SeDrew Price's T.D.A.T (The Day After Tomorrow) Mixtape: A Review

Coming straight out of Las Vegas, Nevada is an upcoming rapper by the name of SeDrew Price. Making some noise with mixtapes like The Rebellion and Rap or Die, Mr. Price recently released his latest mixtape T.D.A.T (The Day After Tomorrow), which is quite an entertaining listen.

It's an interesting sonic experience. The instrumentals are unique to say the least. To give you an idea: SeDrew's Lewis and Clark interpolates Billy Joel's I'm Moving Out with Soulja Boy's Crank That. But it works. The musicality of the mixtape immediately draws you in: the trumpets, the organs, the eerie sound effects...and the vocals. His vocals bounce off the beat but always fall in the right place recalling the off-kilter flows of the Pharcyde or E-40. He also is not afraid to croon, or otherwise experiment with his vocals -whispering, falsetto flow, baritone flow, nasal flow, elongated syllables, all of which add to the experience. He is fearless musically, in the some vein as Kid Cudi or Bobby Ray on his recent B.O.B. vs. Bobby Ray mixtape (read review), or their forefather, Outkast's Andre 3000. The mixtape is striking in its completeness; indeed it is a bit overwhelming.

His wordplay is strong: he seems to prefer simile, double entendre, and multisyllabic punchlines to metaphor. Twin Towers, which samples Tru Life's The New New York is ample evidence of his verbal chops, and is it is one of the two songs that features a guest, it is clear that SeDrew's unique flow makes him hard to compare to more conventional lyricists. But it is a little bit too much to take in as his vocal experimentation leaves a fleeting impression. In places, he sounds like Cory Gunz, in other places Lil Wayne, in other places Shawty Lo, in still other places, he recalls Young Zee of the Outsidaz, his flow zigzagging all over the place like a Charles Hamilton freestyle. By consciously or unconsciously drawing on so many different vocal styles, SeDrew detracts from his content, which in most places, is light and good humored like a Souls of Mischief or Pharcyde release.

Winners include Quarantine, Cheerleader, Lewis and Clark, and the sparkling Follow Me, whose marching band inflected beat vaguely recalls Outkast's Bombs Over Baghdad, with a flow as quick as that of either ATLien. But while you may have some favorites, the album is a far better listening experience as a cohesive whole. SeDrew Price's T.D.A.T (The Day After Tomorrow) mixtape could use a little refinement, but is definitely enjoyable for those who prefer progressive hip-hop in the vein of Kid Cudi, Charles Hamilton, or Bobby Ray.

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