This is the 9th EP from Los Angeles emcee/producer AFRO. A protégé of RA the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his 5th EP supported by Duck Down Music Inc. AFRO Polo produced by Marco Polo presented himself as a promising underground up-and-comer. He would eventually end up doing only features until he made his official comeback last summer releasing 3 more EPs, the latest being New colonel in town just 5 months ago. However, it returns to The painting.
The title track is a symphonic boom bap opener that speaks to the feeling of being the best and the most underrated at the same time, while “Next 2 Shine” works on more kicks & snares with crashing synths that some of you really don't they do. Meet him and you tell everyone who doesn't rock with him to step aside. “Wing Chun” brags about things getting deadly every time it drops over a boom bap instrumental just before “Gone 4 a Second” takes a cloudier route, organically acknowledging its absence from the music.
“Behead the Beat” picks up the pace a bit, keeping its prosperity and seeing clarity these days in an instrumental sample, while “Old Tyme's Sake” returns to boom bap talking about sticking to the script by refusing to change it . “Redemption” combines synths and hi-hats explaining that he found light in his soul by painting his story on the canvas of his own production before “Battle Royale” with Blind Toxic, EKYM1536, Felcon, Pulse Reaction, SuperBrownBum & 60 East rounding off the mid-cut posse EP.
Admittedly I wasn't sure what was going on with All Flow Reach Out until it made its comeback last year, but The painting has to be the best EP he's put out since he started putting out music again almost a year ago and the most I've enjoyed anything from him since then AFRO Polo the year after I graduated from high school. His lyricism gives listeners a more personal side of himself, and his beats generally stick to the traditional boom-bap sound.
Rating: 8/10
