1. Get Em Rock – I do east coast rap / Smokin west coast pack / I’m on some down south shit / But I’m a Midwest cat. The first song on any given mixtape ain’t always the best but the fact that it was picked to head it off means it’s important to the artist. The “Get em Rock” flow gets a little repetitive after a while but it has a grip of memorable lines.
2. Smiling Eyes ft. Chaos – The second record is a lot like the first, Cooke will do whatever it takes to break into the industry. Chaos brought a crazy feature verse.
3. I Got It ft. Sweez – “I Got It” sounds a lot like a MMG hype track. It slaps.
4. Magic – Beat has some grime to it. Dirty.
5. In The Cut – There’s alota good imagery on this record. The Lyrics supplemented with the cool hook and Milky Way production has become a common Midwest style in the last few years. It also speaks to Madison and the simple life many are used to living. Money could change a lot for a man in this town.
6. Monkey Boys ft. Tha SB – This could be a summer monkey boy’s anthem if marketed right. Nice sample and original verses by Cooke and SB.
7. 1Wi$co ft. Jae Fitted x Tc Gutta – Basically “I Got It” part 2.
8. That’s Enough – Here goes the smoking song. The beat on “That’s Enough” reminds me of a record I started to produce a few years back, real smooth and reflective. I could spark to it. *lights blunt*
9. Baby Come Back – Basically what you’d expect, track 9 comes with the classic player sample over the hook along with a couple decent verses.
10. Taylor’s Song – Cooke speaks to a little girl that has had a strong influence on his life. The most personal record on Get Em Rock.
11. Take The Pain – Sam Cooke delivers a message of hope to everyone going through it. I can tell he put a lot of thought into this one and it’s the fucking truth woo. Divisions in our society caused by political insincerity, class conflict and racism are unavoidable problems only experienced by a select group. The problem is that, in most cases, people are comfortable being ignorant and the only way to make it is suffering… and staying silent.
12. Pseudo Love Song – Funny title. Reminds me of something Wale might do on the Mixtape About Nothing series. A song to anyone that’ll fall for it.
13. Interlude – Cooke goes in for two and a half minutes.
14. Bossman – Tha SB ft. Sam Cooke – Production and mixing is different from the rest of the tape. It’s dope, like some country western type music, but I don’t know if it should be the last song.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Get Em Rock. Before playing it through I thought it might have just been a few songs compiled from his Soundcloud. Surprisingly, it was a full 14 songs. Well, fullish. Most of them were under three minutes but whose making these rules anyway man? Most artists don’t make four or five minute songs anymore unless it’s a mega remix. Another reason for the short songs though, is that virtually every record follows the standard hip hop song structure. There are no bridges or breakdown sections. There are times when Sam forces the rhyme or slips over his words a little bit. He fell back on the stereotypical mainstream flows at times too. This is all common of emcees just starting out. On the other hand, I get the impression he produces most or all of his material, which is always impressive and gives the artist a more defined sound. Solid first effort from Sam Cooke. Looking forward to hearing more.
