Reign of Terror is a producer from Los Angeles, California carving his path in the underground during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic by releasing the debut EP My Reign of Terror in the spring & the Chops from the Shop beat tape on Christmas Eve only 7 months later. Needless to say: A lot has happened since we got either one of those projects so when it was brought to my attention that he had a 2nd beat tape on the way, I wanted to hear how it would hold up compared to the last one & even the EP he introduced himself with.
“The Night” really sets the tone of what’s to come by hooking up a sample chop & a drum machine colliding with one another whereas “2nd Coming” pushes forward combining chipmunk soul with boom bap. “All Night Long” works in more crooning sampling with some kicks & snares continuing to push the fusional ideas of the previous joint even further while “Breath” embraces a jazzier direction sonically to cap off the first quarter of The Chopping Tape.
Moving on from there, “Calm” keeps the jazzy boom bap vibes rolling with a prominent vibraphone flip throughout leading into “Dreaming” pans out as a 9-minute chipmunk soul epic bringing more kicks & snares in the fold. “Heartbreak” carries on the slick production style pioneered RZA of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan with the same applying to “I Need You”, except it almost reminds of The Heatmakerz.
“Say” continues the sped up vocal chops throwing some horns in the fold this time around while “Legend” keeps sprinkles some keys in the fold meshing them with more brass instrumentation. “My Eyes” returns to the chipmunk soul sound Just Blaze & Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West further popularized during their time with Roc-A-Fella Records while “New Era” opts in favor of a richly symphonic boom bap direction.
Right after “Out” & “The End” swap out the orchestral bits of the last couple beats in favor of sped-up vocal samples, “Ways” lessens the prominence of the chipmunk soul influences although there’s no denying it still lands on that category while “The Outcome” could very well be the funkiest composition he’s cooked up on the whole tape. And finally, “Tu Mirada” sends off The Chopping Tape with a prominent Latin sample layered between the drum machine delicately to the ear.
Crafting the whole entire thing in between haircuts including both breaks & after hours of his barbershop, The Chopping Tape begins the latest chapter of Reign of Terror’s career as a producer with an instrumental hip hop comeback that elevates his skills after so long away. For almost an hour & 15 minutes approximately, his production is prominently catered towards chipmunk soul in contrast to both its predecessors although you do get hints of boom bap & jazz rap shown.
Score: 7/10
