Earlier this year Milwaukee rapper El-Shareef released a head-turning mixtape, Retrospective 2: Freeworld, that played a little like a talent reel, going out of its way to give a sense of the rapper's range and versatility. Now he's released a follow-up that narrows down and refines some of those same ideas. Posted to DJBooth.net this week, El-Shareef's Nonchalant EP resurrects some of the soulful, early sounds of Kanye West, then filters them through the hazy, cloudy filter of contemporary independent rap. The tape also adds a good pinch of mischief to the mix: El sounds hungrier, grittier and more volatile than he did just half a year ago, taking cues from the girl-stealing, back-stabbing, shit-talking demeanor of Schoolboy Q.
You can stream the Nonchalant EP below.
