Normally, if someone was releasing material at the rate that Adam WarRock does, I’d be a little concerned that the level of quality. However, even though it seems like WarRock releases and EP or mixtape every other month, everything sounds well thought out and produced. While much of his material can be categorized under the subgenre of nerdcore, this EP veers more toward his traditional hip hop side, in both sound and subject material.

The EP opens with a sample of the end of the movie “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” which walks the fine line between being inspirational and incredibly bleak. The message conveyed is that very few of us can say that when we reach old age that we have accomplished our goals. This gives way to the first song, “Chutes and Ladders,” a testament to WarRock’s ambition and work ethic, with a chorus where he swears he won’t rest until he reaches the top. “Juggernaut” continues on this theme, with a great re-appropriation of the beat from Slaughterhouse’s “The One,” repackaging with nerd swagger (yes, there are comic book references). These first few tracks have a few lines within them to give you an idea of who WarRock is, but the EP takes a turn on “Insincere,” a beautiful melancholic song that has WarRock doing some serious self reflection. He was inspired to write the song after a friend told him that everything he said was veiled in a layer of sarcasm and irony. It features an absolutely brilliant verse discussing how humor can mask the pain within, and I feel like this song really elevates the entire EP. “Full Stomachs” features WarRock trading battle rhymes with Northwest emcee Beefy and the wordplay on this track is fantastic and it’s endlessly entertaining. “I Used To Listen To De La Soul A Lot” is a really sweet song that retraces WarRock’s personal history with hip hop culture, told with such honesty that it’s very easy to relate to. “Parthenon” feels like an attempt at grandness, and I don’t know if it’s because the metaphor doesn’t quite work as well as others on the EP, or that the synth line reminds me of “Valerie” by Stevie Winwood, but the song isn’t quite up to the same level of the rest of the EP.

Juggernaut proves that labels don’t do an artist like Adam WarRock justice. In a few short songs, he throws down some battle rhymes, brings in some comic references, and opens up about personal relationships, and how hip hop and humor have helped him cope through the hard times in life. If WarRock keeps releasing EPs this good, I have faith that he will reach the top.