From the depths of the London underground comes CHOZE, an unbridled rapper who’s prepared to set the hip hop world on fire. With the voracious tenacity only present in hungry overachieving indie artists, his 11-track debut album “D.I.Y” arrived July 2021 and if it set out to prove that CHOZE isn’t one to sleep on, then consider our beds made.
“D.I.Y” kicks off with “BADDERZ” and it’s served with preliminary caution as a voiceover informs us, “The following story contains strong language that listeners may find compelling and professionally composed to educate critics who don’t socialize in the poetic environment” before we’re met with sirens on the hunt for what we can only assume is our escaped vigilante CHOZE. It’s the type of cheeky message that we’re less familiar with hearing out of the modern North American radio-rap world which otherwise seems to put a backseat to the theatre of the art form and we’re ready to take our seats and meet our British instructor in our freshman lecture.
The production takes us straight to the west coast of the United States and drops us somewhere just east of Compton, California where a rap battle is about to break out. “WAKE UP” serves to do just that, coming out of the dressing room in a suave black suit and tie get-up ready to hit the ring and slaughter whoever dares step in with it without letting a single scratch on itself. It wastes no time in bringing us up to speed with CHOZE’s infectious fiery flow as it slithers out between a hat-heavy industrial-inspired beat. At this point we’re not sure what we’re about to be empowered to do but as the track fades out our chests are filled to the brim with fervor for what’s to come next.
We make our way across the map and over to the East coast where the gleeful antagonism of Def Jam and Murder Inc. start to seep through on “BUILT 4 DIS” and “DRUG MUZIK”, slipping in and out of genre-dominating predecessors like DMX and Nemesis. If confidence were a sound, it makes itself heard through CHOZE on these hard-hitting tracks.
Thankfully we’re given a moment to breathe and tape up our bandages and the opportunity to really take in the message CHOZE has for us as he eloquently addresses us in “D.I.Y INTERLUDE”. In a beautiful passage over soft synths and deep bass that can only be done justice by listening intently to the track itself, CHOZE tells us, “my limits to reach the sky – like a scraper, you are your own paver, you are your own saviour”; We enter the second half of the album ready to meet our maker.
In the title track “DIY” and it’s following “NOTHING TO LOSE” we’re invigorated and empowered to find our own passions and run to them despite any implied restrictions we feel have been placed onto us and we’re doing it to the meticulous catchy rhythms that these mantras are laid upon.
By the time we’ve arrived to the tail of the album, we’ve repented on “I APOLOGISE”, we’ve assessed the damage on “LAST 1’S LEFT” and we’re looking forward to our futures with determination and clarity from “SENDING THE SIGNS”.
And now that we’ve arrived at the finish, which is no doubt only the beginning of our revelations, CHOZE passes the torch from him to “YOU” and you must decide what with it you are compelled to do.
While the contagious production on “D.I.Y” is enough to keep you reaching for the replay button on your Spotify app, it’s CHOZE’s unique delivery and transcendental lyricism that really makes this album one that demands space on your record shelf.
“D.I.Y” is available on all streaming services here: https://ffm.to/diyalbum
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Crooked Forest 