Flatbush Zombies - Vacation In Hell Album Review

posted April 11, 2018 in Arts & Entertainment by Zach Hall.

Flatbush Zombies is a hip hop group based out of Brooklyn consisting of Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick Arc Elliott. Early in their career, Flatbush released two mixtapes: D.R.U.G.S. and BetterOffDead. Flatbush stood out because of their unique delivery and oddball style. Flatbush’s debut album, 3001: A Laced Odyssey kept with their unique styles, but at times felt inconsistent and unorganized. Flatbush Zombies' sophomore album, Vacation in Hell, aimed to improve upon the shortcomings of their first album and, for the most part, succeeds.

One key element of Flatbush Zombies is their unapologetic lyrics and off-the-wall style. From the beginning, all members of Flatbush rapped the way they wanted to and talked about the things they wanted to talk about. In many ways, this is what set them apart from other rap groups. Flatbush Zombies aesthetic is unlike any other rap group or artist in the industry right now and they use it to their advantage. On Vacation in Hell, Flatbush took the ideas they had off their mixtapes and debut album and expanded upon them. The result is a much more focused affair that doubles down on what works. Vacation in Hell sees Flatbush Zombies playing to their strengths.

It’s clear that they have been in the studio for a good amount of time working on this new album as all the ideas in Vacation in Hell are fleshed out. This is helped by the lyrics and delivery of all the members. Meechy Darko’s grumbly and sinister tone has been perfected on this project and works well with Erick Arc Elliott’s production. Zombie Juice continues to shine the brightest out of the three, giving some of his best bars and delivery of his career. Erick Arc Elliott has come the farthest out of all the members. In the early days of Flatbush’s career, Erick focused solely on the production, with Juice and Darko taking center stage. As time went on, however, Erick quickly began to shine as a talented rapper and Vacation in Hell is the best he’s ever been.

Vacation in Hell is essentially divided into two parts: The first eight songs on the album are typical rap bangers with booming bass and crisp synths while the latter half of the album favors more varied instrumentation and introspection. Gone are the unorganized tracks of 3001: A Laced Odyssey. This time around, the line between carefree tracks and introspective tracks is clearly drawn and the album, as a whole, benefits from this. While this distinction helps the flow of the album, it still clocks in at an hour and sixteen minutes. This is quite long for a rap album with no grand concept, but could be justified if every track on the album serves a purpose. Unfortunately, a few songs in the beginning of the album certainly could have been cut for time, as some sound like slight variations of other tracks on the album. Tracks such as “Leather Symphony” and “Headstone” don’t do much to sprinkle variety across the album and only serve to make the album longer. With an album as long as Vacation in Hell, it’s important for every song to feel important. In this case, some of the more repetitive tracks make a listen from start to finish a slog at times. Fortunately, these songs are few and far between and don’t do much to hinder the overall quality of the album.

Not only does Erick Arc Elliott shine with his lyrics on Vacation in Hell, he also shines on the production. Throughout Flatbush Zombies career, Erick has continued to prove himself as one of the most impressive members of the group, and he was able to craft an hour and sixteen minute long rap album with only a few duds on the production end. Throughout the rest of the album is a plethora of rap bangers that showcase Flatbush Zombies impressive flows and introspective tracks that give much need instrumental variety to the project as a whole. Tracks like “The Goddess” and “YouAreMySunshine” showcase not only Erick’s ability as a producer, but the impressive range of the group as a whole.

Overall, Vacation in Hell is a great project. Aside from a few missteps and repetitive tracks, the overall quality of the album outshines its shortcomings. Flatbush Zombies have come a long way in their career and if they keep up this level of polish and creativity, their next album has the potential to be even better.

Rating: 8/10    

 

 

Zach Hall is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email zth5043@psu.edu.