Reviewed: 13/05/2020

Yxng Bane is like most of us in the UK – stuck in lockdown with nothing but time on his hands. Able to work from home, the UK Drill and Afroswing artist has produced a rather forgettable mixtape.

Hosted by DJ Charlie Sloth, this mixtape peddles the same beats and rhythms one expect from the fledgling Afroswing genre, producing a sameness to almost every track.

Sloth introduces us to the track with his obnoxious signature echo distortion, and whilst the gimmick is a nice idea, it quickly becomes boring through the initial skit, let alone the other two one the tape.

Yxng Bane is still yet to release a full length LP, but he still pulls in a long list of guest artists to feature across this set of songs.

The opening three are run of the mill Afroswing – Drip From Me is the most generic and offensively bland song on the tape, whilst the track Section had been released a month prior to the album’s conception. It does have an interesting guitar melody, and whilst it is a little bit grimier than most Afroswing, it is still a tame track.

Table For Two continues the tepid beginning to the album, before the first switch up into a more drill based track on Are You Mad.

Featuring K-Trap, we see another return to a guitar led tune which incorporates aspects of drill. K-Trap’s intro carries the song, whilst the autotuned chorus from Bane isn’t awful. That being said, it doesn’t add much either. It almost feels as if this is a K-Trap track that Bane guests on, but it is a brief bright spot.

It’s not surprise it is the only track from this to chart – but only as high as 66th place

Father is a softer drill tune layered with the aforementioned autotune, but finally used in some moderation. Passable, but not really noteworthy beyond the hook.

Charlie Sloth returns again for almost a minute of the unbearable voice distortion. It serves as a tenuous link to the next track, a song with Yxng Bane’s frequent collaborators D-Block Europe.

Labelled Rockstar, it produces the most laughable line of the entire album in the chorus.

Yeah, rockstar life, I’m livin’ life that you could never live (Brrt)
She said “fuck me in the arse, I’m high off ketamine” (Brrt)

D-Block Europe have never been afraid to go for the risqué lyrics – Home Pussy springs to mind, but this is so absurd and quite out of place. And the fact it is repeated numerous times is simply hilarious.

If you take this track as seriously as it takes itself, I.E, not at all, then it is somewhat enjoyable at best, completely passable at worst. The beat is quite catchy, but again it relies on the guest appearance from DBE.

MCM is a song with a decent premise surrounding the concept of being someone’s Man Crush Monday. A big part of the social media landscape, this is an interesting take on it, and the autotune is actually used properly for once. The beat is airy, slow and spaced out. At no point is it unbearable, and is probably the best track on the album.

The final leg of the album is inundated with features, starting on the track Porsche, featuring the recently released from prison Headie One. Considering he was only released at the start of April, he is in prolific form after dropping a mixtape, GANG, and a feature on this. Impressive.

Another largely forgettable track, the flow from both just sounds miserable and disinterested.

Kojo Funds comes in on the track Change Your Life which swings back towards Afroswing, and overall is okay. It doesn’t invoke any strong emotions for me, and with a simple beat and instrumental, doesn’t really get you moving either.

Rubbish begins with a really interesting sample and piano tune, before being butchered by the autotune, again. A smart idea instantly dismissed, and the feature from G Frsh doesn’t really add much to the tail end of the track. His flow is decent and the highlight of the song, but it isn’t really amazing either.

Another Sloth interlude arrives before the last track, and the less said about it the better. Perhaps I’m being too harsh, because I do enjoy the premise, and to be fair, this is exactly what Sloth is known for, but it just becomes so jarring and over the top.

The final track Thriller is exactly the opposite of the title. A slow track, M Huncho joins Bane in another disinterested, autotuned flow which kinda sums up this project as a whole.

Overall I wouldn’t really recommend it, but if you’re sat around doing nothing better, and you really like Drill and Afroswing, then go for it.

Track Listing

• Charlie Sloth Intro (Skit)
• Drip From Me (C-)
• Section (C)
• Table For Two (C-)
• Are You Mad (C+)
• Father (C)
• Charlie Sloth Interlude 1 (Skit)
• Rockstar (C+)
• MCM (C+)
• Porsche (C-)
• Change Your Life (C)
• Rubbish (C)
• Charlie Sloth Interlude 2 (Skit)
• Thriller (C-)