Psycho Les is a 52-year-old MC/producer from Queens, New York, known for being 1/2 of The Beatnuts with Juju and 1/5 of the supergroup Liknuts with Tha Alkaholiks. Eventually, he began to carve a path for himself as a solo artist with the release of his debut album Psycho Therapy in the spring of 2007, and returned nearly a decade later with the weed-themed and feature-rich second album Dank God . Eric Bobo and Stu Bangas are teaming up to help Escape the Matrix produce his first solo EP ahead of Real Psychos’ self-titled debut with B-Real next month.
“SOS” begins by spitting out conscious lyricism over a roaring instrumental, warning that the world as we know it today is in danger, and if you’re still alive, refuse to take his Chuck D shit and consider yourself lucky, and “Crooks,” a collaboration with Snyp Life, is effective in more kicks and snares, with a subtle backing that calls itself the last of its kind, imploring everyone to accept truth instead of fear. Blahzay’s “Fire” ends the EP perfectly with sounds from Outloud and Les and PF Cuttin’ discussing the world on fire.
Dank God has its moments, but I always felt it had too many features compared to Psycho Therapy. Even though “Escape the Matrix” is only a three-track EP rather than a full-length studio album, it offers more in its nearly 10 minutes than a lot of material on its last LP from about a decade ago. Eric Bobo and Stu Bangas both recapture the magic of their production on their April 20, 2021 Empire collaboration, keeping it true to the booming pap vibe of the underground tradition, while Les himself delivers more politically aware themes .
Score: 8/10
