*This article was written immediately after the release of Solorio’s latest album ‘SOLORIO’ early in 2015*
The Last Days of Cesar Solorio
By Tristan “Tanjint the Wiggy Woo” Douglas
SOLORIO EP (new release- 2015)
The Solorio EP is Solorio's latest reinvention and reiteration and it is impressive. The first track is a PPAACCE Productions classic that seems like it was made for Solorio. It’s such a classic hip-hop track and the melody is cracktacular. This album is worth buying for this song hands down before you even get to the rest. “Her Prisoner” is a creative and well-written experiment with voice effects and melodramatic love stories but I’m more impressed with “With Me Tonight” as far as the love songs on this album. I said earlier in this write-up that it’s amusing to see the persona in his work evolve and this song is a great example. Earlier songs reveal a persona obsessed with young love for the sake of it, whereas “with me tonight” has a detached cool to the suitor’s entreaties that you can tell it took all the previous album’s experiences to cultivate. “Honestly” is so much more of a calm declaration of love than his previous works. We've heard this young man grow on tracks. The song with Notiz Yong is a classic that feels like the kind of sunny I.E. scene people like Solorio have helped cultivate.
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CROWN ROYAL
A nice track on a trap beat; Solorio’s flow versatility is on display here. He can rap fast, slow, melodically and musically.
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CHILL VIBES & SICK RHYMES
This album is Solorio’s most confident LP yet. The song opens with a smooth return to his classic topic of young love. “I Will Not Miss A Step” is one of my very favorite songs of his and shows his utter mastery of rhythm and flow. It’s catchy and lyrical at the same time; the production undergirding his aggressive but not overwrought rhymes with an industrial swing. It’s a hard choice between this and Fumes and More Fumes as far as Solorio’s best LP but I think this is it so far.
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I’M STILL ALIVE
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I admire Solorio’s willingness to mix in pop and R&B music with his raps to make appealing, melodic and modern music. Who is this Notebook guy? He is thoughtful with good enunciation like Solorio but has his own style; he’s actually Solorio’s most frequent vocal collaborator.
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FUMES & MORE FUMES
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Cool Valentine’s Day themed song; amazes me how many of these kinds of songs Solorio has in him. He does them all expertly.
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SEVENTEEN CANDLES
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NICOTINE AND LIQUOR
A cool song that gives an early example of Solorio’s tendency to adorn his love songs with images and details from his IE youngster life. That the underage speaker in his raps indulges in liquor and tobacco easily is in itself a commentary on the nature of the Inland Empire.
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--Tristan Acker
Tristan “Tanjint the Wiggy Woo” Acker is a San Bernardino based writer, performer and musician; he holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from California State University at San Bernardino.
You can read his poetry at Squalorly, Inlandia, El Portal, Dead Flowers and other print and online magazines.
Listen to his work and his work with his band the West Coast Avengers at westcoastavengers.com.
Follow him on twitter @Wiggism or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.
Tristan “Tanjint the Wiggy Woo” Acker is a San Bernardino based writer, performer and musician; he holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from California State University at San Bernardino.
You can read his poetry at Squalorly, Inlandia, El Portal, Dead Flowers and other print and online magazines.
Listen to his work and his work with his band the West Coast Avengers at westcoastavengers.com.
Follow him on twitter @Wiggism or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.
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