New Music – The Keyboard Kid

Clams Casino, the kid with humble beginnings and who worked with big named artists like A$AP M.O.B., Mac Miller and of course The Legend Lil B, fires onto the debut music scene with 32 Levels. His name has been heard around the world, and Casino finally breaks the surface of a more mainstream audience as 32 Levels shows what Clams Casino does best, make some innovative, creative, and progressive beats that invite the audience into the genre of Hip-Hop.

32 Levels begins with a nice introduction from Based God himself as he “Leave(s) it up to Clams, He (Clams Casino) got us. Changing the game as always.” Based God being the lighthouse and beacon of knowledge in all things, including Hip-Hop means that his approval is worth more than just an average opinion. Based God and myself had a lot of hope in 32 Levels and I was looking to see just how Casino was going to come back and change his sound once more. I would have never guessed that the first half of the album, tracks 1 – 5 are more fast paced and seem like Casino’s classic song “I’m God,” the album then switches to a slower combination of songs like “Ghost In A Kiss,” and “Into The Fire.”

The switch up seems like a totally different project from Casino and I had to make sure I was actually listening to the same album. I will say the tracks I enjoyed more were “All Nite feat. Vince Staples,” “Witness feat. Lil B,” and “A Breath Away feat. Kelela.” These were just songs were I loved the features and the beats were involved and easy to nod your head to. Vince Staples’ song “All Nite” was released as a single and this track actually sounded like it could have fit perfectly on Vince’s Summertime ’06. From the seagulls or birds in the tracks background, to the low-tuned bass that rattles behind Vince’s energized voice.

“Witness” is just overall such a powerful track as well, Lil B’s verse on the track is, well it is Based God and everyone knows just what type of verse he brings to every song. “Shouts Out to Africa, Shouts Out to Japan” is spit over what I believe is one of Clams Casino’s greatest beats he has produced so far. It is fast, aggressive, and has a ton of background vocals from Lil B that include some “Swag Swag” and “Whoop!” Overall I think that the production on “Witness” is the real star of the track as it boosts Lil B’s verse to such a higher platform than it already was.

Now “A Breath Away” is a track that I was not totally a fan of at first listen, but it finally grew on me and I enjoy the tired tone of the whole song. Kelela delivers some charming vocalization and the instrumental is a mismatch of what I believe sounds like drums that are being played under water. It sounds like an overall enticing, but strange track but I learned to love it.

Every track on 32 Levels is at least interesting and even if you do not personally enjoy the vocals, then the production will keep your attention as it changes drastically through each track. Clams Casino as an artist is just so steady and consistent with each release, and as he continues to grow, so does his overall sound. 32 Levels is definitely a must have for anyone that wants to experiment more with their music library and expand a little bit into the stranger side of hip-hop music. The Keyboard Kid strikes again and this time, he knocks down the house.