Review Summary: Screw this text box, idk
PTK, Patrik Aišman, a Czech rapper native of Cheb located near the German borders. Started as a mere SoundCloud producer and gradually expanding his music to platforms like YouTube with cheap music videos. In his early years be rapped about pain, hate and his internal struggles, at the time with an amateurish delivery, labeled to belong into an Emo rap category of some sort. Despite this, he became known as the "Uncrowned king of the Czech underground", held until his scandalous D&B trilogy „Nevezmu tě z Klubu Domů“ (I won't take you home from the club) which heavily covered themes like drugs and sex in a deliberately vulgar manner. The trilogy gave him a major outreach, especially with the final episode, the most aggressive and the most memorable track with 3 distinct beat switches, unfortunately it was "Tiktok-ified", often dismissed as a preschool banger, to this day played by all age groups on any local square. This period was still before his significant kickstart of a real musical career, PTK was still connecting to his audience with his bare minimum, releasing Mixtapes and EPs on his Soundcloud and YouTube channel, until 2021, when he decided to oficially release his debut and make a new beginning.
Four days after celebrating his 27th birthday, on 16th of January 2021, PTK released the Trap album 27, still clinging to his roots, but done in a more modern and polished way. The number 27, an age shrouded in the myth of "Club 27", age when musicians are expected to burn out or self-destruct, the year life stabs them in the back, symbolically decided to pick this age to take on these themes across the tracklist - fear, deceit, confidence, desires, flow of time, all he has gone through to get to this point (Klid - Serenity, HlÃ*dej si záda - Watch your back, Žádný jistoty - No assurances).
As is typical for most rappers, the lyrics are rather self-centered, bringing the listener closer to how the artist sees himself. Ego trips are the norm, but this album still remains relatively humble. In the past, PTK made focus either on more comic songs with a sense of aggression, or expressed himself through a slower, darker motive with deeper emotional content, this album stands out just due to this contrast and balance between these two sides, it managed to go between his "savage" persona and to the more reflective rapper he is. The anger in tracks like DennodennÄ› (Day to day) and Woo Woo (track with no particular meaning, just a very nasty ego trip), they bring a lot of creativity to this record. Later in his career, PTK shifted towards the slower songs, he let the aggression completely disappear over to the emphasis on chill and gloomy atmosphere, prioritized maturity over simple, strong, vulgar rhymes, which led to making a lot of what has PTK been known for absent, that individuality however, still prevails on this debut. It's raw and expressive, it feels honest, not commercial yet, untouched by common trend-chasing.
It is hard to approximate the lyrical aspect to an English speaking listener, I can try to describe the sound itself. Patrik's most protruding characteristic is his voice, he has always fought monotony, knows how and when to switch between a louder rabid voice, higher, deeper, aggressive, uplifting or the opposite. His style was often remarked with catchy melodies, this album hovers around this too, some songs stick to straightforward rap, some center around melodic verses or are driven whole by melody, not that they would be any complex melodies, it would be unnecessary too, some lean towards a dark, depressing mood, some are dominant and energetic, all are simple.
The biggest uptake of this album is its attempt at variety, that has succeeded. As a rapper alone, you could isolate every vocal track on this album and it would remain interesting, the beats carry a completely different sound throughout multiple sections of a single song thanks to how PTK manipulates his voice. His flexibility has become an icon in modern Czech rap, it is hard to find someone with so much power in his delivery.
That all to be said, this album is phenomenal if you look for something in the Czech scene and can't understand the language, there is not much to look for in the old school, you need to understand what's said for the full experience, here, the combination of outstanding beats and outstanding vocals makes it a great listen for anyone, if you understand the lyrics, you shouldn't be disappointed either, PTK got often thrown into the same box with rappers like Yzomandias, arguably the most recognized rapper of this generation, his lyrics are... not comprehensible for the average listener, they are often not to be that way either, they are often intentionally nonsensical in favor of catchiness or experimentation, here is nothing to be sacrificed however, it is not an absolute musical miracle, but it is a raw depiction of PTK's music, while still feeling complete, this is what defines him and what he has done.
27 remains as one of my go-to examples of what Czech rap is capable of.
Recommended tracks:
Woo Woo
Thugova Balada (feat. RNZ)
Táhlý dny a táhlý noci (feat. Schyzo)
Žádný Jistoty
