The second playoff in 2026, the 22nd Finals of El Camino, a host and singer from Buffalo, New York. He made waves with his self-titled EP with Griselda Records almost ten years ago, and after releasing his Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018, his profile grew and he released 2 studio albums and several EPs the following year. “They Spit Jesus” proved to be a critically acclaimed Black Soprano Home Records debut, becoming the first Camino project I’d covered since “The Third Day,” and like “No Weapons Formed Against Me,” was an improvement on some of the material we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. Real Bad Man produced “The Game is the Game,” followed by the Ill Tone-produced “Built for Cuban Links,” named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut, “Onlybuilt 4 Cuban Linx.” 38 Spesh’s Martyr’s Prayer III was a satisfying end to a beloved trilogy, as was Mino, but now he’s stepping away from Bruv with the Ill Tone-produced God is Love.
“London Bruv” skips over soulful boom beats and pays homage to the British capital, while the Ill Tone-produced “Green Beret” continues to shred soul samples and talk about those who don’t get a lot of love. “Adele” uses the same rhyme scheme to croon chipmunk soul vibes for minutes, while “You Are Here” talks about doing it all for glory and being proud of his joy as an African-American.
The song “Getting Old” continues Bruv’s final, completely drum-free stretch, talking about knowing he’s locked himself in because there’s always more waiting for him than what he’s already accomplished, while “Eating Steaks” brings back the sampling technique so he can talk about attending Fashion Week in Paris last year, plus some jazzy undertones. The EP ends with the spirit of a chipmunk calling out a backstabber who doesn’t want to see “the other side.”
While I lean more toward God Is Love, I can appreciate El Camino going into passport mode for Bluff since France and the UK have always been my third and first largest audiences outside of the US, respectively. More soulful than its largely drumless predecessor, Mickey details the Hustler’s philosophy through catwalk lighting, including overseas backdrops, designer details, and war-ready bars, balanced by flashes of family, memory, the weight of the loser, grief, stress, and his own earned flexibility.
Score: 8/10
