I believe this is the sixth full-length studio album from Newark, New Jersey wordsmith Mach-Hommy. He rose to prominence in 2017 with the release of his second album HBO (Haitian Body Odor) under Griselda Records. He and Tha God Fahim fell out soon after, only to reconcile at the end of 2020, and then Mach Back to the label. He subsequently collaborated with Balens Cho that winter, and just a few years removed from the Triz legend, the Haitian-American host wanted to commemorate Haitian Flag Day by posting #RichAxxHaitian the day before.
After the “(…)” intro, the first song “Antonomasia” featuring Roc Marciano begins, with the two MCs flawlessly playing some G shit back and forth over Sadhugold’s drumless loop, while “Politickle” is dodgy Dei admitted that he had a monkey on his back, and that it was quite heavy. “Sonje” has a bit of a mellow vibe to the Georgia Anne Muldrow-produced beat that talks about flipping you out of your phone like a bag of kush, leading into “Padon” where Tha God Fahim lets it dust off and delivers raw cones, Because everyone wants to rap that he went to hell and back with felons.
“Empty Spaces” featuring Your Old Droog once again lets the drums out and has everyone trying to spit out the way they did except they were tying the ribbon at the wrong time and cutting the ribbon at the perfect end, but then “Sur le pont d’ “Avignon (Reparation 1)” brings a more jazzy flourish thanks to conductor Williams talking about being a warrior rather than a killer. Following the “Xerox Clat” interlude, “Gorgon Zoe Lan” skips over a bare sample, about to reveal a blowout, while “The Serpent & the Rainbow” remains drum-less, explaining how things will go from here.
Black Thought teamed up with Mach for the Quelle Chris-produced piano-boom bap combo “Copy Cold” to keep things going, while the title track from 03 Greedo ventured into hip-hop house and even pop-rap, thanks to KAYTRANADA detailing them of luxury. “Lon Lon” connects some woodwinds, bass drum and snare drums and wants to be alone and talk about Babylon before the interlude of “Aux Bon Parfums”.
“Same 24” features Big Cheeko, those gorgeous piano chords throughout, reminding us that time in our lives is accurate, whether it’s days or hours, while “Guggenheim Jeune” once again ditches the drums to warn against letting go. The boys say it’s the end and there’s more than one way to strip the cash. “Holy____” ends with another drum-less cut that #RichAxxHaitian talks about praising the Lord with a gospel-inspired outro in the final moments.
Mach is no stranger to releasing music on Haitian Flag Day, as he always brings his Haitian roots with him, but this has to be his strongest work since Balens Cho two and a half years ago. I have always wanted to represent Haiti and the rich culture and knowledge we have to offer the world. You can still see the drumless production and abstract lyricism he’s known for, except he also dabbles in jazz rap, conscious hip-hop, experimental hip-hop, psychedelic rock, hip-hop house, and pop-rap.
Rating: 9/10
