In Cassette City, Philly born multi-instrumentalist Lushlife, a.k.a. Raj Halder, has found a beautiful mesh of beats and flows, delivering a very respectable sophomore release. This album came as a breath of fresh air in my inbox. Only a few tracks in, I was convinced that this is a serious release that needs to be recognized and realized by the public eye. This album spans neck breaking beats and airy Beach Boys harmonies that should satisfy the most intimate hip-hop head and the heart of indie kids alike.
As a classically trained musician, Raj has found a way to meld his polished knowledge base in music theory with raw and grimy samples. For the most part the feeling is on the hype and up-tempo side of things, with gems like “Another Word for Paradise” (featuring mid-90s representatives Camp Lo), where Raj prescribes a strong dose of boom bap beats, over horn and vocal stabs, nicely topped off with a serious amount of mid 90s hip-hop vocal samples in the choruses.
Cassette City is a definite gem; every song is out to uplift and refresh, like a tall glass of an acoustic Kool-Aid on a hot summer day. Enjoy.
