CRASHprez is up-and-coming emcee who has quickly established himself in the Madison hip hop scene. An eighteen-year-old college student who came to the Madison from Maryland, he dropped this EP on election day. With this release, it’s easy to see that there’s a lot of talent in this young man.

With a title like I Hate All You Rap N—-s: A Thesis, you can correctly assume that there is a certain amount of anger and bitterness to CRASHprez’s music. I’ve got no problem with an angry young man, as long as there is substance to the discussion, and CRASHprez definitely has that going on. That said, there are times where I feel like points might not be made as clear as they need to. His true message sometimes gets lost under thick layers of irony and sarcasm, which is my biggest struggle with CRASHprez on this EP. I appreciate what he’s trying to do with a song like “Finna Go Mainstream,” but there’s a dangerous point when you get so rooted in all the irony that you start becoming what it is that you’re making fun of. I can tell that even during these moments, though, that there’s enough intelligence behind it that I think things can get better from here. My favorite moments on the EP come when CRASHprez drops these barriers, and really lets his honest emotions pour out, such as his work on “Fireside Chat.” On that song, he does a great job of communicating a lot about his background, and how that has fueled his frustrated world view. It features a great chorus, with the simple-yet-effective line, “My pride is alive, and my presidents are dead.” If the whole EP was as strong as this song, I’d be championing CRASHprez even more than I already am. He’s got an incredibly strong and confident voice, so when the music and lyrics come together like they do on “Fireside,” it’s really moving. On that note, I should commend some of the production on the EP, done by names that most of you aren’t familiar with, but hopefully will be in the future, such as iLLROY, Oliver Hunt, John Vietnam, Suede Moccasins, and Plue Starfox.

CRASHprez is very young, and he’s got a lot to say. There are times on the EP when he really kills it, and his talent is more than apparent. This isn’t always the case on this EP, though, which leaves me just the slightest bit frustrated. Fortunately, he’s still very green, and I think he’ll only get better from here.