One quarter of golden age boom-bap outfit Verbal Highz, Coosie’s signature booming voice & multisyllabic style take centre stage on his latest individual release Bobadundee Flows. With globetrotting samples, top quality production and an array of features from his Hereford contemporaries, Coosie manages to bring a versatility and relevance that many other golden age acolytes lack.
Take title track ‘Bobadundee Flows’… With an infectious rhythm and catchy hook, it isn’t hard to see why the album took it’s name from this heater. Coosie’s braggadocious lyrics and high-impact multisyllabic rhymes come across as almost a mission statement for the rest of the project, hammering home the slightly off-the-wall punches that form the backbone of his style. Most importantly, Coosie seems to be stating himself here, with the chorus confidently proclaiming “It’s those Bobadundee Flows, where they’re from nobody knows. Snorts white liquor till he has a bloody nose. 4-5 minutes till he rips the bloody show. So fly did it with his bloody eyes closed”.
The feature heavy ‘Drew Goes’ hosts fellow Verbal Highz members G00SE and Entra P in addition to guest spots from RPK and Joe Publik. Coosie leads the charge on a beat so bouncy it doesn’t need a hook. Moreover, with such a slew of talent on this track, Coosie still manages to stand out as his steady pace and booming voice provides the strong anchor for the diverse vocal tones that RPK and the others bring.
Speaking of complimentary styles, Coosie and G00SE are a stand-out pair on ‘B2B2’ as G00SE’s more choppy flow and higher pitch is contrasted against Coosie’s style, much like another highlight track; ‘State of Zen’. This synergy is only strengthened by the seamless transition between their verses halfway through the song- G00SE says it best on the refrain here: “We’re rap virtuosos, rap back to back when we burst flows”. All of this is topped off with nostalgic strings and a slight reverb on vocals that sit a little deeper in the mix, making Coosie & G00SE’s already powerful delivery sound like that of giants.
Coosie brings something a little more introspective and laid-back on the fittingly titled ‘Everything’, over instrumentation that is outright beautiful. This step down in aggression is mirrored in a slightly more conversational cadence, conveying a strong sense of emotion in lines like: “I could skip a pebble all the way to the Bahamas, I am everything, monopolizer call me strong armour. I’m from a country that is just South of Botswana, and from the heart I kill a beat something like Jeffrey Dahmer”.
I really can’t emphasise the production on Bobadundee Flows enough, with an impressive soundscape spanning the wondering guitar riffs on ‘Everything’ to glorious golden age trumpets on ‘Minister Sinister’ and even to the more urban tones on ‘Bobadundee Flows’. Despite not being produced by one individual, you can tell that Coosie cultivated a good atmosphere between all those involved in this album, with Highz fam Habitus, G00SE & Chillman all contributing beats and then returning for a verse or two as well.
Overall, this is a very well-polished album from start to finish, with a strong showing from Coosie that is perfectly complimented by the production and selection of features. Bobadundee Flows is a victory for UK hip hop in 2019, one that should definitely put Coosie and the Verbal Highz mandem on any boom-bap head’s radar.
Bobadundee flows drops tomorrow! Cop that.