California emcee Wildcard linking up with C-Lance for his 8th studio LP. Coming up in 2007 off the debut Dark Night of the Soul, he would go on to build up an impressive discography for himself from there whether it be The Odyssey & The War or even his last couple efforts Shadow Work & Change in Cabin Pressure. Last summer’s Western Promises resulted in one of his finest albums of his entire career yet & is now looking to up the ante by dropping The Zodiac Project.
“Aries World” opens up with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental referring to a bunch of rats on meth as being Disney on Ice while “Taurus Jacket” maintains the sonic vibes of the predecessor talking about what he spent his 1st rap check on. “The Gemini Dance” featuring Kail Problems fuses rock & trap discussing themes of romance just before “Cancer Circle” featuring BARZ! finds the 2 talking about pushing until the wheels fall.
Apathy joins Wildcard for “Leo Lounge” returning to the boom bap promising that everyone’s getting clapped as if it’s gonorrhea leading into the soulful “Virgo Lane” apologizing for causing pain when he was selfish to the core. “Libra Season” featuring Dead Poet Devil hooks up a gospel sample to talk about going through it all while “The Scorpio Element” goes rap rock acknowledging that the hardest thing for him to do is change.
“Sagittarius Soul” has these prominent organs mixed with kicks & snares for a dedication to his mother while “The Capricorn Game” featuring A-Wax finds the 2 linking up & talking about their trigger fingers getting cold. “Aquarius Blue” shifts gears back in trap territory encouraging to drown out the voices in your head, but then “A Pisces Tomorrow” featuring Endr Won introspectively wants those who’re not in their lives anymore that they love them if they were here.
Pizzo comes into the picture on the song “Summer Snow” dropping hardcore lyricism on top of this crooning boom bap instrumental while “Brutal Blue” featuring B-Guy Griffin blends some hi-hats with melodic background vocals talking about the wild & lawless lifestyles that they live. “All Above the Above” ends The Zodiac Project with 1 more soulful boom bap joint pouring heart in his music only providing y’all with his side of the story.
C-Lance has become one of the best underground producers within the last 15 years & for anyone who loves the tracks that he’s done with Wildcard up to this point, you’re gonna love The Zodiac Project equally if not a tad bit more than the Western Promises he made almost a year & a half ago. The concept if you couldn’t tell is built around the zodiac signs & C-Lance’s diverse production carries over the consistency of the predecessor.
Score: 8/10