Los Angeles rhymer Hodgy Beats has made his name as the alternately swaggy and shreddy voice of MellowHype, Odd Future’s often aggro and occasionally evil rap duo. But the 22-year-old MC does just fine without his usual partner in crime/baby’s godfather, Left Brain. Last year’s Untitled EP featured production from the likes of Flying Lotus, Alchemist, and Juicy J, and served as a solid stage for the man’s no-bullshit rapping-ass raps. Now we have Untitled EP 2, which continues the trend but adds a couple of twists: like early leader “Years,” several of the tracks include R&B-style singing from Beats, and a pair of them find the guy fronting his own imaginary hardcore band. While the production credits have yet to be released, Trash Talk screamer Lee Spielman does his thing on “Goodbye” and Brain adds his baritone raps to the spooky trunk-rattler “Karateman.”
