Arrow Santi’s first full length EP ‘The Ca$h Tape’ sees the emerging Babylon, NY experiment with a host of different beats, diverse flows, and an array of vocal melodies while finding his own sounds across the twelve track record. Opening with a robotic and monotone voice note that introduces the record before Arrow Santi enters to deliver a few chorus lines, you’re thrown into the project without much notice or understanding of what’s to come. When Tree$H Ho hits, you start to understand the vibe Arrow Santi is going fore. There’s a reverb to the record, an echo that he seems to enjoy across each of his vocal performances. A constant utilisation of live recordings, of ambient sounds, and all the while keeping the flows and performances slightly.
He’s able to utilise a rapid flow while still maintaining a rather lackadaisical delivery, making for a unique listening experience. On Guapane$E, the flexing is turned up a couple of notches in a rapid fire one and a half minute barrage. ‘Mo$H Pit’ perfectly captures the mania, the menace, and the haziness of being caught in an underground rave or in the midst of the mayhem and chaos in the night time. ‘Bahama$’ almost flips the script of the rest of the album in entirety. The robotic and meshed sounding production sounds wholly raw and unfinished, an almost cacophonic assault where Arrow Santi finds himself delivering a strange Danny Brown esque performance.
Far from the norm and decidedly bringing his own style, Arrow Santi’s flourish on ‘The Ca$H Tape’ is not to be trifled with. It’s a powerful and devastating hip-hop record that’s well worth your time.