”Mino” Takes a Look At Elcamino’s Introspective Side (Album Review)

Buffalo, New York emcee & singer Elcamino celebrating his birthday last week to drop his 6th studio LP. Blowing up in 2017 off his self-titled EP with Griselda Records, his profile increasingly grew after being followed up by Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018 along with dropped 2 studio albums & a few EPs the year after that. They Spit on Jesus proved to be a well received Black Soprano Family Records debut becoming the first Camino project that I had covered since On the 3rd Day & that much like No Weapon Formed Against Me was an improvement over some of the material we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. 6 months after having Real Bad Man produce The Game is the Game followed by Ill Tone recently producing Built for Cuban Links named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… produced by RZA in addition to flexing his Millionaire status & Full Moon showing a heavy Future influence. Martyr’s Prayer III produced by 38 Spesh made for a gratifying conclusion to the beloved trilogy & has released Mino a couple months after the Gold Bricks 2 extended play.

“Think About It” produced by Ill Tone was a triumphant intro flexing the stripes of putting on young lords since Griselda’s time with Shady Records whereas “Bobby Knight” featuring Benny the Butcher & French Montana references the late General over a Hitmaka instrumental, although I would’ve preferred it more without French Montana’s verse. “Godson” takes a more soulful approach making money off shit he’s been doing since he was a kid while “We Shall Overcome” featuring 38 Spesh finds beauty in the struggle.

Benny reunites with Elcamino over synthesizers & hi-hats for “N.I.A. (N****s is Art)” talking about only coming out when it’s dark outside just before “London Gatwick” returns to the boom bap for some of the hungriest performances on the entire project. “Salvation” featuring Cory Gunz & Inspectah Deck jazzily brings redemption to the way they drop their verses while “Magic” featuring Boldy James & Double D gives a nod to the Magic City strip club named after Jermaine Dupri’s comeback album.

“Ahead of Themselves” wraps up the final moments of Mino turning the jazz rap influences back up talking about a group of individuals he gave game to taking action without proper preparation & “Been Thru It All” featuring Kenyada Nikile properly concludes on an soulfully introspective note reflecting on everything that both Meechy & Kenyada have experienced in their lives trying to live another day improving their conditions. More specifically what was seen in the streets.

When discussing Elcamino’s output under the Black Soprano Family umbrella, Mino‘s production mostly handled by Ill Tone harks back to They Spit on Jesus when he made his official debut for the label firmly stands with Spesh’s all over the recent Martyr’s Prayer entry. Unquestionably the most consistent he’s been on B$F since The Game is the Game, it captures Ill Tone’s sonic evolution these past 24 months & prominently personal concept.

Score: 8/10

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