REVIEW: A "Dreamcatcher" deferred is not a dream denied.

With so much music coming out these days, I’m finding that it’s getting harder and harder for me to get amped about an album or mixtape getting dropped. That is to say, when I first get wind that “ARTIST A” is dropping a new project, if it’s an artist I like, I will give an initial “Oh, ok. That should be dope.”

But as time goes on and release dates get pushed back further and further, my initial interest goes from “CAN’T WAIT!” © Bart Scott to “Who cares?” But for some reason, even though this project kept getting pushed back–like my hairline–my enthusiasm for it did not falter. If anything I just got more anxious to hear it. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen warrenJae perform in person and I dug the energy he came with. Or maybe it’s my chummy relationship with warrenJae‘s manager. Regardless, “The Dreamcather” hosted by DJ Black Bill Gates has finally arrived and I feel like it’s time to give it a proper review.

Remember the days when 50 Cent had dudes scared to harmonize on a song? Well trust, those days are long gone as warrenJae bust out a soft melody on the album’s first track (and namesake) “The Dreamcatcher“. But the singing doesn’t last long as the Columbia, South Carolina native gets straight to business with “12:01” and unleashes the run that back worthy line of “…me? They called me 12:01 ’cause I’m blacker than midnight/future brighter than the Sun!” I say run that back worthy because I quite literally had to rewind that part of the track back a couple times to make sure I heard him correctly. A mark of a true MC, no?

“Real Shit” finds warrenJae’s ego taking over, “I’m way too gone/I gives a fuck if ‘DJ Such and Such’ is playing my song/I don’t even want them lame ni99as singing my song…” Such bravado over production that could easily be mistaken for a 9th Wonder track is a good look in my book.

And the big talk doesn’t stop there as warrenJae informs anyone who is bold enough to listen who the ladies are here to see during the extra live track “Who She Came to See“. During the song he tells you a) how to properly spell his name, b) that no one is sicker than he, c) whom NOT to confuse him with d) where he’s from (the 803), e) what he’s smoking (“that 213″), f) what set he claims (Million Dollar Dreamz), and finally as I already mentioned, “Who the fuck she came to see!” all before before the 45 second mark of the song. Very ambitious work yet it all came together nicely.

I’m still up in the air with the track “Wassup” with features from two of South Carolina’s more well known artist, Boss G and Lil Brod. Being a South Carolina native and a fan of all three artist I guess I set my own expectations a bit too high for this one. The song, while serviceable, doesn’t stretch any creative boundaries and I saw this as an opportunity missed. Instead, the track just acts as a mediator of sorts, allowing each artist to be introduced to the other’s fan base. Good for business, definitely, but as I stated it would have been neat to see them do something a bit more creative than what was produced.

I found that warrenJae was getting way more brash on tracks than I had been accustomed to hearing from him. While I don’t look at this as a bad thing, a part of me was disappointed in that realization. I looked to him as one of the few independent artist from SC that I could depend on to give me those sincere “Drake-like” introspective songs about life, love, and relationships that not many could pull off without looking so damn cheesy. Fortunately for me, “My Friend” (scored by Sam King with vocal assistance from another Carolina native, singer Asia Bryant) and “I Just Wanna” (produced by Izzy) came just in time to remind me of warrenJae’s “What Dreams May Come” and “Before I Lay” days.

One of the mixtape’s stand out tracks, in my opinion, was the aptly named “Phantom of the Township“–a ghostly yet up-beat song that, through it’s title, pays homage to his hometown of Columbia’s Township Auditorium but lyrically goes on a rampage about him taking the respect he feels he so rightly deserves. “One More Time” another song featuring Asia Bryant but in a more prominent role, has our fearless dreamer going in over “Exhibit A“, a track made famous (and to some untouchable) by New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica. While warrenJae is no slouch in the booth, he’s no Jay Elect so I was glad to see him re-appropriate the beat instead of trying to match wit for wit with the New Orleans spitter. Hate to see ‘em get buried so young, ya know?

warrenJae saves his bigger features for the latter part of his project. The “Show You” song featuring Atlanta based rapper R.E. is another standout track as is “Same” which co-stars Memphis standout Skewby and “Live” with Carolina legend Rapper Big Pooh and production by DJ Burn One.

“The Dreamcatcher” ends in dramatic fashion as warrenJae flows over one more Sam King score, “Our Season“, before signing off. Aware that the current climate of hip-hop in his home state is moving upward, he triumphantly announces that he and his MDD regime are ready to take over.

+

STANDOUT TRACKS: “12:01“, “Phantom of the Township“, “Who She Came to See”

PROS: Wide variety of songs from heart felt tracks to egotistical bars; carefully curated and impressive line up of guest features–not many independent artist could have pulled that off.

CONS: “Wassup” track could have been more creatively put together; not enough songs related to the stated concept of the mixtape.

RATING (out of 5): Had there been more tracks dedicated to the whole “Dreamcatcher” theme this would have easily been a FIVE BOWL mixtape. I have such high expectations for warrenJae that I have no problem telling y’all that I’m being a bit harsh on him with this rating. This is easily one of the best projects to come out of South Carolina in a while and his team is getting him the promotional push he needs with all the right people. I would have liked to see him use his creativity to create a full concept album (i.e. – Lupe Fiasco’s “The Cool”) but that doesn’t mean the project wasn’t well worth the listen. So I’m giving him 4/5.

DOWNLOAD: Warren Jae – “The Dreamcatcher” via DJBooth.net.

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