Kahlil Cade – The Summer EP (Review & Stream)

You know what makes Kahlil Cade a great Hip Hop artist? I feel like Cade is an expert at creating rap music that is as intelligent as it is trill, and as personal as it is motivational. With his ‘The Summer’ EP, the Oakland based rapper delivers six new tracks that allow listeners to take an even deeper dive into his world, as he crams love, success, and everything in-between into this abbreviated EP.

TOP 5

1. ALRIGHT (5/5)

On ‘Alright’, Kahlil is tasked with rapping over this complex beat that contains a little bit of soul, a splash of artsiness, and a lots of heavy hitting drums. In my opinion, the beat is one that could be very difficult to rap over, but Kahlil succeeds.

On his verses, Kahlil spits rhymes at this rampant pace, riding the unorthodox beat pretty well. Content-wise, Cade lets the people know how woke he is about all the things going on around him, delivering inspiring lyrics on almost every bar he drops. It’s definitely the best approach to take considering that this is the intro.

Though you get some tough lines on this song from Kahlil, the gentleness of the chorus definitely balances everything out. Who knew Kahlil could sing so well?

2. WHAT YOU WANT (4.4/5)

‘What You Want’ is one of the more lievely tracks on this album, as Kahlil has a little bit of fun with the invigorating beat.

I love how Kahlil is looking to motivate the listeners on the hook — he clearly wants crowd participation, and based off the energy that he comes with, I don’t see how anyone who listens to this song can not feel galvanized by it. In terms of his verses, you get lots of confident bars from Kahlil, as he finds many different ways to keep the listeners engaged through his rapping. The verses fit the tone of the song perfectly, completing its overall infectiousness.

Women will bob their head to this song, hustlers will throw money in the air to it, and I will be sitting there waiting to snatch it all up on the low low!

3. BEAUTIFUGLY (4.5/5)

This song is just as interesting as the title; trust me!

In the first verse, Kahlil talks about his infatuation with this woman that he’s spotted while driving, fantasizing about all the wonderful things he can do for her if she was by his side. Unfortunately, his staring ends up causing an accident, which makes him to regret all the staring he was doing a few seconds prior. Instead of tending to the accident, Kahlil holla’s at the random lady, making a little light out of a bad situation. Hey, if the man’s limbs are still in tact, why not get the digits, right?

Not only is this song deep, but it also has me thinkin’ twice about hollering at someone during a traffic incident.

4. COUNTRY (4.7/5)

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that went through a culture shock after making a trip down south…

Accompanied by an easygoing Aria Kai on the hook, Kahlil goes into great detail about his experiences down in the dirty south. The Cali native talks about how he got around, the weather, and all the strange s–t he witnessed simply driving around the state of Georgia. The Oakland native generally sounds shocked at what he saw when he was down there, making for a pretty humorous track overall.

This track has some club elements to it, so if you are a southerner and you are offended by his story, at least you’ll be entertained by the songs vibes.

5. BACK TO CALI (4.6/5)

With Kahlil going to the country in his past song, it’s only fitting he lets his main chick know that his return back to Cali will be an epic one.

Surprisingly, this song has a very smooth tone to it, which makes it feel like more of a love song than a song paying homage to his hometown. Nonetheless, you get lots of sweet talking from Kahlil on his verses, as he does his best to get his lady to salivate over him upon his arrival.

How much you wanna bet she gon cook for him too? Romantic reunions always come with food waiting for a brotha!

6. YELLOW TAPE (5/5)

Kahlil made sure to end the EP with a *bang* on ‘Yellow Tape. (Literally)

Kahlil does a little bit of everything on this song: He sings, he raps, and he even channels his inner Dr. Dre vocally. You can tell Kahlil had something to prove from the moment the beat dropped, because it feels like he’s spitting with this ferociousness that is different from the other songs.

‘Yellow Tape’ is the perfect conclusion to an album that had a myriad of facets attached to it. There was no other way to end this album then explosively if you ask me….

OVERALL RATING

8.1/10

‘The Summer EP’ is a short yet sweet project! Even though it only contains six total tracks, Kahlil was able to accomplish quite a bit on each one, discussing his come up, his motivation, and plenty more. What I like most about his approach is that he gets pretty personal with his content, going into great detail about things that has happened in his life these last couple of months. Overall, it’s a very introspective project.

The production on this EP is extremely diverse. Every song has a different sound to it, allowing for the Oakland rapper to show off his versatility from track to track. You can also tell Kahlil wanted each song to serve as a specific version of himself, which makes the project sorta feel like an autobiography of sorts. It’s a fantastic idea by him, especially considering his knack for storytelling.

When he raps, Kahlil shows off an innate ability to adapt to whatever beat he’s on, finding unique ways to alter his delivery whenever the beat calls for it. In my opinion, that adaptability proves to the people that Mr. Cade has a natural born talent for rapping.

Kahlil’s ‘The Summer’ is unlike anything I’ve heard this year in hip hop. it’s not like it contains any weird ass music or anything, it’s more so the strategic approach that Kahlil decided to take that is fascinating to me. Each song could be considered a banger, but at the same time each song also has these wise words associated to it that serve as the main driving point. It’s an EP that you will have to listen to over and over again to fully appreciate, and one that will have you wishing there is a follow-up Autumn album in the works.