Who are they? Pro Era are a group of young rappers (and artists) straight from the streets of Brooklyn, New York. They're headed by Joey Bada$$ who is definitely the most well known figure but as a group they stand alone as some of the top emcees and producers coming through. They've been hailed as the return of hip hop, especially the gritty, grimey New York hip hop we all know and love. They're an interesting group of lads who are a part of this group of young musicians who aren't content with the way the world is and are using their skills to voice these beliefs.

'The Shift' serves as a bit of a filler. Not a filler as in 'we'll just put this out for the sake of it even if it's shit', but something to fill the gap between solo albums. It's 5 songs of absolute fire, served to give fans and hip hop fans a reminder that Pro Era are out here grinding.

The name of the project gives you a bit of an idea about who they are and what to expect. Who knows for certain, but I take 'The Shift' to mean a general shift towards in culture. You could get pretty deep but with the way they handle their business and rep '47' - the 4th and 7th Chakras, show that they aren't about all this crazy, label, negative shit of the last decade or so. They keep it G, spread knowledge and epitomise the shift towards a younger culture. They do so by spitting flames all over the joint with Kirk Knight definitely emerging as an absolute beast with his verse on 'Extortion'. Knight not only drops some fly bars on 'Extortion' but also conjured up the beat, he's one talented mofo.

"Yeah, my mentality is hostile
12 and I'm riding with Apostles
Beast Coast, nigga can't stop us
Henny straight blocking my chakras
This is but a dream
Life is not what it seems"

Kirk Knight - Extortion

We've been exposed to the main cats in Pro Era for a while now, the likes of Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Dyemond Lewis and Kirk Knight but 'The Shift' brings out the whole crew and puts the team on. 'Come Come' features Dirty Sanchez, Jakk the Rhymer and Rokamouth who do nothing but keep the vibe going on the second track. Full of angst and skill, they show that talent runs deep in Pro Era with Rokamouth also producing the beat. 'Hail Razor' is cut from the same cloth with CJ Fly joining Dessy Hinds and A La $ole. Every rapper has a different voice tone, style, flow and delivery which gives all the songs a few levels, it's like each verse is a different chapter but of course like dope groups previously, the chemistry is evident. CJ Fly has a real deep voice, smooth and sultry but still delivers the bars while Dessy Hinds is a bit more high pitched, more attacking the beat. Makes things interesting.

"Check the verbal attack, it's early in the rap
To leave you in a surgical strap
Then get your verse dispursed with a thirst for snipping raps
All killers scrap with a thriller latch
You got a sick beat? My heartbeat sicker, call it a iller batch"

Dessy Hinds - 'Hail Razor'

The last two songs 'On my life' and 'Butterflies' are a little less in your face, more reflective and dreamy. Still just as dope as the others and they fit perfectly in to the tape. Nyck Caution and Bada$$ drop some smooth verses for 'On my life' while 'Butterflies' is a posse cut with the Era coming at you for 10 odd minutes.

"I never neglect and I never regret
Never lookin back in retrospect on what I could get
What I forget?
‘Cause If you snooze you lose, coulda, shoulda, woulda, but you didn’t come through
True
I never say that I lose cause when I lose I’m wise
And when I win I’m happy just for that moment in time"

Joey Bada$$ - On my life

There aren't many rappers, let alone collectives that could drop a little teaser mixtape like ' The Shift' and it be better than half the competition. Wiz Khalifa dropped his '28 Grams' mixtape around the same time and I've been jamming both, as they both have their purpose but I'd rather listen to 5 songs from Pro Era than 28 songs from Wiz everyday of the week.

The Era will be doing a fair amount of solo work with Joey Bada$$ soon to drop an album, so keep an eye out for their individual stuff but any time you get a group with this much skill and chemistry it's a pleasure. Honestly, after 5 songs I want a whole lot more but I guess that's just the genius of the Era - it's just enough to showcase their talents and keep you anticipating their upcoming stuff.