LA-via-Texas rapper Whookilledkenny’s dropped a new EP “Strictly Business,” this past Friday.
The EP is a mix of smooth R&B and hard-hitting rap, tied together by his original flair. The release comes with a music video for the lead single “Worth It.”
Hailing from Texas, a state known for its hip hop culture, the mind immediately goes to Houston. Yet, he hails from Austin, and much like Aubrey Graham before he put The 6 on the map, he’s all but carrying his city on his back. With his last project titled “No Refunds,” Kenny has made it clear he’s all about his grind (right on down to his own tequila brand), and that nothing will get in the way.
His “Strictly Business” EP earns its EPMD nod, but it’s a world entirely of Kenny’s creation. To kick things off he opens with “Pleasure Me” and lets the title tell it all: he’s letting the ladies in his life carry the action, with dominant keys and thudding bass, nearly ominous in their thudding presence, he spins a yarn of being unimpressed with just about everyone around him. “I let her pull my chain, now she drip like sesame,” he boasts, and it feels more than earned. “Don Julio”, immediately lets the listener know just what kind of game he’s spitting: “$20,000 on a bitch I might like / if she got her funds right she might be my type.” It’s a commanding track, hard-edged and defiant.
“Teach Her the Game” switches things up with a smooth slice of R&B adjacent rap, with Kenny wanting to show his girl the finest of things. The track is a classic player anthem to cruise and get ready to, and was produced by Hollywood Cole (who has produced for Drake, Isaiah Rashad, and Lil Wayne) to deliver some laid back melodic vibes. Here, Kenny mixes pure confidence and modesty with uncanny ease, sliding across the track with the likes of, “Nah, I ain’t perfect, but who’s better than me?”
Next up is the arguable centerpiece, “Worth It”, which finds him willing to do just about anything – if she’s worth it. He’s riding through a city that he rightfully feels is his, with its video finding him cruising through the LA streets. His PTF – Pay the Fee – mentality is on full display as he cavorts about the city with his partner. “Found a way, yeah, it’s workin’”, he declares, with a sense of earned might bleeding through the speakers, before the song slides into the slowed down sound that helped put his State on the map. DJ Screw himself would nod along.
To close out the EP, Kenny slows things down with “GLAD I SPENT IT.” His interests remain largely the same – women, and introducing them to his world – but he lets a more soulful take bleed into the track. With an addictive vocal sample in the background and head-nodding drums, Kenny makes it clear nothing is wasted so long as you mean it and enjoy it. It looks back to all the decisions he’s made to get here, all while looking forward to a more than promising future.
© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
