Charlotte, North Carolina emcee Reuben Vincent preluding his upcoming 3rd album by putting out his 3rd mixtape. Emerging under the original moniker Esau, his debut tape IDOL.escent would catch the attention of 9th Wonder & would sign Reuben to Jamla Records in 2016. His debut album Myers Park would be released the next fall followed by the previous EP Boy Meets World, the latter of which resulted in Roc Nation Records handling distribution for Reuben’s future output much like fellow Jamla signee Rapsody beginning with the sophomore effort Love is War almost 2 & a half years ago continuing to elevate his popularity. General Admission was ok in comparison & with the next LP set to be fully produced by 9th Wonder, they’re dropping off Hit Me When You Get Here in anticipation of it.
After the “Mama” intro, the first song “Mama’s Prayer” begins with this soulful instrumental likening himself to a pimp tryna get his cake up whereas “God’s Children” works in a crooning vocal sample taking more of a boom bap route looking back on the days before their innocence was taken from them stuck in their ignorance. “In Search Of” flips a piano to talk about going from being 13 to getting a deal while “Surfin’” gives off a chipmunk soul vibe initially thinking the picture would be perfect when it’s torn.
“The Way (You Love Me)” keeps the sample chops going addressing a romantic interest that he can’t get off his mind leading into “Let You Down” giving off a significantly jazzier approach to the beat talking about not wanting to disappoint anyone he deeply cares for. “Getting Along” featuring Foggieraw tells their lovers they do this music shit because they love it as opposed to selfishness prior to “Anything (Have!)” talking about his dream girl having whatever she wants.
As for “Good to Me”, we have Reuben over more soulful boom bap production expressing the large amount of gratitude he has currently on top of the hip hop game treating him greatly & “It’s Alright” gets back on the chipmunk soul tip to finish up Hit Me When You Get Here the way it really began talking about the familiar feeling of the world crashing down on us & God having a plan for everything.
Granted I felt that General Admission & As If Nobody’s Listening… were more average compared to Myles Park & Love is War, it shouldn’t really come off as that much of a surprise that Hit Me When You Get Here clears both of those projects & ranks as the greatest mixtape of his career. 9th Wonder’s sample-heavy production unsurprisingly doesn’t miss for anyone familiar with his general sound & Reuben fully locks in regarding his own performances.
Score: 9/10