Khalito’s Way
The EP
Etheric
Judging by the insanely pretentious press release, you’d be forgiven for thinking our man Khalito is the new Messiah and that this is his testament. Well, that’s not exactly so. Khalito is a hugely talented rapper, and this seven-track EP certainly is a good slab of radio-friendly underground hip-hop with quite a few standout moments. It=EDs an inspired and multi-layered set, for sure, but the album suffers from a lack of focus and musical clarity. Label guy and fellow artist Blitzo’s production is inventive but reveals its influences a bit too readily, without necessarily climbing to the level of those – check the Dr. Dre-infused first single “Spoiled,” which desperately needs some hard-edged impact to compete with what else is out there.
That said, Khalito has great potential and a few tracks on here is remarkable and convincing display of talent. “As I Incarnate” is a fine Wu-Tang-ish track, while both “Heaven Sent” and “P.I.M.P.” would’ve been better choices for first radio single than the one they eventually went with.
It’s a bit hard to actually grasp Khalito himself in the midst of all his attempts to sound like everybody else. But this is still a promising and ambitious first effort from an artist that could go far if he dares to try and establish a stronger voice for himself.
Etheric Records: http://www.ethericrecords.com
