Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut in the form of his 8th EP. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations as well as dropping 7 albums as well as a mixtape & his last 7 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, but Nickel Plated producing Cost of Living happened to peak my interest.

“Kicked” begins by hopping on top of this eerie boom bap instrumental putting listeners on game teaching that there are only 3 types of people in this world whereas “Mahomes” works in more kicks & snares with eerie piano chords referencing the titular Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. “Eminem” morbidly talks about having a white girl in the trunk much like the titular Detroit icon’s now deceased alter ego Slim Shady just before “Footstep” declares putting his trust in the scales over bitches.

Finishing the Cost of Living’s first leg, “Blow” ruggedly suggests getting rid of the cocaine while “Yet” starts the other half talking about how you can’t be out here drawing if you wanna keep continuing to win in the streets. After the “241” skit, “Naked” pays homage to those who never made it or never saved it when they had it while “Bridesburg” represents the titular neighborhood in his hometown. “Amputate” closes the EP cautioning that hoodie season’s coming over pianos.

Zombie was the most I’ve enjoyed a project from O.T. in nearly 2 years, the Moving Base O.T. album from a few months ago showed us the duo’s tightly raw chemistry & now this 10 track EP running at almost 19 minutes joins the latter 2 in further redeeming O.T. some of the more lackluster offerings he’s has given us in the last year & a half. Nickel Plated gets a chance to shine by cooking up a consistent batch of beats for the Philly lyricist to body.

Score: 8/10