Advertised as his most complete and calculated record yet, Urchin 2 was marketed and teased for about two years before it's release. Strange assured fans that he was securing distribution deals while putting the finishing touches on the album. While the album had a ball park release date of late 2018, Sean Strange dropped a free mixtape Preemium Dope as well as a collaborative effort with Nah Bro label mate Scott G entitled Tommy & Ghost. It should be noted that about 80% of the beats are from Sean Strange himself and that had me real excited going into the record. The album was eventually unleashed in spring of 2019.
Kicking off the record is the Snowgoons produced "First Copy Of The Presses". The song features a spoken intro from his niece, Alyssa G, as well as adlibs from her between Seans bars throughout most of the track. It's one of my favourite opening songs of the year. Instantly we're reacquainted with not only chemistry of Sean and the Snowgoons together but, also the conviction that Sean Strange has towards forging a legacy and a career on his own terms. Bars like "And to whoever praying that I fall thinking I'm gone/I'm here forever peep the logo that I inked on my arm." just help cement what he's trying to do and how long he's trying to do it for. I love the angle of opening the album with the most relentless verse possible and dropping us straight into booming kick drums and thick snares.
"Warning Shot" is a solid follow up. Our first beat from Strange kicks off and ends with Micheal Rapaport quotes. I feel like this score could've been a little funkier like maybe a twang of an actual string bass instead of the bass we got. This drums still have lots of open air in them for Strange to punctuate with echoing adlibs and some amazing punchlines. Even as a fan who has no interest in being a rapper the line "Feel like I'm underneath a permanent black cloud/And everywhere I go another herb wanna rap now." hits me right in my soul. He spends the rest of his verses firing at current trends in hip-pop like materialism, the recycling of flows as well as the seemingly infinite number of people trying to be rappers. He finishes clapping at fans and other rappers who try him over social media. It's an easy song to bump because it has attitude and you can nod your head to it.
We get a little deeper on the third track "Still Urchin After All These Years" as Strange delves into hitting licks to build his studio budget as well as generally being a wild youth. I like how he balances his circumstances with his decisions in lines like "Back then I didn't need a gun but went to get me one." I'm digging the production too on this song as its a bit slower than most of the other joints in the first act but the snare still slaps. It's ominous and portrays the uglier side of Seans come up while setting us up perfectly for the next track. It is however, pretty slow in flow and tempo so usually I skip ahead to something more explosive.
"107th & Atlantic" is a fantastic personal moment on Urchin 2. Sentury Status produces one of my favourite beats on the record. Seans lyrics float on top of these theatrical cymbals and graceful piano keys and the instrumental swell that carries us to the chorus is perfect. Sean iterates growing up in a single parent household, wilding out as a youth and, more recently in his adult life, coming to terms with his fathers passing. The tone of the track is really the best part as he expresses so much pride about his upbringing. Other lines like "They told me get a 9-5 and that my dream fake/But now I headline in other countries because I keep faith." His sense of duty in his career is clearly linked with how important his family is. The sense of not giving up despite your circumstances is also well explored. This chorus is one of my favourites on the album like in the top three or something. A flawless song.
"Legend Of The Scarface" has our first feature on the record. Strange and Merkules have recorded a good handful of songs over the 2010's and this can hang with any of them. Between the build up and explosion of Sean's chorus to how he and Merk both take their verses by storm, how does one even dislike this song? They're both shouting each other out throughout the song and the chemistry is undeniable. I'll take more collaborations from the two of them in a heartbeat. It was really at this point in the record that I realized how solid Sean's production style is. He has a terrific command of keyboards and can lay a perfect snare like it's nothing.
Track six is a definite highlight for me. "Rap Science" kicks off with a Prodigy bar we have for the hook but the true crown jewel is the beat and Seans flow across it. Strange has been connected with EPMD and Def Squad for the majority of this past decade and this song features production from Erick Sermon and Rockwilder. Its such a fun and funky song with tambourines shaking throughout a pretty bizarre snare and bass line. It works though as Seans manic double time flow fit atop this instrumental so well. In these types of underground records that take the nineties sound into the modern era I always feel like some of the fun is lost in favor of aggression. This beat is just straight up fun and groovy. Despite the laid back reggae flavour of the beat I like that Sean still took it to another level with his lyricism. Smack that replay button for sure.
Another easy favourite of mine is still "95 Live". The track just has one of those instrumentals that hits every box on the check list. Between the simple piano keys and resonating bass and Sean's ear for snares we have one of my favourite beats on the entire album. Though the topic is pretty loose like most of the hard tracks on Street Urchin 2, we have more than enough syllable schemes and punchlines to grab hold of. Hook is simple and punchy too The attitude and pride you'd expect from Queens is alive as Sean jabs at rappers who waste their money and throws shade at hip-hop fashion too. I don't want to spoil that many of the punchlines it's just a banger that's easy to get into.
"Couples Therapy" is somewhat of a paradox. I love the keys and vocal harmonies from Salomé that open the track and Sean's earnest verses. We see Sean asking his now wife (girlfriend at the time he wrote the song) to trust in him that he'll be a dutiful husband. The pre-chorus where Sean spits "It wasn't the first and it won't be the last time/I'll let the chorus talk for every word that I can't rhyme." is a fantastic lead into Salomés beautiful chorus. The message is great but I cant help but feel these drums are... too hard. I'd never thought I'd say that but they really stick out amongst the rest of this beat.
My least favourite song on the album is probably "The Devil Is A Drug Addict". Between the cacophonous instrumental full of 808 snares and sub bass and the Sean's manic delivery it's just... too much. I love to see substance abuse be broken down in a meaningful way but this song doesn't really do this. Sean paints this picture of a neglected inner city which I do enjoy but its presented with more criticism towards the actual addicts which I didn't care for. If the aggression was toned down on a conceptual track like this I'd enjoy it a lot more. Though as I'm relatively new to listening to his solo material, so maybe he's touched this subject on earlier albums. I'll have to dig.
The contemplative portion of the album continues with "Love Me Now. Not Later". We mostly have a track here about people in his circle not valuing him or wanting things from him. I like that his delivery is more somber and the beat is as well. Piano keys and vocal chops move through another batch of drums with lots of open space in them, I'm starting to really enjoy the minimal ingredients that his beats are composed from. Memorable punchlines here too like "If you're holding onto my name make sure you wear it right." Good stuff but more of my favourite songs are just around the corner so sometimes I skip.
The second appearance of Erick Sermon on the boards is on "Peppers & Eggs". Sermon fits right in with act two with the soundtrack he's provided. It's another head and trunk knocker with Strange jumping right into his first verse as he drums drop. I love the echo on the snare and the little snaps of electric guitar. Sean Strange lends some of his better syllable schemes and wit to this song as well. We have lines about Tekashi, cruising around listening to Non Phixion as well as Sean keeping heads on his mantle. It's just one wild line after another with Sean Price and Jay-Z lines being mashed together on the turntable. It's really good.
"Vial Caps" is just snares and ignorance at it's finest. Sean recruits fellow Nah Bro MC Scott G and Griselda rapper Westside Gunn for an all out bragging contest. They each bring their own approach to Seans lumbering instrumental. Sean touches on touring all the world, sending rappers to the hospital with plenty of syllable flips to go with. I love that Gunn was still able to get his personality of adlibs and death threats into his verse and his hook here is just as wild. Scott takes his own verse by storm with lines about fiends licking plastic bags to him stepping out of sports cars. Stupid hard and my favourite collaborative track on Urchin 2.
Seans wit and bullshit detection is displayed perfectly again on "Fuck You". Pianos and fast drums takes us right into a really fun "chant and response" chorus. You can't have a bad time listening to this hook. The quips come fast on this one like "The underground king, I bring death to any and all/And if the title on the line then you should hand me the ball." or smart branding lines like "I rep the N-A-H to the B-R-O/Whether you love me or you hate me when you leave my show." The song just booms with relentless attitude from start to finish.
The next collab is on "The Nah Brothers" Corey Joseph and Stress both have good lines. Corey (formally Odoub) drops a great finishing line "You and money don't mix like an EDM DJ." Stress comparing rappers income to volunteer work is funny and he says "You talk the nineties but you were soft as shit/You walked around with tribal tattoos and frosted tips." Sean Strange compares losing to him in a battle resembling getting the Breakfast Club's Donkey Of The Day. All three of them have a solid assortment of quotables. The samples and vocals in the chorus are kinda garish but. still a good one.
My favourite Sean Strange and Salome track of the the two starts to wind down the third act of the record. "Truth Or Dare" picks up where "Love Me Now, Not Later" left off. Strange lays out his moral compass over a laid-back and contemplative instrumental. Aura Phi combines gentle keys and strings over jabbing kicks and hand claps. Sean demonstrates growth and his affinity for comparison in bars like "Crying on the shoulder of the devil when I had you pegged/Now I won't try and change your mind when you at the ledge." This hook works too as its simple but gives Salome plenty of space. The track is a strong example of the catharsis I want to hear in the third act of an album.
The self produced "Black Forest" begins with somber piano notes and echoing claps. The cool thing about the clap though is that they're so spaced apart. I did notice right away the pianos fall back in the mix in favour of the bass line and vocals, however. We see Strange getting stressed out with lines like "My girl getting worried, can't blame her for that/She know they call me for a favour everyday when I'm tapped." A great characteristic of this song is Seans screaming adlibs that lead us into chorus. The kicks drums punch through and are matched with thicker snare drums during our hook. Though it really is a slow burn, given that the majority of what Sean produced for Urchin 2 is made for more explosive concert moments, "Black Forest" is my favourite of the records closing moments.
The tail end of "Black Forest" winds down with some seriously creepy samples. Almost as if its setting us up for Sean performance on this final track. The actual earliest single of Street Urchin 2 is "Bang Your Head". It makes sense to cap off the album with this song as it dropped so early to the point where treating like a bonus track was really the only way to sequence it. This track is just all aggression and I love it. Well, parts of it. The beat is crazy with another huge snare and sinister keys but this hook is kinda repetitive I think. I do like that Seans delivery progressively more manic through each verse though. It's really a banger even though part of me feels like this album has already had so many.
Pros: Sean pen is reliably witty and his production style always slaps. You can definitely see his experience of touring has influenced his approach to music as nearly every beat is designed to incite riots. Great snares, catchy hooks and every feature fits and knows what they need to do. I always had my eye on Sean Strange but this is definitely that album that has me really tuning in for whatever he does.
Cons: As much as I love the New York sound, I do think there is room for Sean to broaden his production style. Once the album is through you realize Urchin 2 doesn't really have anything experimental. Most of these beats here are gigantic snares and piano keys. I'd love to see more intros, more instrumental bridges and perhaps a little less frustration. Sean spends, in my opinion, way too much time being confrontational toward different styles of rap. I suspect there is little overlap between his fan base and the fans of someone in the mainstream circuit so there's a few moments where I'm wondering who those lines are even meant for.
Street Urchin 2 is a pretty consistent record. All the attitude and tradition you'd want an MC from Queens to have Sean deliver and then some. You can bump this in the gym no problem. There's no feature that doesn't deserve to be here either as the whole Nah Bro team have great entries and so do all the outside names. The branding and personality of Sean is unshakable as well and he takes us through all kinds of knocking boom bap production. There a few songs where I found the concept didn't really stick the landing though.
