Steve 'Flash' JuonSkandal’s bio contains the usual amount of hyperbole for a new artist, including time-worn phrases like “top 5 artists to watch for in (insert year here).” Two things distinguish Skandal from falling into SOSS (Same Old Shit Syndrome) though – he’s got Beat Butcha on the boards (one of Canibus’ favorite producers) and he hails from the United Kingdom. He’s made a little bit of a name already on the hip-hop scene with his underground banger “Kill ‘Em Wit the Flow”. The new digital-only “A Quick Snack EP” includes both the original and a remix with fellow scene veterans Klashnekoff and P Money. I appreciate the new spitters on the beat but the song that really wins me over on this short release is the bass-heavy “Home Economics”:
“I’ma set this off with Beat Butcha
Take you to the floor, our house, the beat book ya
He’s a cooker, put that shit on the hops
Then we bring it to the grill so you givin us props
You can’t chef like my guy wit’cha swanky crew
We make it, boy he can’t cook, so what can he do?
Breads are tacky raps and chefs are crappy food
Leaves a foul taste in your mouth, even your granny spewed”
The four track size doesn’t leave a lot of room for praise OR criticism, which makes reviewing “A Quick Snack EP” easy in one sense and almost impossible in another. As enjoyable as the beats are on the echoing “Bold as Fuck” are, it’s the end of the EP, and then what? Beat Butcha doesn’t make any serious mistakes, and save for the closer any of these could probably be cleaned up for European radio play, but nothing comes close to some of the bangers he’s already known for on these shores. That regrettably is the other problem with this EP – Skandal seems to have the basics of the craft down pat and comes with the clever punchlines, but his accent is so thick it honestly puts Lady Sovereign to shame. I’m intrigued by “A Quick Snack” but sadly for American audiences I think a better title would be “A Hard Sell.” There’s no doubt to me that my peer Jay Soul would rate this one higher.