Eto & Superior Deliver Superiorly Dope Audio Crack, On New Album, Long Story Short

Eto is easily not only one of the best upcoming emcees at the moment, but one of the best emcees in all of Hip-Hop right now.  His grind and consistency in which he has delivered consistently dope audio crack not matched by many.  Such is the case with the Rochester, New York natives latest album, Long Story Short.

Already the New Crack Era reps second album of the year and third release of the year.  It’s a collaborative album that like his previous releases this year finds Eto teaming with a producer to produce the whole project.  Following his very critically-acclaimed and anticipated collaborative album, Hell’s Roof with living legend and iconic producer DJ Muggs, he teams with a producer who isn’t as well-known, in German/Spanish producer, Superior.

The results are a 10-track superiorly dope effort in which Eto once again delivers dark and gritty raw street tales of his just as gritty, dark, rough and rugged upbringing in Rochester.  That plays out like a more doper and better arranged followup to, Hell’s Roof.

Eto sounding more hungry and like he has something more to prove from the very beginning with the albums very cinematically rugged Intro.  The buildup from Superior’s dramatic strings, psychedelic samples, vocal hooks and hauntingly densely dark production providing the perfect backdrop for Eto’s just as gritty and raw grimey dark rhymes.  His opening bars of, “Eto & Superior, in your area.  Let’s make this long story short.  Get right to the bottom of it.  New Crack Era.  Rochester, New York.  Superior.  All gas, no brakes.  It ain’t safe n***a.  (Yea)  Let’s play.  (Pow! Pow!)  Get it jump.  I get it moving.  I sneak the guns in.  I get the goons in.  We murder one in.  We don’t lose it.  I fill my stomach and get the bruising.”  Show how Eto has no remorse and makes no qualms for knowing that the street environment he grew up in wasn’t safe.  This is his story to tell though and how many others like him that had to grow up in hell like living and mostly poverty made them able to survive and just like with his rise as one of the great upcoming emcees consistently having to prove himself.

The very sentimental standout, Another Day, meanwhile finds Eto spitting very emotionally and sentimental lyrics about how things can quickly go from good to bad.  The honest lyrics of, “N***as on the run eating.  He only been home for one weekend.  His little sister clucking, his son teething.  Every month, gun season.  Shoot outs at the probation.  Cool out, I’m at the location.  How I’m under the steps, but it’s always the innocent who suffer the best,” on the organ-backed production of, On The Run.  Really hitting home for not only Eto, but many that grew up in those types of environments or even still live in them.

As we get closer to the midway point of the album we get yet another standout with the Skyzoo-assisted, Take Y’all Back.  One of only two features on the album, the very lush and soulful strings provide the perfect backdrop for both emcees very stellar lyrical performances and what might actually arguably be the best track on the album.  Skyzoo delivering what’s easily the best lyrical performance of the album with his clever opening bars of, “Superior.  (Yea) Let’s take it back to that.  It’s just from a superior place, a superior essence.  Let’s take it back to that essence.  Back underneath, back to the dirt with it.  Take a bag of truth through the sewer now.  Let this all loop around and the booth is a shot around.  Move like you knew it now.  Either bare your arms into it now or catch a verse like we was shooting now.  The clip in a verse form, send out a word storm.  Your hero get merked off like he got first-born.  Forgive me, I’m metaphoring this work on.  You send ya fav out.  A duece in a hearst from.  Ride to a send off, drop top.  Hoping to live for him.  I bend entendres, I bend wars.  Know what I’m in for.  Body bag, whatever you live for.  See how the blood draw when the pen draw.  You know what it hit for.  The loot dirty, the drums stay home.  I rap like an S5-50 parked by the payphone.  Champion hoodies with Louis belts how I aim on.  Pen it for whoever you will wait on.  Now aim on that.”

Lead single, Fortune, is yet another gritty and raw grimey effort that finds Eto showing off his always raw emceeing street tales mixed with the penchant for the heart and progression of the hustle.  Superior’s cinematically somber flute-insused production providing the perfect backdrop.  That somewhat somber mood continues on the very emotional standout, It’s Only Right.  Which finds Eto over the soulfully lush dripping-strings production getting very introspective as he reminiscences about his criminal past in a track that’s more confessional than s**t talking.  Spitting such standout bars as, “I paint a wes craven.  The streets are swine, but n***as went vegan.  Ain’t no escaping, it took time.  It was breathtaking.  It’s only right we live.”

As the album transitions to the very last tracks, the Rochester native gets on his rock s**t with the guitar-driven, The Casket.  A hauntingly very guitar-driven backed production that finds Eto spitting bars about the haunting comeup and cemeteries that Rochester was built on.  While also questioning if anybody grinds enough and for those who, “Try to shine over mine.  I just keep an over grind, don’t recline.  We getting to old for that s**t.  The ones who care are going to hold your casket.”  That segues perfectly into the very loop backed production of, The Count.  Which provides the perfect backdrop for both Eto and the second of his only two features, Daniel Son.  Daniel’s very aggressive opening bars of, “She looking for me, no.  I’m probably cooking on the stove.  Fvck it’s chronic on the floor.  I think she looking for a star.  I seen a kid crawl.  I ain’t no rookie on the thumb.  Girls kinda say nothin, just run their p&**y on the phone,” really setting the tone for the track.  While Eto himself spits bars about giving him his flowers and respect while he’s alive.  With, “I been in the game.  I can measure by the eye.  Give me flowers I can smell while I’m alive.”

On the albums closing, Outro, track Superior goes back to the more cinematic like production.  With the thumping drums and dense chants providing the perfect backdrop for Eto’s lyrics, “Shooting out the window.  God bless, Ripley.  Hell’s Roof.  Tenth city, thousand widows.  I don’t stress if I can’t change it.  Fix if it ain’t broke.  Blessed.  Stay around from the weirdos.  It’s a bunch of them now.  Late 90’s wasn’t none of them around.  Can’t fvck with the sound.  Keep it alive till I’m under the ground.”  The perfect audio dope to close out what’s a superiorly dope album and shows what great and seamless chemistry both Eto & Superior have together to provide Hip-Hop’s first classic album of 2019.  Don’t be surprised to see this and Eto’s nearly just as dope collaborative album with the legendary and iconic DJ Muggs, Hell’s Roof, make many top albums of the year’s list at the end of the year.  I’m sure this isn’t the last of what we’ll hear from Eto, who has a very promising future and career ahead of him too.