Brooklyn, New York emcee and songwriter Papoose returns with his 13th EP. Under the guidance of the late Streetsweepers Entertainment founder DJ Kayslay, he released 25 mixtapes during my sophomore year of high school in preparation for his feature-length debut album, The Nacimera Dream. Both pieces of the Hoodie Season duology were later prepared for my second piece, You Can’t Stop Destiny, which was released a few months after graduating from high school, followed by Back 2 the Streets and Undergraduate and Food for Thought and Endangered Species. Earlier this week, he announced that Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop will be streaming on DSP, completing all 12 extended series in 2021.
“Need for Speed” works in a drumless soul sample to get things started talking about not slowing down the pace of killing his rivals, and once “Big 3” takes the boom bread route of making French toast by putting bread on these eggheads, “I Said What I Said” closes out the first half, maintaining a dusty vibe with talk about the weirdo flipping his spaz mode switch to ghost him back into the lab.
Kicking off the second leg, “Chill Button” rightfully speaks to a place where all the biggest names in hip-hop sit on thrones and make consecutive positive business moves, while “Fentanyl” speaks quietly about the ever-increasing number of opioid-related deaths, as pointed out by the 2024 April Fools’ Day 2024 premiere of Smiling Friends Season 2. Near the end, “Counting Green” brings his chips to a dramatic conclusion.
As much as I respect Papoose’s lyrical skills, I can’t say that Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop will be one of the best EPs he’s ever made, even though the culture is evolving over time and not in a position in need of saving. Sean 2Miles’ work is only average compared to Brady Watt’s performance on Endangered Species during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but die-hard fans of Pap’s calligraphy will enjoy it more than others usually do.
Rating: 6/10
