2K19 REVIEWED: WHOSE – WHOSE CAMP

PRODUCER: WHOSE
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whose camp, a collaborative project between producer whose and a variety of his rapper friends, is a wonderful slice of acrobatic, constantly shifting hip-hop condensed into a pleasant 20 minutes. The first track, a ‘welcome’ to the camp, sports the vocal talents of rapper Zech in all their glory. A serious heavyweight in the rap field, the MC’s flow is cool and calculated and sets the project up perfectly with its razor-sharp hook. whose provides a lumbering brute of a beat, a track that shudders and groans incessantly with every distorted melody and percussive collision. Following Zech up is URSUS., a rougher-voiced, far more nimble rapper offering a verse that passes far too quickly. The same can ultimately be said for sameflannel’s contribution to ‘doctorwhoseisthis’, a zany, insanely funny song with genius sample usage. Flannel is a ludicrously good rapper, his vocal hurricane skimming over the lively drum breaks with incredible precision. The fact that every contributing artist sounds so different is a large part of why this project is such a cohesive piece, despite the diverse approach to production.

These styles, which could potentially have clashed, blend marvelously particularly in the second half of the tape. whose is the true mastermind behind these melding of minds, crafting a noirish duet between Zech and flannel on ‘a killing joke’ and an epic rhyme slog on ‘dial up’, the pinnacle of the whose camp collective’s collaborative spirit. Kapeesh makes one of my favourite appearances on this track, his energy seemingly bouncing off every sonic corner and closing the posse cut perfectly. There’s a definite El-P vibe to the production, its sparse, mechanical framework seems designed for bizarre lyrical warfare and that’s exactly what occurs here (signposted heavily by tmwncup’s statement: ‘so much semen in me need a wheelbarrow for my balls’). Arguably the finest on the EP as a whole, this song is succeeded by two further, more low-key cuts: ‘rund’ (which perfectly balances Kapeesh’s speedy, eccentric delivery with the grimier sounds of URSUS.’ flow) and ‘knockback (rmx)’. As the closer, this song pulls out all the stocks and offers each MC up as contenders for the rap camp crown. flannel sounds the best over this stuttering piano-led creation, but there isn’t an average verse in sight here and thanks to the tight songwriting it even delivers on the hook front. I really have nothing negative to say about whose camp, it offers a plethora of quality verses from incredibly talented rappers, each of whom is balanced perfectly to bring out the best in the titular producer’s ludicrously great beatsmanship.

Listen to the EP in full right here.