Through the past nearly four years that Matt’s Music Mine has been established, there has always been this gravitation toward the artists that can manipulate an underground following into something more destructive and captivating as time progresses. Trailing WIFIGAWD and producer Tony Seltzer through the miraculous team-ups and synchronization has been like watching a well-traded boxing match between two eager, but adaptive opponents.
Now imagine if those opponents instead of fighting against each other turned toward becoming allies with two rampaging giants of sound disguised as hip-hop heavyweights. That’s the sort of magic that happens on Heat Check, Vol. 2 that pits WIFIGAWD as the primary vocalist and Tony Seltzer as the executive producer with 12 tracks that spawns a shortened, but heightened sense of 25 minutes.
Where Heat Check, Vol. 2 constricts and controls the listener is in the illustrative 808 percussive crunches and the comedic, but often times thuggish punches from WIFIGAWD sculpted through hooks and verses. With only three tracks on the record reaching over 2 minutes, every piece is more fitted toward bite-sized grenades rather than atom bombs. The energy is enough to suffice and opens with “Learn Something” where both artists have their first mental spar with MAC’s instead of swords.
The instrumental from Tony Seltzer is this sporadic, but somehow condensed flutter of hi-hats and whimsical lead rhythms as the backing bass is suddenly introduced as if it was a cement mixer on top of a flower bed. Now dissecting WIFIGAWD’s verses are often the topic of Mafioso references with street knowledge integration, and Heat Check, Vol. 2 hammers down on the point that WIFIGAWD is surrounding and omnipotent.
With the second installment, sometimes sequels are never as good as their original counterpart. But here with Heat Check, Vol. 2, there is nothing to fear as the two-man weave cuts through the sound and is a valiant addition to both sides of the discography.