MINI-ALBUM REVIEW: CALIX - IKUGAN
“Ikugan” is the latest release from NOFACE RECORDS rapper Calix, almost a year following his last project and one of his most hard-hitting release “The Lesser of Your Greater Friends”. Shortly after releasing his sophomore album last year, Calix went straight in making another project. With no signs of stopping, Calix teased an early draft for a potential album called “Homewrecker” but it was eventually scrapped. Lately for the past few months, the ghetto priest has been preaching the new “mini-album” title called “Ikugan” online on social media. The mini album was later to be revealed to house 8-tracks and has a seldom amount of features unlike the previous album where it was loaded with 16+ tracks and star-studded features.
My response to this build up was filled with excitement but it was accompanied by parts of doubt. It made me question that will Calix ever surpass his predecessors? This rapper literally has no chill and he decides to release another project almost a year after putting out on of the most relevant hip-hop albums in recent memory? Now that’s being prolific but will he ever top “The Lesser Of Your Greater Friends”? I may be asking too much questions and the only way to find out is give this 30+ minute mini album a listen.
The mini-album starts off right off with first track “Amanamin”, a single verse marathon that runs around a cycle of a failed prayer. I see it as an intro track that sometimes the people we look up to disappoints us and eventually never fulfills those promises we’ve been desperate to see in the light of day. This was a very surprising way to start off the mini-album, it goes right in without any formal introduction whatsoever. The second track “Limbo” continues the theme of history repeating itself where the cycle of a political campaign becomes too obvious and the only way to stop this cycle is to speak out and revolt to whoever is sitting on a high power. The production is still on point here, the trap horns give this track some hype plus the live drums playing a key role in the hook, oddly it fits in between those trap sections and I’m engaged where this mini-album is going. The third track “Manilab” is the probably the last out of the three first tracks that have this bombastic production. After listening to this for a few times, I kind of see the connection of these three tracks. Chronicling from a religion, false promises, and ultimately moving up to the echelon of burning down the system.
The fourth track “Kildemol” featuring rapper and frequent collaborator BLKD is an anthem for people who choose to burn both sides of the coin. Both BLKD and Calix are both known for being iconoclasts of the current generation and I’m happy to see them both in the same track again. The fifth track “Caligula” sounded like Tyler the Creator produced it. The haunting kick and piano keys reminded me of the Bastard-era Tyler.
photo grabbed from JLE Music
Now this is where the mini-album gets better, the sixth track “Pasaway / Holic” is a slow jam turned anthem for a struggling alcoholic who only sees the love of their lives when intoxicated. Actually I love the turnout this track got. Then we get to my second favorite track in the mini-album “Alamat ng Talunan”. The second half of this project is where Calix is talking about different kinds of demons other than the government. He brings up alcoholism and falling in love with a stranger on social media. “Alamat ng Talunan” is this stalker-ish first person view of someone you’re attracted to online and the satire of introducing you to that someone. We then proceed to the last track and my favorite track in the entire mini-album, “Monday (San Na?)”. The track starts off as this story about losing someone you cared about for so many years and what are you going to do next after ending a relationship then after a while the album takes a detour where it completely ditches the hip-hop sound and becomes a skit of some sorts. A rough recording of Calix singing over hilarious lyrics with a friend about loving someone’s tita.
Overall, “Ikugan” was an electrifying cover of crooks, bling culture, and inner struggle from front to back. Setting a new bar for rappers to step up their content or possibly their consistency in substance two levels higher. Production was solid and the features didn’t gloss over the tracks, making Calix become the clear star in this mini-album. Ikugan cuts right through in bright highlights like that Kris Aquino diss in “Kildemol” to the first half of “Pasaway/Holic” to the unexpected tita outro in “Monday (San Na?)”.
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