Shady Records’ youngest artist is keeping up with the schedule. After starting a countdown on the last day of June, he has now dropped two new songs and two videos. They sound very different, but they run on the same restless energy.
Special thanks to Marshall Mathers
A new song, “2200”, follows Ez Mil’s previous single, death-metal flavoured “Leon(Ka)”. The fresh track arrives with cinematic visuals that take viewers from the streets of the Philippine city Olongapo to jungle roads. The detailed credit roll ends with a thank you card to Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Jimmy Iovine, each ceremoniously addressed as “Sir”.
It is not only a polite acknowledgement of the label support. The official affiliation is stated in the track description: FFP Records & Management, under exclusive license to Shady Records/Aftermath Records/Interscope Records. However, Ez Mil’s nod is more than a obligatory credit, it is a respectful shout out to mentors and collaborators. If Eminem has already released two joints with Ez, for Dr. Dre this is a first go at working on Ez Mil’s sound.
Doctor’s orders
Make no mistake, Ez Mil remains the primary producer on the song. Since the beginning he has been working on his own music, teaching himself production on rented equipment in a computer shop. Ez Mil has gone a long way since then, but when the production genius adds some master strokes to the records – the final result sounds different.
The “2200” sounds bigger and more polished, almost symphonic, evoking classic Dr. Dre vibe. That is not accidental: Dre is listed in the credits as a mixing engineer, and he did a brilliant job. On the one hand, Ez Mil’s trademark vocal layering and arrangement remain intact. On the other, the track carries noticeable West Coast touches that naturally bring Dre’s legacy to mind.
Through the streets of Olongapo
The rich, muscular instrumental of “2200” sounds even more impressive when you compare it to “Dalawampu’t Dalawang Oo (2200)”, released four years ago on the album DU4LI7Y. The older song might be packed with the same bouncy energy, still, the new track overshadows it in scale, complexity and power. Although the two songs are thematically linked, the new “2200” is not a remix or remake.
“2200” refers to the postal code of Olongapo, the Philippine city where Ez Mil grew up. Symbolicaly, it carries the same significance as 313 for Eminem and Detroit hip hop. In signals that the artist speaks to the locals first.
The song opens with shoutouts to the streets and neighbourhoods of Olongapo. Again, it aligns with the long established hip hop tradition rooting the lyrics, the story in the physical landscape that nurtured the artist.
In the same manner, Ez Mil starts with naming his own neighbourhood, neighbouring barangays, Olongapo’s major roads, specific intersections, and famous local hangouts. Even if on his latest single he raps in English, he does not shy away from his Filipino identity, on the contrary he reaffirms his identity and shows his hometown and Filipino pride. As Ez Mil goes international in the official Shady/Aftermath era, he is not turning himself into an odourless, easily digestible product stripped of individuality for global consumption.