New York lyricist Rome Streetz joins Floridian producer Wavy da Ghawd for his 5th EP. Appeared in 2016 from his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shita plethora of works followed most notably the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Cephalophora. However, the last couple of years have probably been his biggest, as he's put out some of the best work of his career from DJ Muggs Death & the Wizard or Futurewave produced The razor's edge in the attempt to cooperate with the help of Ransom Coup de Grace & the Griselda Records deal that followed. His Buffalo powerhouse debut Kiss the ring entered #9 on the Best Albums of 2022 list and produced by Big Ghost Ltd. It wasn't built in a day it ended up being a bit higher but it's coming off its 5th and final installment Noise Kandy series, Wavy enters Rome for Buck 50.
Raw, 2-minute opener “Ball of Soft” boasts that he's like a league leader and that these rappers' albums aren't bullshit, while “Runnin' It Up” drum-less talks about the fact that people had made him in his fist. “Why is water wet?” he goes for a smoother approach to the instrumental discussing a woman who says she never leaves him alone just before the dusty “Ya Understand” talks about no one who can jump him. “92 Mike” is that sumptuous boom bap cut that builds into a killer spree, and the flute-infused “Saliva” wraps up the EP by doing what it was meant to do.
Its first 2 installments Noise KandyRows have been my favorite EPs in the Rome Streetz catalog for the longest time, but I'm really considering it Buck 50 to be head and shoulders above what they include Narco Lingo & The leftover. I think Wavy da Ghawd's production here is among the best of his career and is a bit more consistent than Noise Candy 5's was as much as I still love that previous work, and Rome's lyrical style fits Wavy's sound in general.
Rating: 9/10
