Slyck TwoshadeZ is a maverick in the world of vernacular Indian Hip-Hop music. He is currently living in Dunellen, New Jersey and has been making English and Hindi (cumulatively known as Hinglish) music since 2006. Slyck aka Umreeki has headlined and played in various venues and festivals across India, US and Canada.
He has been around for more than a decade in the scene and has dropped several mixtapes/EP’s as a part of 2-ShadeZ, such as ‘Taking over the World’, ‘Dispensing A SounD’ and ‘Street Ghazals’, PharmaSlyck was his solo venture. He was born in the US and brought up in India and his music provides a unique insight to his hybrid cultural learnings. He has been an artist, artivist, journalist and mentor in this hip-hop voyage and is respected for the same.
The 13 year veteran finally dropped his debut solo EP, ‘Selfmade’ and it contains 6 tracks which defend the title of the EP. He touches upon a wide diaspora of topics through just 6 songs. Tracks like, ‘One Shot’ and ‘Keep Improving’ are complicated in a way which forces the listener to decode the recited lessons about human attributes like resilience and motivation and absorb them. He has playfully discussed his tryst with whisky on the track, ‘Jim, Jack and Johnny’ and that seems to be a people pleaser. He addresses the privileges and disadvantages of dual cultural inheritance on ABCD, there is some exuberant wordplay used to depict how he is breaking Indian and American stereotypes together.
“Too desi for Umreeka, Too videsi for Bharat,
But I need no Visa, donno desho main swagat”
No Hip-Hop body of work is complete without braggadocious bars and you can find them in plenty on ‘Tera Bhai’ and the title track of the EP, ‘Selfmade’. Slyck’s flow on these 2 tracks and ‘ABCD’ is unmatched and consists of several tongue twisting multiple rhymes.
There are just 2 collaborations in the EP and they are with La’Kush from New Jersey and Khatarnaak Hip-Hop Collective from New Delhi, India. LaKush who has a phenomenal verse on ‘One shot’, has also mixed and mastered the entire project and is known for his accomplished work with other titans of the genre such as Raxstar and Kaly. Khatarnaak Hip Hop Collective members Sun J, Jinn and Shan Krozy bring a very Delhi feel to the track, ‘Tera Bhai’ and it gives it a certain earworm quality.
He has already dropped a video for ‘Keep Improving’ and recently followed it up with a video for ‘Selfmade’ which looks like a brand endorsement for BMW, something Slyck seems to be very passionate about. The EP has been distributed by his own independent venture ‘Kalakaari’ which has the objective of supporting authentic urban and rural South-Asian vernacular rap music.
You can stream the project here – https://ffm.to/selfmade
