Review: NoCap - The Backend Child

NoCap is from Alabama, a state that doesn’t exactly have a rich history of rap music. Even the most notable rapper that was born in that state, Gucci Mane, bases his music in Atlanta and their ever-evolving trap scene. And with the ever-growing presence of street rappers from various areas around the States during the last couple of years, it's hard to not only keep up with all the names but for the rappers themselves to separate their music from their peers.

NoCap attempts to separate himself from the rest of the pack with the release of his latest project, The Backend Child. This is his first batch of new material after his quality features on Lil Baby’s Street Gossip and Quando Rondo’s From the Neighborhood to the Stage.

Clocking in at less than 40 minutes across fourteen tracks, the project only has three features. This gives NoCap more time to be the focal point of the music which is beneficial for him at times, such as on tracks like No Jewelry, Ghetto Angels, and Blind Nights. Solar Sisters is one of NoCap’s most impressive attempts at wordplay and imagery, with lines like “In the jail, I wish I was Barry, I couldn't get no bonds” and a hook that describes him counting hundreds on Neptune and wanting to get away from other people like Pluto was separated from the other planets.

These ideas continue from his recent string of guest features which also included strong wordplay and vivid imagery about life in his area. Tracks like Set It Off and My Time show a braggadocious side to NoCap’s raps, which is a key switch up from his more darker tracks. Features by fellow Alabama rappers OMB Peezy and Rylo Rodriguez on the tracks, Demons and Dead Faces respectively, help give NoCap another voice to complement his raps.

But while NoCap is obviously comfortable in his pocket, he can sometimes get too comfortable. Almost all of the tracks on the project only have one verse and are typically structured in a chorus-verse-chorus format, which can get tiring to listen to over fourteen tracks. Some of the production isn’t exactly memorable either, with a majority of the beats coming from little known producers who have just a recent history of work like NoCap. As a result, there are hits but also glaring misses and NoCap is left to try and carry tracks like Vacant Inside and Around Me from uninteresting production. NoCap also doesn’t give himself more time to celebrate which hinders his versatility.

The Backend Child overall shows some growth but NoCap still has some things to fix before he’s ready to drop a high quality project and become the neighborhood hero for his hometown of Mobile, Alabama.

Final score: 7/10