This is the 8th studio LP from Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations as well as dropping 7 albums as well as a mixtape & his last 7 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living, so Nickel returning for The Devil You Know only makes sense.
“GOATS” grimly starts with this boom bap opener warning to watch what you say around him because you might wind up dead because of it later on at some point whereas “Silverspoon” morbidly keeps it in the basement instrumentally talking about making it out on his own. The beat on “Wall” kinda gives me a Griselda feel to it giving praise to the plug who helped him get into his current position while “Countryfried” featuring Smoke DZA cops a turkey on the low without knowing what it took.
As for “Highland”, we have O.T. over an uncannily raw instrumental suggest to watch who you servin’ just before “Eyes” ruggedly demand you show him the product & the bread right on the spot. “Insane” maintains the boom bap sound talking about staying outside trappin’ for what his leading into “Talez” taking about the stories of a hustler & wanting others to have his back whether it’s right or wrong.
“Devil” aggressively kicks off the final leg of The Devil You Know with O.T. getting right back in his zone over this rap rock/boom bap crossover while “Friends” featuring Dun Dealy finds the 2 talking about being unable to enter Canada & having homies out in Mexico. The song “Damn” is a dreary one reflecting on a homie texting him saying he needed to talk to him & “62” ends by explaining his come up was a dream come true.
Both You Are Who You Eat With & Cost of Livingremain quality bodies of work within what’s already an impressive discography for O.T., unless The Devil You Know can now be included during conversation. Nickel Plated’s production for a good run of it primarily sticks out as being based around boom bap locking in with the Philly standout for another round of pressure.
Score: 8/10