Two of Portland’s biggest rap imports, The Last Artful, Dodgr and Myke Bogan, have been in the booth working. Their new EP, Rare Treat – which doubles as a group name for the charismatic vocal tandem plus EYRST producer Neill Von Tally – dropped last night and is grabbing major attention in the city.
Von Tally’s imprint is all over this one, combining spacy, futuristic soundscapes with hard hitting drums and analog filters for a unique sound that doesn’t really fit in a box. Dodgr transitions from song to rap at will, relying heavily on her unparalleled vocal qualities to add depth to the Von Tally’s production while Bogan carefully enunciates his unapologetically irreverent bars with striking precision.
The EP plays through like a short story, featuring 4 remarkably cohesive tracks, each of which manages to strike a separate set of emotions. Starting with the high-energy Pop!, the project curiously decreases in energy – though not in quality – culminating in the ironically sleepy Jawbreaker. I’m not sure there’s a standout single; rather, each track is capable of standing on its own.
I can’t say I’ve heard anything quite like this. Ultimately entertaining with tons of metaphorical fodder worth analyzing again and again, Rare Treat earns its name for sure.
No free stream for this one. But check it out on iTunes or stream it on Spotify. Well worth it. #OutHere