In hip-hop, there are those fine lines where keeping it real slips into ignorant folly and white rappers can only hope to hold their own next to their black counterparts. Well, South Austin’s COD aka Cash on Delivery is a multi-cultural group poised to obliterate those pre-conceived notions as they advance their own brand of hood rap to new heights of sophistication.
Within city limits, it’s no surprise that COD’s S-Dot won lyricist of the year at 2009’s Austin Hip-Hop Awards show. Cleverly sidestepping the rhythmic cliché’s typically put forth by the brunt of Caucasoid rhymers, S-Dot bobs and weaves his way through lyrical gauntlets fit for only the most skilled of rappers. Along with fellow COD members Mr. Greezo, Tukdagat and Lil J, S-Dot leaves combustible flames in his wake throughout the group’s latest release titled Ova the Stove Volume 3.
Primarily fueled by original production from the likes of Swollendrumz, and Mike Biggs, Ova the Stove Volume 3 is less a run-of-the-mill freestyle compilation and more of a fully realized album that just happens to be mixed by DJ Rapid Ric. Whereas songs including “Wheel Spin” and “In the Kitchen” stick close to formulas indicative of Dirty South origins, others such as “Colleyweed”, “Get Low” and “So High” sound more like compositions RZA would throw together drawing samples from Spaghetti Western soundtracks.
Do overblown topics of drug sales and blatant consumerism permeate this project? Yes, they do. But COD not only expands the limits of the usual thematic repertoire, but somehow even manages to make the same-o sound interesting. COD show staples “Countdown to the $” and “Get Money Season” are not only overt and infectious, but inspiring to boot. There’s just this certain enthusiasm that COD lets bleed through every breath of their music that just can’t be denied.
Review written by: Harvey Canal
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