Mixtape Review | One Man Army Vol.2: War Paint by G-Two

Mixtape Review | One Man Army Vol.2: War Paint – G-Two

Written By: @Josiah_Perez

I want to like and to have a higher opinion of this mixtape then I actually do. This is in no way in amateur project, and the time and care put into it is evident. The lyricism is of very high quality in more then a few places, and there are some interesting song concepts in War Paint. G-Two can rap, his flow is always on point and he demonstrates a wide range skills – from punchlines to story telling, quick to slow rhythms, and the ever so sought after “original” song concept (if such a thing even exists anymore). With all of this though, the music comes out just…”alright”. This is not a mixtape I would rush to shut off or change if it came on, nor is it a tape that I would select to listen to in my free time while choosing through my collection of music.

War Paint starts off with a good record in 100 MPH. While it’s good, it represents perfectly the conflict I have with this project as a whole. Lyrically the song is great, and there’s nothing to complain about when it comes to G-Two’s flow and presence on the song. Unfortunately there is nothing to write home about it either. Acoustically, the song is simply boring. It’s extremely easy to not concentrate on the music your hearing, and this is true for the intro track and a good number of the rest on War Paint. A large issue is the lack of good, quality production which is a problem that shows its face on 100 MPH. The beat isn’t bad it’s just – not that great. Instead of reaching for excellence it seems that the first record sets the tone for the constant settling for mediocrity that takes place on this project.

On the next track Baby Go, everything but G-Two’s verses are lack luster. While I applaud what G-Two is able to do with each verse, I sleep through the hook and production.  The fourth track, C.R.E.A.M ’94 stands out as a very enjoyable experience in all areas from G-Two. Sadly the song is plagued with with a guest appearance from Japreme Eloheem that would have been best left off of the final version. Once Japreme is done making noise though, G-Two shines in what is my favorite performance of his on the tape. Along with the latter half of C.R.E.A.M ’94, May The Trap Rise, The Fallen Symphony Interlude, and to a smaller extent the aforementioned 100 MPH are worth listening to and are easily the highest quality songs present.

Being a good rapper and being able to create good music are by no means synonymous, and I think War Paint suffers from a good rapper who has not quite got a grasp on the art of creating a good song but more so creating a good mixtape/album. So many songs on War Paint are “almost good” that it becomes frustrating, I was intrigued by the bright spots and wanted to hear G-Two at his full potential but was rarely obliged. There are a very large amount of great rappers that struggle with song creation (Iron Solomon for example), it really is an entirely separate skill and this fact is made very evident by War Paint. The high points on War Paint show G-Two is very capable of improving in this area and we’ll eagerly be looking for his next project and hopefully be treated to a collection of music as good as G-Two is.

Listen to and download One Man Army Vol.2: War Paint by G-Two here