Ghetto Gods - Earthgang

Earthgang

are a hip hop duo composed of Doctor Dot and Johnny Venus from Atlanta who originally founded the rap collective Spillage Village, before joining J. Cole's Dreamville label a few years ago. That led to their debut album Mirrorland in 2019 as well as a prominent spot on Revenge Of The Dreamers III and the Spillage Village album in 2020. Ghetto Gods is the highly anticipated sophomore album which the band teased with a trio of singles dating back to last year.

Review By Lav:
I had the same read that most people did of Earthgang's debut Mirrorland. While it showed immense potential and had some huge highlights it was also decidedly bloated and a little thematically inconsistent. As for those two issues they have fixed the thematic inconsistencies quite a bit on this record with strong song concepts that connect throughout the record and create a dynamic tracklist. As for the bloated tracklist that is less remedied and more pivoted. There are very few songs on the record I would consider filler, instead there are songs that go on for far too long and spend a surprising amount of time just waiting to end.  All of that adds up to an album that I would consider an improvement on their debut, but not quite reaching their potential. 

The whole first half of the record is really strong and it's really not until the second have or even the last quarter of the tracklist that some of my least favorite songs appear. Smoke Sum is the kind of generic smoking anthem that you see on all kinds of different records these days. I don't think they really do anything interesting or original with the style but more than anything else the song just doesn't sound like very much fun or have the vibes you'd expect from this kind of song. 

Power is an absolutely impossible to process song that starts off with a good opening verse even though the beat is kind of dry. The hook is where it goes off the deep end when the song starts to pay service to Nick Cannon of all people. While that on its own may not be the worst thing in the entire world the way they go about it is so dumb and ends with one of the most pointedly cringey lyrics I think I've ever heard in my life and the whole thing just seems self-defeating. As if that wasn't enough to process the song ends with a CeeLo Green feature and it's absolutely the most bloodthirsty thing I've heard him do since the 90's so honestly make of this song what you will. 

While the issue of songs going on for too long persists throughout the entire record, the worst examples also come towards the end. Lie To Me is probably the worst example even though I don't really think it's a bad song or anything. The warped psychedelic beat is cool at first but it wears off long before the song is over and even though there's a good verse or two the whole second half of the track feels like it's just waiting to end. Closing track Run Too has a similar problem plus I'm not crazy about the Ari Lennox hook. Her vocals work a lot better as support for the long Johnny Venus verse on the track which is admittedly a huge highlight. It's just a shame that the whole record ends off with the slow and aimless fade out of this track. 

While the albums trio of singles certainly weren't the most instantaneous to click with me I do think they are all still highlights within the tracklist of the album. Amen uses the evocative hook of "get down on your knees for me if you really love me" but obviously implies it in a religious nature. Once I got past that initially questionable choice the song itself is actually a really sweet and sonically compelling tune. I wasn't crazy about All Eyes On Me on me at first but in no small part due to how many times I've watched the excellent music video attached to it, it's grown on me. Despite not really developing in that meaningful of a way I think the style it sticks with is still pretty satisfying and the thematic process of seeing both Johnny and Dot try and process their role and identity as successful black men is impressive. 

American Horror Story dropped last year and what it lacks in a unique beat it more than makes up for with a spectacular lyrical showing. The song draws a straight line from the origin of black people in America as slaves directly to the break-out success of Earthgang, the first generation of their families to acquire wealth. Johnny's opening verse on the song is an absolute show stopper and one of my favorite things on the entire record. Even though the hook isn't great I can still more than tolerate it since it's clearly not the focus of the track. Another lyrical highlight, though a very stylistically different one is Black Pearls. This song is FAR hornier than anything else on the record and I love the way Johnny kicks the song off with his intro, hook then opening verse. The song may not be "conscious" but it is consistent in its thematic impression even the surprising Baby Tate feature where she holds her own weight really well. 

This is the point where I want to talk about how good the skits and interludes on this record are at both maintaining thematic elements and setting up songs before they arrive. Moments like The Glow, Neezy's Walk and especially JT's spotlight grabbing Jeans Interlude do a ton of good work at maintaining the progression of the list. Speaking of that, the opening song Ghetto Gods is a great start to the record that thematically seems to set the tone of the whole concept of being "ghetto gods". They do a lot of musing about their role and status within hip hop and as members of their own personal communities. This is a theme that persists across the whole album and the way they set it in motion here is continually satisfying. 

If the record was going to have a breakout hit I think it will be Billi. It's an absolute banger of a trap cut with a simple but infectious hook and a Future feature. It's infectious and high energy style works perfectly with enough of a splash of Earthgang weirdness to set it apart. Waterboyz is a song that's going to attract a lot of attention as it sports JID and J. Cole features. While I'm once again not crazy about the hook especially with how may times they return to it across the song. Dot's verse takes up a large portion of the middle of the song and is an absolute show stealer but the talent of everyone involved is no doubt impressive throughout. 

The last song I'd like to highlight is my favorite on the record and honestly probably one of the best songs I've heard all year, Strong Friends. I love the idea of checking in on you're friends even the ones who seem like they don't need it. The lyrics about being there for the little things is really great ad the whole song is built around a touching level of friendship and vulnerable details that I think so few current voices in hip hop are capable of exploring. The whole thing is really kind of beautiful and sounds great and I just can't get enough of it.

Ghetto Gods is an impressive sophomore outing from Earthgang with a number of impressive highlights. When you listen to the entire album there are some issue that can start to appear, namely songs that go on too long and a less than impressive collection of hooks. But that isn't worth ignoring all the amazing lyrical talent, vocal eccentricity and thematic consistency that Johnny and Dot build across the album. Once again I'm coming away from an Earthgang record impressed, but with the understanding that if the duo ever reached their fullest potential they could make an all time great record in the process. What we're left with is a pretty good album full of enjoyable tunes, that both lives and occasionally dies by the little details. 7.5/10

Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:

I really like this cover. It's dynamic and the lighting makes the whole image. The use of texture with the fence and depth made by having the eyes in the background makes it exciting and full of small details. That added in with the small branding in the corner makes this a great cover and more than just an already cool photograph. 8.5/10

For more hip hop check out my review of Saba's Few Good Things here