Mixtape Review: Robb Bank$ - Tha City [ @BankSquiat ]
After push back after push back of this mixtape, via Twitter of course, Robb Bank$ finally lets the world have his new project entitled "Tha City".
While putting in months of work on Tha City, Bank$ was still rolling on success of his previous tape Calendars. He proved that he was a malleable artist in that there was a little bit of everything on Calendars. He used trap beats and talked about moving work and his love for his gold fronts. However he also used beats from Clams Casino and even used the "One In A Million" instrumental and let you into his world of avid drug use and love for the opposite sex. He also put out teaser tracks such as "Practice" featuring Sir Michael Rocks and All The Way Live to keep fans (mostly on Tumblr and in Broward) waiting on his the drop of Tha City.
Firs things first, can we all please look at this cover? There was the rumor that Robb Bank$ was the son of Shaggy and from the looks of things it must have some merit. I literally had to stop and look closely to see just what was going on in that picture, but bold move Bank$. Much respect.
Tha City is a 17 track tape with each song named after a different city around the world. Bank$, although is not an official member of Raider Klan, had the aid of SpaceGhostPurrp and his producer Nuri on production and mixing of Tha City. As it should, the tape brings you up and down as far as the ordering of tracks. It starts a little trippy, gets your head bobbing, gets a little more trippy, then you hit That Sound and you just want to turn up. In short, there is a good mixture of sounds on Tha City. There are also a few surprises as far as the beats. There is a sample of "Girl Gimme That" on Mouth, see if you can catch it. Also, shoutout to the fact that there is a Zaytooven beat on the tape, salute.
What is interesting about Robb Bank$ is his booth presence. The mixture of his Florida accent and his love for prescription cough syrup gives him a distinct slur when he raps. At times it is difficult to decipher lyrics but his sound is definitely all his own. It almost draws you in to want to listen closer and understand his lyrics. Once you get past that, you will catch all the anime, pop culture, father problem, A$AP Mob and Flatbush Zombie disses, prescription drugs, money and hoe references Robb Bank$ drops throughout the tape. Personal favorites from an initial listen are definitely That Sound, All The Way Live, On Me and Mouth.
Robb Bank$ did show a good bit of progression on Tha City. He gives new flows, deeper bars and it seems he has found his sound with his choice of instrumentals. As he does what he can to put on Broward County, it is safe to say Tha City will be slept on, which is expected. A lot of music has dropped in 2013 and it wouldn't be surprising to see this tape not receive the shine it really deserves. Despite all of this, Robb Bank$ is on the come up and you can listen to the tape above and form an opinion.