Chris Webby…where should I start? This Connecticut lyricist unleashed his latest collection of brand new original material, entitled Homegrown. This is Chris Webby’s first retail release since his 2011 EP, There Goes the Neighborhood. This is also his first project since signing with the label eOne. Homegrown comes in hard with eight tracks full of hilarious punchlines and one-liners, as well as fantastic production (all of which is original brand new hip-hop, including previously released singles “Down Right” and “Do Like Me.”) Strange Music’s fast-spitting lyrical emcee, Rittz, makes a guest appearance on the EP on the track “Ride On”, and let me say it myself that this track is one of the most lyrical tracks I have heard in the longest time. The EP has impressive production by DJ Burn One, Harry Fraud, DJ Semi, Ned Cameron, Remo the Hit Maker and Rich Kidd, which makes Webby’s already phenomenal vocals and lyrics that much better.
The first track on the EP, “Bar for Bar (Intro)” comes in with a great piano-driven boom-bap beat and when Webby comes in, he comes in with force. “Rap Nemesis” has hilarious lyrics, just as you would imagine from Webby. It also has a great beat which leads nicely into “Down Right”, a dope track to put on, sit back, light one up and jam out to. “Do Like Me” has an old-school Obie Trice and Eminem sound with a great chorus and four great verses. “Left Lane” and “Only Way To Go” are my personal favorites on the EP next to “Ride On”, which boasts fantastic lyricism and immense production, something fans of Webby have come to love. To finish off the EP, we have “Aww Naww” and “Ride On” (feat. Rittz), which is really the only way to end this project the right way…hard hitting, very lyrical, and, by fa,r the best production on the entire project.
All in all, if you’re just hearing the name Chris Webby for the first time…right now…you’ve been missing out. This dude has crashed the famous mixtape website, DatPiff, nearly three times, and has been making a name for himself these past few years with such notable projects as Bars on Me, Websters Laboratory, and Best in the Burbs, to name a few. He’s rapped with the Kottonmouth Kings, Dizzy Wright, Mac Miller, Rittz, Apathy, Gorilla Zoe, Vice Versa, Slaine, Joell Ortiz, Freeway, Prodigy, Big K.R.I.T., Bun B, Method Man, Kid Ink and many others. If you’re into very lyrical, well-written and well-spit verses as well as amazing production, I highly suggest you check out the Homegrown EP. You won’t be disappointed.