It's looking like more than ever Chicago has a case of what De La Soul referred to as “potholes”. Stretching the definition beyond road issues, Chicago's potholes should include a murder rate that does not subside (400 bodies deep by October), a teacher's strike only recent filled in (think of the time lost though), and sitting atop this throne of miseducation and crime is rapper Chief Keef.
It was eight years ago Galapagos 4 member Robust addressed the “potholes” on a personal level with his debut Potholes In Our Molecules. With tracks like “Pessimist Recipe” and “Thinking Ahead Of Time”, the debut was a beacon of raw young talent from an artist who was all too familiar with his station. How could a dude who can rap so well, have such a half-empty mentality?
Robust dropped seven releases in the eight years since Potholes In Our Molecules (including an incredible collab-record with Prolyphic called Stick Figures that is not to be overlooked) and it seems as though he's finally ready to tackle the potholes again. His new album on Galapagos is entitled Fillin In Potholes.
This is not a 2 rap record. This is not the equivalent of OB4CL2 or Blueprint 2. It's not a rapper trying to grasp to the glory of a past success. It's a man who's eight years older bringing a wiser mind to the same problems he couldn't fix in the past. On “Loop Dreams” not much has changed in Robust's flow, it's still the laid back style, but he's got more of a “put the city on my shoulders” approach. He's got dreams of being in The Loop, references to classic local cuts like “How We Chill” and still plenty of concern for his station, which he handles with precision: “keep my cool and my soul on ice / while I roll the dice.”
Robust's Fillin In Potholes is out November 6 on Galapagos 4.
