Just last October, we got the debut solo album from Halifax producer ChanHays, Here. Now he comes back with an EP that feels like the epilogue, The Creepy EP.

When ChanHays released Here, he decided to go the route of bringing in a long roster of guest emcees to rap over his beats. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that he takes the same approach on this EP, bringing in Ghettosocks, Guilty Simpson, Skyzoo, Joell Ortiz, Fashawn, Von Pea, Aquakultre, El Camino, Flee Lord, and Bodega Bamz. Now, the risk in taking this approach is that everyone might not be on the same page, or even the same level. This was certainly the case with Here, which was really up and down and disconnected because of all of the guests. ChanHays is certainly a talented producer, with a knack for producing these really dense, energetic, sample-based beats that are funky and fun to listen to. On The Creepy EP, there are certainly moments where it all comes together, such as “Brooklyn,” which features solid verses from Skyzoo and Joell Ortiz. If everything was this focused, we’d be fine. Unfortunately, things are a little all over the place. Surprisingly, one of the worst performances comes from Fashawn, who really derails “Behave” with some of his laziest and offensive writing, only to have Von Pea swoop in and salvage things. Even though there’s only seven tracks, we still get this wild ride.

I’m not exactly sure what ChanHays’ process is, but he’s certainly struggling to put together projects with guest emcees that is consistently of the same high quality, let alone one that flows and has focus from track to track. Hopefully he’ll figure things out as he moves forward.