‘The Hallowed’ - Gao the Arsonist & Dr. Skywalker
Strengths:
Incredible delivery techniques
Vocal effects and style choices enhance memorability and replayability
Very committed to their theme/sound
Phenomenal production and mixing quality
Weaknesses:
Little variety in song tone/production
Can be hard to understand/hear
Overview:
Rapper (Gao) and producer (Skywalker) duo
5 tracks, 10 minutes long
Consistent and menacing theme, dark aesthetic
Third project from Gao, very carefully crafted energy
Description:
Some people just want to watch the world burn, but some people are gonna set it on fire themselves. Gao the Arsonist, with help from the production master Dr. Skywalker, absolutely murders these five tracks on the short 'The Hallowed - EP’ as he questions authority and traditional culture. Intense, high energy delivery invoked a sense of dread and anger - the kind of emotion only true artists can make you feel. Though each of the tracks have a similar sound, Gao touches on a variety of subject matters with his trademark intensity, making for an entertaining yet dark and menacing EP you’ll come back to over and over again. Fans of the lyricism of Earl Sweatshirt, JID, and Kendrick Lamar and the morbid energy of $uicideboy$ or City Morgue will love the unique vibe. Samples and killer production throughout make this project so memorable - we first reviewed it several weeks ago, and yet tracks like ‘Peacekeeper’ and ‘Snakeskin’ still stick with me. It’s very rare to find a producer/rapper duo so compatible, and both Gao and Skywalker have a such an unique ability to evoke emotion that you won’t ever forget the first time you listen to one of their tracks. Hopefully they’ll reunite for a full length project soon, because we need more out of them.