I never heard of Gotham Green & Quickie Mart before I listened to this release. The bad news is that I can’t find a ton of information on them. The good news is that this release made me want to learn more.

The first song I heard was “Game Change,” which features Planet Asia, Recalling the Pharcyde, it immediately caught my attention. The song features a great laid-back West Coast vibe and playful rhymes about weed, with good wordplay. It definitely made me want to find out what these guys are all about.

The problem I found is that the album is wildly inconsistent. There are a few cheesy, amateurish songs, like I came across a free mix tape after the show. After one of the worst tracks on the album, “Pass it Over Here,” which features some terrible synth horns and a horrible hook about getting messed up on alcohol and weed, Green and Quickie come back with one of their stronger songs, “One for the Money,” which channels Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly score. Then we get a terrible guy-girl voice-over sketch. It’s almost like Green and Quickie have no idea when it’s working and when its not.

The weed talk is also a bit overkill (ahem, “Haze Diaries”). After a few tracks with old recordings from the ‘60s talking about marijuana, it’s like, “OK, I get it.” It becomes more of a crutch than an inspiration as the album plays out.

When it’s working, it’s fun, playful, smart, and interesting. The production sounds tight and there are catchy hooks. When it’s not working, the production is cheap, the rhymes border on the ridiculous, and I long for a breath of fresh air where there is no mention of pot. In the future, I hope the duo push each other further. In the mean time, I’m left to pick and choose through the Haze Diaries to suss out what’s enjoyable.