I first recall hearing about A-F-R-O (All Flows Reach Out) on facebook. I had come across a video series called Uncharted which was created by the digital media company Uproxx. Uncharted covered A-F-R-O in a previous episode but the one I happened to watch covered two "new school" artists (Afro and Nghtmre) who would be attempting to record a track directly to vinyl.
With Vinyl being something of the past and considered vintage (although making a slight comeback via Barnes & Noble,) everything is typically accessed online now. Either streamed or downloaded. Even CD's are becoming obsolete, so recording straight to vinyl is a concept that is rather foreign to new age artists, making the video an incredibly interesting process. Right away I was surprised by how much old this young man sounded. Everything from the bass in his voice to the clear old school hip-hop influence in the way that he put together his words and his flow. Going back to do my research I realized that his kid hadn't even broken the age of 18 when he was first discovered. RA the rugged man stumbled upon him a couple years prior in a music contest. A-F-R-O had the ability to freestyle about anything without the slightest hesitation and that small aspect of his abilities carried him to the eyes and ears of thousands all over YouTube. Homie is dope point blank gunshot period and this EP is the perfect display of his talent.
A-F-R-O POLO is a six track EP with the addition of two bonus tracks that you can access when you download or stream the EP from any retailer. As much influence as A-F-R-O has by various oldschool hip-hop artists it is peculiar that my mind gets pulled to the images of Method Man and Redman when I listen to this rappers music. I'm not sure if it is the instrumentals combined with his flow but something in there reminds me of those two. Overall the EP is top-notch and concise; and as a I said before a great introduction of his capabilities. A-F-R-OPOLO brings it back to the vocals. When the way you put words together was more like a poem than a battle rap. Afro brings the focus back to the lyricism and you can hear it woven through every track on this EP.
My particular favorites are Swarm, Sunshine and Flowers and, Use the Blues. Pharoahe Monch makes a guest appearance on Swarm and Eamon is featured on the last track of the EP called Use the Blues. Sunshine and Flowers has that classic west coast hip-hop sound, reminiscent of the G-funk or Gangsta funk era commonly heard among artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop. Although they all have that old school flare each song carries a different sound. As a listener that is not always something that is easy for me to find. A-F-R-O is currently working on the release of his first album and when WTM gets more information we will be sure to let you know. Check out A-F-R-O POLO below.
Rating 4.7 out of 5
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