MIXTAPE OF THE WEEK: Sauce Twinz, In Sauce We Trust Should you believe in The Sauce Twinz?
It's hard to exactly pinpoint when the Sauce Twinz leapfrogged over plenty of other names to sit at the precipice of local stardom. In their eyes, they were already stars on a street level and have just translated it to the rap arena. Sauce Walka and Sancho Saucy aren't literal twins, yet they act like brothers; watching them together is akin to watching the members of Voltron.
Walka in public is loud, engaging and hard to miss. Saucy, sometimes stoic, yet "on" when the light turns green, both in the booth and in public It's how records like "Errbody" immediately become Sauce Twinz records, and how Walka's adlibs become catchy whether it's drug, blood or pimp lingo or more. The Twinz are street superheroes, complete with catchphrases and a signature sound.
That sound, mostly wrapped in chaos, snapped-up snares and elephant-size kickdrums takes over for the majority of In Sauce We Trust, a large collection of previously released Sauce tracks and new ones that dig into a bit of open honesty. Even the Twinz' guest spot on Sosamann's "Did a Whole Lot" sums up what their life has been for the better part of the last year or so under the radar, as they've rocked clubs, dodged the street life and maintained a sense of unrivaled rectitude.
In Sauce We Trust takes off the Rick Ross nadir of a street resume and offers something quite literal. The Twinz will never be mistaken for lyrical wizards, rather stacking bars and slick talk for the duration of verses. Some offer declarative middle fingers ("Know The Sauce Twinz"), others resume check with the best of them ("Tatted On My Face") and some, like the much hyped and elastic "Legited" play to the out there character that is Sauce Walka.
21 tracks in length means if you take In Sauce We Trust in a large dose, you might sweve too hard and land in Splashtown. Between JRag, FredOnEm, Bro Dini and Sauce Miyagi, the Sauce template is rather simple. They don't run off a pad of metaphors and wordplay. Instead, the Sauce are more Dolemite than KRS-One. And they won't let you forget it.
Best Track: "Black On Black Crime": For about an hour straight, the Sauce Twinz pack guns, flip women and sneer at any idea that they're "rappers." Then Sauce Walka strips it all away for a second to offer a bit of testimony. He may not compare to many people, but "Black On Black Crime" feels like J-Dawg shedding tears and fighting every demon in sight to let the world know what truly goes on sometimes.
What they're talking about is evil, which Sauce admits being a clear participant in while remaining keen on watching everything around him. His mom's been through it, and he's still standing. The Twinz stand tall in spite of their surroundings, sauced the hell out. Download In Sauce We Trust here.
Ken Randle, Sex In a Slab Let's be honest with one another. Sex is a natural thing. It's overrated at times, and the most physical form of power dynamics there is. It's also probably the one area of human interaction where you can lie and tell the truth at the same time. Sex can happen anywhere, and when you get a playlist curated for it, certain images will flicker in your mind whether you want them to or not.
Now that we've gotten that minor wink towards sex education out of the way, it's time to look at Ken Randle, Houston's third prominent R&B male figure release a proper tape and attempt to decipher what makes it so great. Sex In a Slab is built off of Drathoven's synths and bottomed-out 808s combining with Randle's own falsetto, which quivers and knocks while intending to drop panties and figurative walls.
His point is that being a Kappa (who he shouts out on the tape's outro) means not only being nasty in the bedroom but possessing a certain charm. Randle's songwriting doesn't leap towards haughty metaphors or even cautionary moments of regret. Instead he talks about location, number of partners, late nights, early mornings, strippers and more. In other words, Ken wants sex.
If Jack Freeman sings about sex and means the mystery and power of its aftereffects, and Lee-Lonn counters with gleefully casual smirks, Randle thrusts into complete overdrive. He groans, curses, moans and sings about getting his his heart's desire. Once he's done with the deed, he can walk out and talk shit with Wale, Nino Gotti, Slim Thug and Kirko Bangz if he wants.
Sex in the hedonistic R&B golden age of the '90s teetered on bad boys versus heartthrobs who crooned about love. Randle leans on the leather, glances at Jodeci and refuses to hide his inhibitions. "Let's go to the bar and have a shot before the club let out," he sings on "+1," as Just Brittany plays the chanteuse seeking a threesome even more than Randle is. "Baby come here, let's cut all the bullshit out."
Best Track: "Ike & Tina": There's no need trying to pick out the best sex-themed track here; you'd be left pulling hairs to find a favorite. Instead, Randle's only ounce of actual back-and-forth conflict comes on "Ike & Tina," teasing a breakup and yearning for solace in his heart and the right amount of makeup sex to make things right. Drathoven tangles up wailing guitars and fairy-tale strings to make the swing take hold even more. You probably won't appreciate "rolling on a river" from "Proud Mary" in a dirtier fashion. Download Sex In a Slab here.
More new rap on the next page.