system and not have the word ‘creative’ pop to mind by the time the first song tapers off.
Right from the opening track, “King Of The Winter”, Pep Kravitz sounds assured. His own ideas and talent speaking for themselves. He seems centered on expanding his textural landscape as well as improving his emcee skills throughout the record. His raps have extended past simple braggadocio.
Most surprisingly is how smoothly achieves his vocal progression. Pep Kravitz’s rap style is sharp and focused from a technical standpoint and serves more appropriately as a vessel for the storytelling involved with his lyrics, as he weaves his way through the dark, relentless and layered soundscape of the opening track.
While the lyrics move from cryptic to straightforward, the focused nature of this EP is the real highlight. At face value a listener could absorb most of the detail, but is also rewarded for digging deeper into these tracks, as there are many underlying messages and ideas.
“Anyway” produces another banging, percussive track, featuring darting strings and a booming bassline. It is hard to resist Pep Kravitz’s endearing storyline and convincing melodic atmosphere here. The beat on this track feels really powerful because it isn’t simply just a backing for the vocals but rather it becomes part of the story, building along with the song.
The most notable case of storytelling through instrumentation is the building intro on “July 15 Part 2” where all hell breaks lyrically. Here Pep Kravitz really hits hard, delivering an intense aggressive tone and sort of shaken sound.
This is a very stubborn track, it forces you to pay close attention to detail, and the narrative, to get the full scope, but it also leaves a lot up to the imagination. There is a cohesive connection between underground and alternative rap running through this track, and the rest of the EP, as it makes a completely unique statement in what is typically a pretty stale genre right now.
Pep Kravitz has stepped out of the shadows with his new offering of tracks; one that is a bold step forward in the name of his musical progression. If “Sluggernaut” isn’t the recording that breaks it for Pep Kravitz, the question is: what more does a rap talent with an uncompromising vision have to do to garner some goddamn attention!
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – YOUTUBE – FACEBOOK – SPOTIFY – ITUNES
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