Yellow Tape

Now that Mitchy Slick has established his reputation as a living master of the old-school art of West Coast gangsta rap, he is determined to introduce the Wrongkind, his crew of rappers. Yellow Tape features what feels like an army of Mitchy acolytes. No one here is as convincing as Mitchy, although but there is plenty to love about the gruff delivery of Ise-B and Lil’ Fat Bat. It might seem like there is no possibility left in gangsta rap, but “Bangin’ Ain’t a Hustle,” “Keep Giggin” and “Hell Shoot” impart an authentic sense of menace. Mitchy has always been a little sharper and a little smarter than the average gangsta rapper, and his introspection is exemplified in “What Happened to the Turf.” The song is as close to a lament as anything Mitchy has done, as he conveys the changes time has wrought in his southeast San Diego neighborhood: “Was it the epidemic? / Narcotics in the womb / That made it hard for the next generation to consume… A lot of s*** done changed in the Southeast / Not enough Indians and everyone think they a chief.”