Lastly, AJ Tracey is adamantly NOT funky, but we threw him in anyway for giggles.
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[5.83]
Micha Cavaseno: If Nike Tracksuits and Varsity Jackets could avoid clashing, you’d get AJ Tracey down to a T. The Ladbroke Grove-hailing MC has an effortless team captain cool about him; he demonstrates general wit that appeals to everyone in a vapid way, not offering too much introspection or even colorful imagination, but he’s unmistakably charming, playful, and his nimble-tongue has a way of dancing out bars that few are matching. Records like the Alex Moran EP are frustrating in how he’s so solid to the point of codified… Man can only live off tales of guns, gash, green and gallantry for so long. “Buster Cannon” is probably one of the less interesting outings, thanks to the ever hit and miss output of Canadian try-hard Tre Mission’s grime-by-numbers and a pretty middling hook. But if there’s anything I love about AJ, its those casual flow-switches (see: second verse) where you can appreciate the ease with which he can work in the genre. If anything, that’s his problem: grime is so effortless for AJ Tracey, you get the feeling he isn’t even trying.
[3]
Alfred Soto: Backstage all he sees are bums and boobs, so he settles for rhyme-slinging on stage — the only place where he feels comfortable. Getting the flow right and finding correct descriptors mitigates any hint of malice; he’s observing not criticizing. He isn’t even condemning himself and insisting it makes him interesting — what a concept.
[7]
Iain Mew: Comparing himself to star footballer of 2016 N’Golo Kanté feels apt, because the chief asset AJ Tracey brings to “Buster Cannon” is the same relentless persistence and energy in covering ground you’d expect it to take a few people to manage. Back him up with a producer or partner who can lend a bit more finesse than “Buster Cannon” has, and we could be talking a winner.
[5]
Megan Harrington: Relentless and penetrating, a sadist’s drill scattering skull fragments over your grey matter like so much salt and pepper.
[9]
Ryo Miyauchi: I always have a soft spot for emcees getting away with using a nerdy ass reference for their hook or a punchline as AJ Tracey does here. But it’d be great if his mentioned roof-blowing success matched even a fraction of energy of an actual Buster Cannon. It takes nonchalance to successfully slide in such a reference, though I also want the record to feel like he’s bringing something atomic, not just wiping the dirt off his shoulder.
[5]
Anthony Easton: Rare do we get a Dragon Ball Z reference, and an excellent, triple barrelled dick joke–dense with meaning, not very much of it significant, the thickness of this has an unrelenting speed.
[6]