Features

Chaundon "The Backtwista" is the latest member of North Carolina's Justus League (JL) crew to deliver us product. His effort comes in the form of a mixtape that runs 26 tracks deep.

In typical JL fashion, the mixtape sets off with the "WJLR" radio drop and parlays into a mix of snippets of songs from artists like Dr Dre, DMX and Lil Kim that when put together, describe what Chaundon has set out to do…"The World knew I had to come once more…," "…and I'm about to murder cats," "Empire's come tumblin' down," "another classic CD for y'all to vibe with." If you're familiar with other Justice League material, than you know that it's not unusual for their albums to follow a radio format, but instead of the JL fam introducing tracks throughout the disc, "Slow Leaks" has drops from Hot 97 for DJ Green Lantern and DJ Clue and plays as if they are previewing the album over the weekend like they typically do with major releases.

I'm going to set it off with where this mixtape comes up short…Guests, and selection of tracks for freestyles. For a new artist, there are too many guests most of which are outshined by Chaundon. "Y'all Don't Want War" is a prime example and also suffers on the production end. When it comes to freestyles, Chaundon is nice, but I was tired of Puff's "Benjamins" years ago, and Knoc'turnal's "Bad Intentions" is better left alone. On "Ignition (The Overdub Remix)" Chaundon drops double time verses over R Kelly's over-played "Ignition," and when you take all of these tracks and spread them throughout the disc, it breaks up the consistency of some of the original tracks.

Now that that's out the way, rest assured Chaundon can definitely deliver some lines that will have you backin' up the track from time to time. On "Heat" he rhymes, "You're the nicest on your block, 'til I cross the street," and on "Few Seconds to Detonate" 'Chaun rhymes for a solid 45 seconds droppin' battle rhymes, "it was all good a week ago until I came your way/who said you were a heavyweight/descriptive with a paper mate/fuck you and your label mates/I'm fatter in this paper chase/a loss is what you're bound to see/those who used to follow you are suddenly surrounding me."

If you've noticed that Chaundon hasn't been featured as prominently as other Justice League members on their releases, then "Grapevine" should explain that. Over one of the nicest tracks on the disc, he addresses his move to NYC to run with DV Alias Khrist and his crew and assures everyone that he is still 100% JL affiliated and is still down.

"Get Paid" takes top billing from me on this disc, on the outside it reads like your typical flossin' track, but instead of rhymin' about what he's got, he's rhymes about how he hustles and is unapologetic about how easy it is, "If Money is the root of all evil than I'm Satin himself/I can't drive my Range rover cause money is the sweetest hangover/I'm a lazy thug, I don't work for the dollars the dollars work for me." From slangin' pre-paid phone cards, to bootlegging ("I even bootleg operatin' right outta my house/with the click of a mouse/I can't wait until Jigga come out"), to "selling rumors and lies to supermarket tabloids," to "bettin' chips on the Lakers," to recruiting strippers from out of town to make him money in Hunt's Point, he "ain't do shit all day, but get paid!" He wraps it up with "I'm about to stop rappin 'cause writin's a chore/start my own label up and hire all them rappers that's raw/the less work I do and more dough I see/makes a whole lot of sense now don't you agree?"

With "More Than a Friend" Chaundon switches it up and takes the backseat to the blazing R&B vocals of newcomer Frank Ford. Ford's vocals play the role of his sub-conscious debating telling his female friend he has feelings for her, and Chaundon's rhymes play out as what he is actually saying to her. JL fam 9th Wonder supplies his typical magic on the track.

"Slow Leaks" the mixtape serves it's purpose of introducing Chaundon and his ample skills to the game, but as it's own musical entity it lacks the consistency that will no doubt shine when we see an official LP of original material from "The Backtwista."

Reviewer: JtothaI@thaformula.com

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