Written by Elijah P.
The breaking news is what generates speculation and tension. We as terminally online human beings couldn’t resist the verification through live media. Normally one’s curiosity peaks at an all-time high when it’s game time. But a 3-minute “Freestyle” OMV and several provocative IG stories by a Malate-based trio were able to break the internet all over the hip-hop community; confirming that they are unfuckwithable. And that group turned out to be one of the most in-demand rap trios called O $ide Mafia.
It wasn’t just game time for their members, namely Gee, Cashman, and Madman. It was game time for their entire district. After releasing bangers throughout the periods of lockdown in the country such as “Kinikilocs”, “Tokyo Drift”, “Yeah Hoe!” and their most recent hard hitter “Go Getta”, the trio have tested their haters by constantly releasing and proving themselves that they are hungry 24/7.
Right around the corner are neighboring cities such as Pasay, Makati, and Quezon City. The group has reached a point where their hits have landed a collaboration with Laguna group Villa Mob, miles away than the usual 20-meter next-door kinship. Alongside the underground publicity O $ide Mafia was able to receive within the several months leading to their come up, their latest 5-track mixtape “O COAST” had a lot to say with regards to their current stature in the game, specifically for their de facto head honcho Cashman. Filled with verses that relate to their recent experience with the excess that comes with fame, gigs, and the urge to make content, Gee, Madman, and Cashman are equipped with the best resources at their disposal.
“O COAST” to my surprise, is a tame project compared to their standalone singles. This doesn’t include the singles that were already out in the open in the past two years of their laborious string of releases. However, “Go Getta” is an easy contender for the best hook game of the year, wherein Cashman slides through every bar as if it were their DMs; “AMIGO” featured all three verses from the members, quietly scheme seamlessly in every syllable. “NO NET SHIT” is composed of one-liners that pinpoint the way of life as a hustler and effective code-switching.
The darker edges of their sonic palette lurk around the production throughout the project. “Cold” is the operative word used by their producers Gee Exclsv and 808 Cash respectively, where their beats are led by simple nursery pianos plugins, and buzzing bass, and Gee’s unhinged flows are the highlight of each track, especially in tracks like “Go Getta” and “Cake”. But most of the pros in this mixtape aren’t really outweighing the issues in terms of consistency and overlapping themes of “O COAST”. O $ide Mafia have arguably emptied their tanks in terms of writing memorable hooks. Where we got loosies that aren’t included in the mixtape, we’re able to hear newer but minus the refreshing material. The listener got only a couple of smoky, calmer verses that rarely peak in each track. There’s rarely tension nor momentum built in any of these tracks, even though it’s embodied as a “mixtape”, you’d expect some sort of impulse of cohesion, but rather the mixtape felt slightly disjointed in terms of how slightly indifferent the other tracks sound production-wise.
Overall, O $ide Mafia has showcased the new batch of tracks with an ample amount of promise and charisma. Cashman had the vocal presence, Gee had the production whiz and confidence, and Madman had precision and personality. This is enough to show that a mixtape like “O COAST” is a training ground for the relatively young group.
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