Kingston-based Hip Hop artist Five Steez and Montreal-based producer Son Raw are at it again! The Test Of Time, a new 4-track EP of straight bangers, builds on the success of their 2023 album Re:DEFined, further cementing their chemistry and their impact on the world of underground Hip Hop.
Kicking off the EP, Soul in the Music sees Five Steez examine his evolving relationship with rhyming as an artform and its place in his life. Peppered with allusions to healthy living and the growth a man experiences in due time, the track begins the project in a reflective mood over a classic, distorted Son Raw soul loop, building on the duo’s chemistry.
Locked and loaded with a killer scratch hook by DJ Hook Raida, Paint On The Canvas updates classic boom bap styles for contemporary ears, combining gospel organs and drum fills with complex rhyming, reminding listeners who runs Hip-Hop in Kingston. Living proof that maturity need not come at the cost of excitement and flexing, Steez’ raps expertly break down the highs of life as an underground emcee. As vivid as a Warhol or Rothko, it’s a can’t-miss heater destined to barnstorm underground radio.
Over driving drums and dusty soul, Five Steez uses Coming With The Funk to set the party off, blasting past the 70BPM tempos currently dominating the underground. A potent reminder that Hip Hop is social and that the clubs need not water down the music to get people moving, the track sees some of Steez’ most ferocious rhymes, with a mood calling back to Bronx block parties, peak Wu and midnight cyphers in equal measure.
Closing out the EP, You Know My Steez goes all in on laid back vibes, with a highly modulated slice of soul morphing, evolving and filtering itself out without ever losing the sight of that all-important groove. Bringing the EP full circle, Steez builds on Soul In The Music’s reflective vibe, further breaking down his ethos as an artist and musician, while paying a subtle tribute to the one and only Guru of Gang Starr.
