Baltimore's 83 Cutlass recorded his debut on his own, producing the entirety of it and at times only allowing his voice to be the truest of instruments. 83 Cutlass sounds as though he's channeling the spirit of the Last Poets, as his songs and spoken word pieces express the economic woes of the modern man, who's got to grind for every cent earned, but is also susceptible to squandering those cents on vices. On “Time vs. Money” 83 Cutlass sees his friend pushed into a coroner van and he knows, there's no money for a funeral, while the song before that “Letter from the Devil” has 83 Cutlass chasing nose candy and white girls rather than being a father to his kids.
On “My Grandmother's Basement” 83 Cutlass goes too far with a “I'm the shit” metaphor, but once it's over he exudes raw power over the heavy riffing comparing his high to the heels of strippers. The record closes with “Baltimore”, which sounds like an extension of The Wire narative as 83 Cutless questions the American Dream and the disillusions bought into by the people in his community.
83 Cutlass' debut is streaming here.
Dowload 83 Cutlass' record here.
