“Radio Mushu” is an album by hiphop artist “Mushu”. The album was written, produced, and performed by Mushu. His ability to be a jack of all trades shines throughout the eight-track album, where he guides his listeners through a narrative. His story is laid over tightly produced tracks with modern beats and instrumentals.
Starting with the production, the album boasts a darker tone as it delves deep into hustler culture, which devolves into crime. The album sounds sonically pleasing, and the multi-layered production is mixed immaculately. The first song of the album is Radio Waves which has a trap-influenced beat. This track was where I was introduced to Mushu’s rapping. He has an excellent and consistent flow throughout the song. The song delves into hustler culture and how Mushu is striving to be radio famous.
Disturbing the Peace is a track-long flex by Mushu where he introduces a darker aesthetic. From the get-go, the beat goes hard, and Mushu seamlessly integrates his flow with the tempo. The biggest advantage of producing and rapping is that you can stitch the beat with your style. Mushu can achieve this precision, and it shines throughout the track. Nunya follows on the spacey dark vibe that its predecessor establishes. With Nunya, I could tell that Mushu was having fun with the track and the concepts that he is running. It’s the crescendo of his desire to be radio famous as it opens with an Australian radio host’s skit.
Lame showed me Mushu’s range as an artist. Lame is where he takes the gloves off and looks at his competition. For Mushu, they are lame and incompetent. Throughout the song, he incorporates tight rhyme schemes with not even a single bar being filler. He keeps dropping in different flows to keep the experience fresh. Read the Signs turns up the heat up a notch. It’s a hard-hitting beat with a psychedelic sound. Everything about the track feels insidious and sinister. There’s a lot of aspects of the song that reflect Mushu’s mental state and train of thought. I enjoyed a glimpse inside his head, and it felt like it was leading to the album’s conceptual crescendo.
Hit the Dash is where things take off. It has a remote spacey vibe with a scarce piano loop that enhances its dark aesthetic. The beat brings out the feeling of immediacy and danger that complements the subject matter of the song. The imagery is strong here, and I could imagine Mushu running through a dark alleyway for his life. Everything about the track feels complete, finished, and perfected. It seamlessly transitions into Don’t Got It which introduces a newer side of Mushu. Seasons is the closing track of the album. Mushu talks about how he’s constantly transforming. The track has a lot of symbolism, and Mushu also delves into the current state of rap. It’s a masterful way to end the album. Overall, I enjoyed the album, and Mushu pulls of both production and performance with little left to be desired. I highly recommend listening to this project!
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