Creative beats and rhymes genius “Player One” Mark Cooper continued his 5-album Player One Saga with the eclectic, rock and soul-fused feast of a third entry Test Drive.
As the road to the conclusion draws near, Cooper significantly elevated the storytelling on this entry. A noted award-winner for his production, this album wasn’t simply hard-hitting Hip Hop beats for the sake of hard-hitting rhymes to flow over them. Cooper scored this LP which very much felt like a motion picture soundtrack.
The expansive theatrics of its audio heighted the emotional ode “Toys R US Kids” featuring Ray Casarez, the intricate story elements of “Dear SkyGodd”, and arena-rock nerdcore anthem “Drive” which features an incredible guitar solo by Runaway Droid.
Cooper never neglects the boom bap, which I appreciate, and it gets plenty of his attention on “Saturday Morning Cartoons” featuring Stryfe and Savior Monroe, “Heroes” featuring Rockit Gaming, and “120 Stars Fatt Father and JunesFlow.
Progression in quality and how well the story unfolds is important to what Cooper is attempting with this Player One album saga. Up to this point Test Drive is Cooper’s best album!
Give it and the entire series a listen, preparing yourself for the epic finale, Gerald’s Field, which releases 02-22-22! |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
