Squadda B. released his Back To Playtime mixtape on Monday, and while it has a few cuts that I could do without, songs like “Leoshitsmokedout,” “Murderous Weather,” and “Partymix1” are all examples of Squadda at his best. Almost entirely produced by Squadda B. himself (he has some help from EPMDenny, Chris G, and BlueDot), Back To Playtime is obviously going to have a cloud rap/atmospheric sound to it, but what I’ve always loved about Main Attrakionz and their music is that you never forget that they’re from the Town; they can do the cloud rap aesthetic fine, but they’re always in some way connected to the city that birthed them. Whether that means just rapping about North Oakland, or rapping over production that almost never fails to feature a heavy bass line that might get to be a bit overbearing, but is nonetheless an enjoyable staple in Oakland rap music.
Squadda B. continues to experiment with his music on here, and while that might produce a lot of hit-and-miss material, it’s what keeps the music at the very least interesting. In true spirit of a lot of Bay Area music, you might hear a lot of duds in his catalog, but when you get to a high, it never fails to be among some of the most memorable rap music made.
Also, someone needs to do something big with the “Partymix1” instrumental.
Purchase/Stream: Squadda B. – Back To Playtime