O.T. the Real & The Heatmakerz – “The Irishman” (EP Review)

O.T. the Real is a 35 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who started out in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”. From there, his profile began to grow after showcasing his skills on radio stations as well as dropping an eponymous full-length debut & 2 EPs. His sophomore album Evil Empire just came out a couple months ago & to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the East Coast up-&-comer is dropping his 3rd EP produced entirely by The Heatmakerz.

“Non Fiction” is a heartfelt opener as O.T. spits about drilling it out with bars on top of an exultant instrumental & then the next song “Restitution” talks about waiting when he wanted what was his over a morose beat. The track “Carry On” talks about the hustle forever continuing on over an affluent instrumental while the song “Connected” with Jim Jones finds the 2 saying that it’s all about connections over some bongos & faint yet beautiful harmonizing.

The track “Losses” gets on the romantic tip over a stripped back instrumental while the song “Hold On” with Joell Ortiz sees the 2 asking who’s gonna be there when the laws & drugs are gone over a wraithlike beat. The penultimate track “Streets Again” talks about looking for a way to get back on his feet over some hypnotic vocal melodies & then “Relationships” finishes the EP off with some exuberant horn sections as O.T. spits about having 33 on him like Patrick Ewing.

Despite enjoying everything I’ve heard from dude up to this point, he really outdid himself on The Irishman. Not just because The Heatmakerz gave O.T. a more refined sound in comparison to his previous efforts, but the songwriting on here is the best it’s ever been before.

Score: 8/10