Casagrown is better known as one half of the Chicago hip hop group Badwolff, whom we last heard from back in September when they released their EP Hongry Wolff. Now Casagrown steps out on his own to drop his solo EP, Mighty Casa.

Casagrown’s father was an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, a businessman and traveler who passed away when Casa was only five. His father was also a music lover, and it was through discovering his dad’s collection of old vinyl, with plenty of calypso, reggae, and more, that he found this portal to grow closer to the man he didn’t get a chance to know. In 2013, after coming back from his first trip to the islands as an adult, Casa knew that he had a project on his hands. He enlisted the help of his friend and producer Azarias, who helped him transform this music from his father’s vinyl into beats that Casagrown could rhyme over. The result is an incredibly interesting and heartfelt EP. Azarias did a great job of transforming the samples and finding the right balance between pushing the envelope and pop accessibility. The result are beats that will push you out of your comfort zone just a little, but will ultimately be pretty easy to groove to, since he’s working with some great source material from the islands that were about dancing, first and foremost. On top of all this, we have Casagrown on the mic, who does an excellent job of pulling in his listeners and taking them on this personal journey with him, as he attempts to connect with someone who shaped him, but also left him a long time ago. Trying to understand his father’s journey, his sacrifices, and his passions, while also trying to figure out who he himself is, as a person and as an artist, and how that relates to his family’s past. It’s not an easy thing to convey, but Casa really took the time to make sure he was doing this right, and it shows. The result is an EP that is fun to listen to on the immediate level, but then grows on you the more you listen to it, as you realize how deep and layered this project is.

It may have taken a long time to get here, but Mighty Casa was well worth the wait. Casagrown found the perfect partner in Azarias, and he really dug deep and allowed himself to be vulnerable on the mic in ways that he hasn’t in the past. It’s an incredible step forward for this emcee.