EMMANUEL EP - Ameer Vann: Review
is a Los Angeles based rapper and former member of West Coast hip hop collective/boy band Brockhampton, before being forced out of the group as a response to sexual assault allegations in 2018. He has been quiet since then before returning to social media out of the blue and dropping this surprise EP.
Review By Lavender:
I really had no idea what to expect going into this EP. Ameer delivered on some of the most cold blooded moments across the Saturation trilogy on tracks like Heat and Boogie. But by the time the trilogy came to a close he had also developed a trademark cadence fans referred to as "The Ameer Flow" which became incredibly tired and was one of the elements that made Saturation III the weakest of the trilogy as it appears on song after song. Ameer's complete musical silence since December of 2017 did have me worried, but Emmanuel is proof that he is pretty much picking up right where he left off, for better or for worse.
One thing I should address right away for Brockhampton fans, specifically newer ones that are considering giving this project a listen. Ameer directly addresses events regarding the group on this record and he does it in the absolute worst way possible. While his flows don't suffer and his lyricism is typically pretty vivid in his descriptions his lyrical approach to these topics is that of a grumpy toddler as he rapidly bounces between threatening to kill himself and shit-talking people who justifiably turned their back on him. His inability to accept that his situation is 100% his fault is a cancer that infests this entire EP and makes for so many eye-rolling petty moments lyrically. In spite of this I tried my best to put myself into his mindset where the technicality of his lyrics are pretty well executed and performed, and judged the record as best I could.
The album does not get off to a great start, but it does go up from there. Emmanuel is the opener and title track and it hits right away the same very tired and uninspired flow that had me so bored with Ameer the last time we heard from him. The lyrics are sharp despite playing a whiny victim card but his performance is really the songs only highlight as he is very clearly wearing his heart on his sleeve. The part of the track that makes me question Ameer's judgement is the absolutely horrible "beat" if you can call it that. This is definitely one of the worst instrumental passages I've heard this year and Ameer may as well be freestyling as the beat is worthless in establishing his cadence or flow. I think this song would literally be better and more enjoyable as an acapella performance and that is very tough to do in hip-hop. Plastic is the closing song and the other track here that isn't very good. It has a weirdly bright almost playful instrumental that sounds terrible alongside Ameer's performance. While the two elements are decent separately this is one of the stranger beat choices on the record and it doesn't really work.
Pop Trunk is a slight improvement to a generic trap instrumental but thankfully Ameer is better too. He delivers the hook on this track with an absolutely cutthroat flair that I love and despite Ameer losing track of his flow once or twice this song is definitely better than the first one. Los Angeles is another decent track that has the most cringey lyrics of any song here. The track at it's core is anout Ameer's love/hate relationship with Los Angeles and how it developed and he sticks pretty tightly to the theme, the hook is solid and his ability to stay focused makes for a pretty decent moment.
Thankfully there are a pair of tracks on the record that remind me of what made Ameer such a standout performer in the early days of Brockhampton. Glock 19 is an absolute banger with yet another brilliant hook. The instrumental is absolutely wild and Ameer meets it with an exciting and intense performance making for one of the EP's most complete songs. Sunday Night is the EP's highlight and an absolutely great track that FINALLY sees Ameer switching up his flow and it comes at a great time as the song has the best hook on the album and a swirling psychedelic beat that I love. Once again there are some lyrical passages I really wish I could forget but the song itself is too good.
Emmanuel is a short hit or miss proof of concept for an Ameer solo project that has more hits than misses but gets taxing even in its short length when it starts and ends with bad songs. The biggest hurdle to overcome is Ameer's frankly disgusting attitude towards the situation but after that you have to get over every bar on most of these songs starting with "I". Thankfully the EP has plenty of worthwhile moments, but very few complete ones and as an example of what Ameer's solo career may be like I'm hoping for improvements going forward. 6/10
To catch up on Ameer's old group check out my review of Brockhampton's Ginger here
