Review Summary: This is an improvement over "The Growing Process," but it still contains a handful of issues that LP had.
I'm a pretty big fan of Dizzy Wright, but that fandom came to a huge halt last May when he released his sophomore LP "The Growing Process." It had a handful of really good tunes, but was overall extremely unbalanced and drab in large areas of the middle portion and latter half. And when I reflect on how I feel about his discography as a whole I notice that the only projects of his I legitimately don't enjoy are his two studio LPs, so when Dizzy announced he was releasing a new EP my interest was peaked quite a bit. Especially since as of the last few months all of the word coming out of the independent label he's signed to, Funk Volume, has been drama between its two co-founders. So my main question going in was whether or not Dizzy could make up for the huge disappointment of "The Growing Process" and put together another solid EP (the "other" being 2014's "State of Mind"), and I can say this is definitely a step in the right direction. But not the huge leap I was hoping for.
The EP as a whole clocks in at a little over 27 minutes and stretches this length among 8 tracks (the first of which is a 50 second intro). Sonically there's definitely a consistent pallet Dizzy's laid out with the instrumentals. He plays to his usual switch between Boom Bap and Trap percussion to keep things from becoming rhythmically monotonous, but what lays atop these drums is where things become more interesting (for good and bad). The electric guitar leads on "I Got a Lot of Love to Give," "Deal Wit" and "Plotting" aren't organic enough for my taste, and sound too artificial (especially given the flat tones), the keys on "I Wanted To" are mixed too quietly and feel nondescript, and the synths on "Zoovie" are just disgustingly cheap. But the WAH soaked clean guitar chords on "Let Me Live" do a successful job of creating the psychedelic aura Dizzy was obviously trying to go for at times on this project, the thin trap flavored synth riffs on "Work a Lil Harder" are well layered over the banger beat, and the bass across this entire EP sounds fantastic.
Dizzy hasn't improved as a vocalists but still insists on laying down some sung choruses that are mundane, flat, clunky, and awkward (examples being "Wisdom and Good Vibes (Intro)," "Zoovie," "Let Me Live," and "Deal Wit"). But that doesn't mean he can't deliver a catchy hook when rapping them and implementing simple melodies, because he can and did on songs like "I Got a Lot of Love to Give," "Plotting," "Work a Lil Harder," and "I Wanted Mo." In terms of his content and verses Dizzy comes through with what is to be expected. Talking about his current success, future endeavors, wanting peace, broken relationships, and grinding. And regardless of the quality of a new Dizzy project I can always expect a tighter flow and delivery than on the projects prior, and that's no exception here. He sounds better than ever.
Overall this is an improvement over "The Growing Process," but it still contains a handful of issues that LP had. The lack of pot songs and tasteless Rock instrumentals is great, but unfortunately Dizzy's monotonous sung hooks and the handful of instrumentals that need a better ear to help flesh them out more stuck around. Sonically this more Psychedelic direction works for Dizzy, but he just needs to embrace it further and find producers who know how to make it more interesting and varied. Hopefully he can keep this upward trajectory of quality, growing from his past base of mediocre, going into the future.
