Ransom deserves this.
The man’s been rapping since 2000 (folk still remember the A-Team? Your favorite [or least favorite] podcaster sure has had some chapters) but – following beef with Budden, a prison sentence, and more – finally began more properly receiving his due this very decade, linking up with the likes of Rome Streetz and Conway the Machine for quick, bar-heavy, street-ready projects. The fact that he can get in a booth with the likes of those two men and often emerge with the most memorable verses says plenty.
Even amidst all this, it still felt he’s been reaching upward.
So, then, his linking up with the almost indisputably most legendary NYC producer ever (with respect to Pete Rock and more), DJ Premier, can’t help but feel like another arrival. What’s more, while many of his most visible projects to date have seen him spitting alongside another rapper, here, the stage is all his. No features needed.
Sure, it’s another quick salvo from Premo following his EP with Roc Marciano. Six tracks bolstered by a quick excerpt from a Rap Radar interview, but even given the similar format, it’s funny how much difference a focused MC and purpose can make.
That’s not to knock too heavily on The Coldest Profession. It’s a fun, if a bit slight, project that accomplished just what it set out to do: two masters of their craft finally linking up after long intending to do so, kicking back, and counting their victories. It didn’t do too much because it simply didn’t need to.
The Reinvention is an entirely different ballgame. Ransom is a bit wide-eyed in the presence of one of his heroes, using Gang Starr LP titles in his rhymes across “Amazing Graces”, and openly reveling at his current situation (and proximity to real history) on “A Cut Above: “I’m on the phone with Preme while he’s tellin’ me old stories of working with Brooklyn’s Finest”. He treats every second like just what it is: a hard-earned moment of grace and overdue respect.
Premo, for his part, doesn’t overly flex his presence – let’s face it, he’s almost certainly saving his best beats for that incoming Nas album – but while his sound felt slightly weary across most of The Coldest Profession, here, it fits Ransom’s style with comfortable ease. A DJ Premier beat, after all, is immediately recognizable. You know it’s him, and, as ever, his work proves a paradox. His drums, scratches, and sampling style are among the most recognizable in hip hop, and yet they remain entirely inimitable. Those who try to fail completely or pale in comparison. So, then, even Premo easing through “his sound” proves a loyal, strengthening companion for the hungry rapper on display.
Beyond that, Ransom simply proves a more fitting, natural companion for these sounds than Roc. While Marciano shines through flamboyant displays, witty asides, and stranger moments, Ransom’s hard-hitting narratives and blunt honesty feels readymade for the Boom bap of DJ Premier.
Naturally, The Reinvention may seem a lofty title for a seemingly breezy EP, but it proves fitting. Take the interlude; the Rap Radar interview proves not to be tossed off at all – in fact, it’s integral to the feeling at hand. While some elder MCs lose step out of boredom, complacency, or simple natural dulling of the blade, Ransom considers each and every struggle he’s faced, every frayed experience, as essential to his current ability. He spends a bit under 20 minutes here showing why. It may be brief, but it proves more than enough.
