Shaudy Kash is a consequence of a lineage between Detroit and the Bay Area that goes back to the Great Migration and resided on through their relevant music images. With distributed fundamentals of groove and heart, artists from both fields have long spoken about gilts that extend beyond speech. “Through spirit and Through blood there is a connection Through Oakland and Detroit” Oakland superstar Too long has said. Detroit’s FMB DZ concurred: “It’s like we kin guys.”
The 23-year-old Shaudy was raised around Detroit’s 6 Mile Road, but grew up on the music of Bay Area natives E-40, Spice 1, and Mac Mall. (One of his biggest songs to date is a remix of E-40’s 1995 classic a remix of “Dusted ‘n’ Disgusted.”) Shaudy’s casual and conversational rap flow is not unheard of in the West, but he’s most directly influenced by the hometown hero Babyface Ray. Similar to Ray, Shaudy is usually laid-back, can up the energy when he needs to. What separates him from his Detroit inspirations is a lyrical perspective that would not be out of place on a mid- ’90s West Coast posse cut: Darkness is in the air, but the focus is on the slice-of-life stories about fly women, Fast money, and hanging out. His best moments recall the feeling of watching more lighthearted John Singleton fare, like the road trip scenes in 1993’s “Poetic Justice.
Game Time is Shaudy Kash’s third mixtape of the year, and unlike the other two, its songs are not connected by theme or sound: February’s Ghetto Heartthrob featured eight songs about being such a ladies ‘man that it’s a hassle, and May’s On the Yeah Side was all calmly delivered rhymes over producer Topside’s smokiest grooves. The 12 tracks on this latest tape range from hard-hitting and aggressive to chilling and reflective. Shaudy sounds most comfortable when he’s both engaged and distracted, as if you were on a midday cruise with an old friend who told you what they were up to.
His narratives are slim in scope and barely feel overblown, which makes them feel genuine. “She likes how I talk, how I speak/I’m a dog, she is a freak/Give her a call, no two thoughts involved, he came to me” he sings breezily about a nice friends-with-benefits scenario on the album showcase “You See Me.” Then, over the dizzy song and listing hi-hats, he remembers how it went wrong. He kept snorting, but she wished extra; he sighs of the breakup with gently transgressive apathy. It’s really expressionless, But his burned-out whispers add a twist to his stories. On “No Stretch” his music goes great with a fresh toss, but each now and then a tension in his tone messages stirring or loneliness. His musings on insecurities “Real vs. Fake” it would be simple to set up, but he provides them (evidenced) and they feel insightful.
When they take on a brown side, as in Game Time’s first quarter, skies Shaudy’s communicative fashion (apart from “A” “Matt Hardy” where the stream is just so strong and outgoing that it performs). Nonetheless, the music is short and the disappointments glide gently, It’s not always a positive idea, because the best songs don’t fade so long. There are no second passages, but at the very worst additions of existing ones, offering them the incomplete experience of excerpts. On “The World Is Mines” Shaudy seamlessly rolls a Nas test, then tosses in the cloth not long after the one-minute record. “Yes Yes Yall” incorporates logo Detroit crap speak with smooth Bay Area rhyming, but even if you expect the frequency to increase, you’ll be waiting for a minute and a quarter. A fleshed-out edition of Game Time could elevate the album from superstar in the Shaudy Kash collection to an opportunity spot on Detroit rap’s yearly checklist.
