PRESS PLAY: CDOT HONCHO
While scouring the internet in college, I stumbled across “50 of Em” (2014) featuring a much younger CDOT Honcho and Lil’ Herb, or G Herbo as he goes by now. It was my first time seeing Honcho, but was much more prolific in the NLMB rapper’s material. This was during a time when the acceptance of drill music as a sub-genre of hip hop was imminent. Through the years, he’s been gaining a following and rightfully so. For example in June, he made the lineup for Lyrical Lemonade’s second Summer Smash in Chicago.
The Honcho series is fantastic. I have a playlist full of songs over the years that CANNOT be skipped, and CDOT Honcho has made the cut. H1:Honcho The EP (2015) is my personal favorite because he’s not wasting any time. From the moment the music starts, he’s going in on just about every track. He doesn't let the beat breathe much and is very raw in the early years in terms of sound quality. There are few choruses as the substance of these songs is bars and aggression. His style is perfect for anyone who prefers music with no dull moments from beat selection to verbal delivery. To get an idea of who Honcho is, I recommend listening to his most popular material on your favorite music streamer prior to diving straight into his discography. “In a Minute” and “Alot” are the favorites from the first ep.
CDOT Honcho really stepped it up in 2017 with H3 and The TakeOver releasing with greater public reception than past tapes, and it all started with his selection of beats. Honcho began using more refined production with ChaseTheMoney, DPBeats, Zaytoven, Bilbo, CashMoneyAP, etc. Apparently, the instrumentals and Honcho are in a positive direct relationship cause as one improves, so does the other like there is competition during the creative process. “H2 Outro Freestyle” and “So Long” exhibit my point thoroughly.
Kingpin (2019) is the most complete project he has thus far. Released about two weeks ago so I’ve had time to thoroughly digest the work, and I’m impressed with how far he’s come since rapping with Sumo while still intrigued for where he'll end up taking his sound in the next few years. Honcho has found his niche and remained relatively faithful to that comfort zone. The work Honcho is putting in is evident in the quality of the latest releases with “Bipolar” as the personal favorite thus far. The tape is solid from beginning til end, and great for hip hop enthusiasts searching new music.
“My auntie forgot my birthday but now she can Google it.”
