Pretty sure this must be the 21st EP from Buffalo, New York emcee and singer El Camino. He made waves with his self-titled EP with Griselda Records almost ten years ago, and after the release of the 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. Six months after Real Bad Man produced “The Game is the Game,” Ill Tone recently produced “Built for Cuban Links,” named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut “Onlybuilt 4 Cuban Linx” and produced by RZA, in addition to showcasing his millionaire status and Full Moon showing the massive impact ahead. 38 Spesh’s Martyr’s Prayer III brings a welcome conclusion to a beloved trilogy, as Mino recruited Ill Tone to produce God Is Love
An uncredited feature pops up on the back end of the intro “LLD (Long Live Dumpin’)”, crudely dismissing those who have no interest in their music, while the drumless, chipmunk-soul “Crazzzy” talks about being the last of the real ones. “Hip Hop” continues to sample soul music, with some kick drums and snares suggesting moving smarter and more nimbly, until “Nose Ring” combines elements of rap rock and boom bap, talking about wanting the whole pie rather than 1/2 of it.
The second half of “12-11” begins with references to my favorite Breaking Bad show on AMC, with Mike Santana taking back the TNA World Championship from Frankie Kazarian on last weekend’s TNA Wrestling, while “Fuck wit Me” brings back a drum-less chipmunk soul vibe, promising escalation to anyone who dares mess with him. “Amazing” hits the drums again, delivering “Hot Ones” until the police arrive, and “Friend Indeed” ends with talk about being the best in the game.
Ill Tone and Elcamino had already proven themselves to have good chemistry during the latter’s tenure on B$F, so I had no problem with their connection during God is Love, and I still enjoyed it, albeit not as much as Mino did nearly 4 months ago. Ill Tone’s production maintains the tenacity of his 46% share of Mino’s beats, and by putting an uncredited cameo in the intro, I’d have to pass on Meech because it features far fewer features than the biggest work of his career to date.
Score: 8/10
