Hit-Boy Showcases His Talented HS87 Crew In ‘We The Plug’ Compilation EP

After Hit-Boy left G.O.O.D. Music in 2013, everyone was confused about what he was doing. But it looks like Hit had a strong team in Inland Empire, Calif. and a plan. Fans already know what Hit can do as a producer, but now the Grammy winner is trying to establish himself as a MC while simultaneously introduce his crew. When you have such success in one particular area it's hard to reintroduce yourself as someone different, especially in hip-hop. That's why it took Kanye West to break out of the Roc-A-Fella producer stigma because few share the same success as him. But Hit is taking on this challenge and does a good job with properly introducing HS87 with We The Plug.

The talent is there for HS87. Audio Push took major leaps with their recent mixtape Come As You Are and saw their popularity skyrocketed. Adding to that, K. Roosevelt dropped a solo EP Rosegold last year that was an underground sleeper. Now, we get to see the rest of the team such as Bmacthequeen, Kent M$ney, Tish Hyman, N.No, Big Hit and B. Carr. The production throughout the album is incredible. HS87 has one of the best collections of producers starting with Hit-Boy, Haze Banga, Ray Reel, K. Roosevelt, S. Dot and B. Carr.

The problem with the project is that you can't get a feel for each member of HS87. Each song is filled with at least three members and even though you feel the genuine camaraderie of the group, this is still the first time people are hearing most of them. That's why a song like "Cold" by K. Roosevelt is so enjoyable. Here, he got his own platform for a short song to display why he is HS87's secret weapon.
He is a talent who will probably get a nice look after this tape. His vocals shine throughout We The Plug, specifically on "Picture," "Plug Music" and "Members Only."

What this compilation EP does well is the same thing as Audio Push's Come As You Are, it just brings positive vibes. HS87 exert good energy throughout the tape, meaning they jump in and out of verses smoothly and every song has a message. Look at "Scorn," which is the strongest record on the tape. Oktane starts it off with the simple but difficult question: "Fuck is you living for?" Also Kid Cudi snaps and sends this record to the moon.

Overall, this is a better project than All I've Ever Dreamed of. The only knock is you don't really get a feel of the other artists outside of the people you already know. It would of have been great just to hear a Bmac track just so fans can digest a sample of her as a individual artist because her verses do pique interest. Regardless, you will have no problem playing We The Plug in your daily rotatio with songs like "Alert," "Grindin' My Whole life," "No Talkin'" and more showing a lot of promise. It's that muthaf**kin' plug music.—Emmanuel C.M.