Here we have the 9th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate, The Lotus Child & the Superior-produced Seeds of Babylon. Damn near 3 months to the day, The Color Chocolate 2 is kicking summer in full gear.
“Painting Class” was a drumless intro opting to give haters interventions instead of bars whereas “Buy vs. Sell” brings a self-produced boom bap instrumental in the fold talking about a woman who makes her every dime off crime. “Who’s the Greatest?” featuring eLZhi finds the 2 painting visions for the blind with intricate wordplay from both parties while “Show & Tell” featuring 7xvethegenius reunites the pair ahead of their collab effort to grind until they can’t anymore.
Starting the 2nd half, “Where You Go” takes a soulful route to the beat stripping the drums once again being colorblind to those showing her their true colors while “Blink Twice” talks making atheists pray on her downfall over a piano instrumental from Evidence. “Stories” expresses her frustration of being fed up with fake friends who never gave a fuck of what she wanted & the closer “New Beginning” remembers a late friend whose girl is carrying his child.
Pushing her lyrical prowess as well as her storytelling abilities & dexterity as a producer even further, Che Noir gets back on her bully shit with a sequel to The Color Chocolate 2 that I enjoy more than the predecessor from a year & a half ago. The sequel’s production is stronger than the original’s personally & I think there’s significantly more consistency within the guests’ performances.
Score: 8/10
