Review: "All Heroes Are On Tapes" Album by Young Chaser and Killa Music
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Kitchener, ON based rapper Young Chaser offers chilled-out vibes with chill-out beats on the nostalgia-soaked spirit of “All Heroes Are On Tapes”. The samples here have a great poignancy to them, faded almost beyond recognition and giving them a lo-fi beats quality.
By far the highlight of the album comes from the passionate flows. Young Chaser’s vocals recall a life lived to the absolute fullest, for he neatly merges elements of storytelling and poetry into a coherent whole. Word choice is done with the utmost of care with balance placed on each verse. Refusing to speed things up, the atmospherics prove to be an essential element giving the entire trip an almost meditative quality. Much of this is attributed to the impeccable taste of producer Killa Music who brings a half-remembered quality into the fray.
The arrangements recall the audio manipulations of James Ferraro and Yung Lean. Akin to James Ferraro, the multiple layers are stretched and distorted. Rhythms are incorporated with great gusto as they morph into mutated hybrids. Melodies recall the eerie presence of Yung Lean’s “Unknown Death 2002” mixtape. So many different approaches are brought into the fray as the hip-hop and trap beats further emphasize the strange, surreal nature of the album. Every single track works off the last resulting a fully realized vision.
“Intro” sets the tone for what follows, featuring far-away loops that disorient and perfectly lead into “My Name”. Nimble beats skitter across “My Name” as the economic tempos work wonders. Delivery is pure fire on “Rap Game” where the morphed samples work wonders with the infectious, deep-set groove. Cryptic vibes tie the whole of the tense “The End”, featuring SwizZz.
Another highlight comes from the J-Dilla simplicity of “Truest” where the song has a glimmering sense of hope. A defiance defines the swagger of “Win”. “Outro” is actually not the concluding piece, yet offers a poignant insight on rap. Perfectly bringing everything together is another highlight, the fragile quality of “Cold North Anthem”, with Young Chaser’s brother Eloc.
The “All Heroes Are On Tapes” collaborative album with Killa Music reveals Young Chaser to be a rapper of the highest caliber, showing off a lyrical mastery that feels unusually intimate.