Born in Phoenix Arizona, raised in Texas and living in the city of San Antonio, OCM (One Crazy Mexican) brings us his latest project – the “Resentment” EP – filled with chilling rhymes, buoyed by melodic hooks and banging grooves, instead of the sinister beats and aggressive deliveries from his previous works. Yet these incongruences are what makes OCM’s latest work so seductive and powerful. Like a stack of 100s, OCM’s tracks are full of rich and exhilarating layers, which reveal themselves over time.
The question is, will “Resentment” be the project that breaks OCM through to the other side of rap notoriety? The stars are aligning in his favor, but how it’s promoted and received will truly decide what happens next. In the meantime the rapper has delivered his side of the formula. The more the EP focuses on OCM’s knack for passionate storytelling, instead of flashy hooks and repetition, the better it fares.
“Alone” opens on a crushing verse and a thumping slow-burn beat. OCM once again proves on this track that he excels at crafting involved narratives out of pliable internal rhymes. Only this time around he adds a fair amount of catchy melody to the equation.
The soulful groove of “F**K You”, mirrors OCM in its appeal: emotionally direct and technically virtuosic. It’s only negative being the rather brief running time. This is definitely a song I could have heard a few more minutes of.
Luckily OCM hits us immediately, with the effervescent snap and bang of “X Man”. His favorite move here, is finding a good flow and digging into it, often delivering tiny clipped phrases like a boxer executing a series of jabs before delivering the killer punchlines.
As he repeats the hook’s cadence with typical OCM conviction, it grows increasingly vivid. OCM’s delivery and vocal performance are stellar throughout the project, making for a more engaging product that still retains his hard-edged persona.
The EP shines brightest when the music itself matches OCM’s dynamic performance and infuses enough energy for him to seize the moment. The retro flavored “Real Rapper” offers him those opportunities, and OCM rises to the occasion with smooth but relentless verbal attacks. When the rapper steps out of this formula to vary the soundscape, some switch-ups work better than others. One of those, is without doubt, the mellifluous “I Wish”.
“I Wish” cuts to the heart of what makes this project so essential to the rapper, while the majestic production and work on the chorus, uplifts the song with added emotional dimension. It’s clearly a highly charged personal track, which OCM executes with both passion and disdain. The rapper has proved many times in the past that he deserves his place in Hip Hop, but it’s always a treat to hear OCM give it his all in the studio.
In a career defined by his consistency as a rapper, “Resentment” might be OCM’s most diverse recording yet. At under twenty minutes, the EP breezes by even before you realize it’s over. OCM raps, makes his point, and gets out quickly, allowing the listener the time thereafter, to ponder, absorb and digest some harsh realities of the rapper’s life.
OFFICIAL LINKS: SOUNDCLOUD – FACEBOOK – YOUTUBE – SPOTIFY
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