ML @ Torae & Marco Polo – Double Barrel Listening Session, April 14.

Marco Polo decided to forgo the formalities and give ML a private listening session for Double Barrel. And by ‘listening session,’ I mean I went to Marco’s house and he played me the album, which is almost finished. We sat down in a dirty little room smaller than my dorm and Marco blasted the hardest boom bap shit I’ve heard in years. Double Barrel is full of gunshots and sirens.

Marco’s production is more cohesive and focused than it was on Port Authority and Torae raps with a newfound aggression. Together, they deliver an album that’s sure to please fans of traditional New York rap. “This is for the heads,” Marco noted afterward.

1.  Intro ft. DJ Premier

A screaming cosign from Premo over some “guitar/horn madness” as Marco put it.

2.  “Double Barrel” ft. cuts by DJ Revolution

The track starts with a gunshot and doesn’t let up. DJ Revolution scratches the shit out of the hook.

3.  “Smoke” ft. Lil Fame of M.O.P.

Very sinister beat. Think “Speak Softly” off Port Authority but more belligerent. To give you an idea of Tor’s energy level, he and Fame sound the same.

4.  “Party Crashers”

The closest thing to a party track on the album. This song walks the line between party joint and boom bap banger.

5.  “But Wait”

You already got that one.

6.  “Lifetime” ft. cuts by DJ Revolution

Revolution goes nuts with the scratches once again. Makes me wish he did the scratches on every song.

7.  “Rah Rah Shit”

If there’s a dip in the album’s energy level, this is it. The hook is a little too repetitive, but it goes just as hard as the rest of the album.

8.  “Danger”

Straight gun-talk from Tor. To my surprise, Marco informed me that this track was sample-free, but it doesn’t sound like it at all.

9.  “Stomp” ft. Guilty Simpson

Guilty brings a welcome change of pace. Fun fact: Tor and Marco linked up with Guilty in Amsterdam during the eMC tour.

10.  “World Play”

Dope string loop and Torae playing a scatterbrained word association game.

11.  “Coney Island”

Self-explanatory. First Coney Island anthem I’ve ever heard.

12.  “Hold Up” ft. Masta Ace & Sean Price

Marco flips a somewhat familiar sample in a new way.

13.  “Get it”

Perhaps the most sinister song on the album, has an appropriate finality to it.

14.  “Crashing Down” ft. Saukrates & S-Roc (Bonus Track)

Makes sense that this is a bonus. More conscious and poignant, far less aggressive than the rest of the album.

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Double Barrel drops June 2.