Following Dreamville's signing of Spillage Village member J.I.D, fellow Spillage Village homies EarthGang got the Dreamville treatment. EG (consisting of Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot) have been on the steady come up for a few years and represent a different side to Atalanta, which is made crystal clear by J Cole in this 'RAGS' video from when Cole crossed paths with EG and J.I.D a few years back:

As he often does, Cole drops some gems there and outlines a different vibe, different sound coming out of the south. EG are at the forefront of that and their cheeky EP 'Rags' encapsulates the vibe out of United States of America, blending some strong messages and poetry with a funky sound that is as equally interesting as their witty, insightful bars.

Coming it at just over 20 minutes via five songs, Rags packs so much into a tight spot. There's not just immense rewind value in catching the plethora of bars that demand attention, the variety of sounds and themes offered by each song, packed into five songs is a fair achievement in itself. J.I.D's opening few bars on the first track Medidate set the tone in that regard as J.I.D fires off what will become the hook later in the song and that could be beginning of a typically brilliant J.I.D verse in itself.

Medidate zones in on a racial vibe, meditating on USA's current situation if you will and what I love about this track is the different perspective and rawness. EG deliver their verses from the gutter and when address such matters, they blend raw bars with skill and a poetic nature that - for new listeners - is immediate testament of their craft. Next up you've got Nowhere Fast with Childish Major singing the hooker and this is a more mellow, introspective vibe. Nowhere Fast and Red Light is where I started to fully understand my perspective of Rags as Red Light takes on a slightly more inspirational, story-telling vibe that follows on from the meditation of the current situation, then the come up.

Red Light has a quicker tempo, "now they fuckin' with me" narrative but it's rooted in the reality of their journey. How these dudes describe situations is note-worthy;

"All or nothing, all it ever was
Pass life still keep in touch, way past the point of no return
Overlooking what you overheard, I just feel another temperature
Built the floor sleeping on the floor
What you know about taking everything you ever owned everywhere you ever go
Every stop, cutting something lose
Found my auntie brother knocked out, picked him out the pavement after school
Every casualty casual, never really matter who you matter to" (Doctur)

There's immense skill and yeah, wizardry in their writing which forms the crux of my joy in listening to Rags.

Legendari is the song you play to your homies when you're on a mission, grinding, hustling with intentions of making your life something better than what is was, and your homies ain't doing jack. This type of jam is what I draw inspiration from and you'd be wise to make notes to the wisdom offered. Mick Jenkins pops up on the last track House, which is more lovey-dovey and while this is a bit of an out-lier track on the surface, that deviates from the general narrative, it's the perfect ending to Rags. Jenkins' feature blends the social commentary/reality poetry aspect of the previous songs with a hopeful, more romantic vibe.

Despite being only five jams long, Rags is linked together by some skits that offer a humurous pause in between jams. You'll need to listen to Rags and most importantly, listen from start to finish to feel how it all comes together. I highlight the skits and flow of Rags because I find it super impressive how EG built such a concise piece of work with so many layers, so much depth.

As for the overall sound or production? Well, let's just say it stinks of Atlanta and the general south. There's a wave of incredible creativity coming out of the south and EG's Rags is just another example of how exciting the future is for these artists.