Lushlife + CSLSX – “This Ecstatic Cult ft. Killer Mike” (Singles Going Steady)

Ryan Dieringer: CSLSX have been on the grind in Philly for a while. I played one of their first shows with them in 2011 when they first started dropping singles. They were surprisingly nice guys despite their media rep for “elusiveness”. It’s nice to see them nailing their role on this new Lushlife record. The haze and trap of this beat is almost uncannily indebted to Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, which of course is gonna sound good under an Atlanta flow. [8/10]

Dustin Ragucos: Lushlife does not feel like the kind of voice that’s easily picked out of a crowd of rappers from a back row of a festival. That said, there isn’t anything truly amateurish about his flow — it’s steady and picks up on lost time whenever it’s briefly halted. Killer Mike’s much easier to spot, and like his performances for Run the Jewels, Mike is as rough with his imagery by bringing up bloodsuckers and Rothschilds. CSLSX has a pretty jam-worthy rhythm going on in the background too. [6/10]

Jedd Beaudoin: Killer Mike is a pretty frightening name and there’s some pretty rough language here. I’ll be cowering under my afghan until the robot apocalypse. [8/10]

SCORE: 7.33