Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Acting as a prelude to his full length 'Even If I Lose' release, this EP from the Ohio-based rapper tackles a variety of different aspects loosely centred on the spiritual act of fasting. Set to an ethereal and organic backdrop, the opener "The Mourning" sees WakeUp half rap, half speak his thoughts on sorrow whilst rallying against the cynicism and mediocrity of the modern age before grasping the nettle of what we, as believers, truly hold on to in life in the heavily sampled "The Hold". Not afraid of speaking his mind, "The Vanity" sees WakeUp vent his anger and frustration on man's habit of creating God in his own image with somewhat confrontational lines like "If I go to heaven and see Jesus as European, it's meaningless" giving proceedings a slightly self-righteous and judgmental tone. By the time "The Feels" comes around, WakeUp turns the microscope on himself with candid lines like "my prayers sound like complaints" pinpointing faults that many of us will acknowledge in our daily walk with God before the worshipful "The Worth" sees WakeUp praise God in heartfelt and poetic fashion. Stylistically, this is very much a no frills affair with producer Wes Pendleton employing lo-fi beats and synth washes to accompany WakeUp's deft rapping and, whilst this works for the most part, adding a few flourishes here and there would have allowed greater distinction between each track. Instrumental versions of all of the tracks are tagged on to the end of the release and, whilst this doesn't add much worth to the end product, the commentary version of the EP (available via Spotify) where WakeUp talks in depth about the meaning of each song is truly fascinating and well worth a listen.

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