SPOTLIGHT #5: 'Noise Kandy 5' by Rome Streetz

An Album Review By William Newhart

4.5/5 Stars

From here on, nothing goes down unless I'm involved // No blackjack, no dope deals, no nothing mutters a pitched-down Christopher Walken, opening “Noise Kandy 5.” With this menacing quote from the 1990 gangster film “King of New York,” Rome Streetz establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with. The film follows a drug kingpin reclaiming his dominance after his release from prison, which mirrors Streetz’s own come-up as a budding emcee. “Even when I was in jail, I was always writing rhymes,” Streetz told Complex in 2021. The scene occurs about halfway through the film and definitively affirms that Walken’s “Frank White” is back on top in Lower Manhattan, which is just a stone's throw from Streetz’s native Queens. Streetz’s latest effort is the fifth installment in the Noise Kandy series, following “Noise Kandy 4“ in 2020. “5” shows Streetz choosing more experimental, and often more minimal instrumentals to carry his signature calloused and ice-cold coke-rap bars than on last year’s “Kiss the Ring” or his most recent release “Wasn’t Built in a Day.” The instrumental of album opener “Second Seizure” is fittingly noirish, featuring a simple, stuttering sample, sporadically filtered to chilling effect. “Really though, this is well-crafted acid, street-savvy mathematics // Comin' live through your stereo” raps Streetz, self-assured and imbuing every word with a confident vitality.

Lead single “Hell Backwards” boasts the catchiest chorus of the record (“fire in my EYE! Pistol on my SIDE!”) and features characteristically gritty bars from Streetz, bursting into action with the opening line “Trust no one, the soul of a battle-scarred shogun // Plottin' new stickups with a old gun.” This paranoia pervades the album, with Streetz frequently referencing snakes, giving us the sense that he’s always looking over his shoulder, as on track three when he raps “I pray the Lord protect my soul, 'cause I know it's snakes surroundin' me.” Second single “Fire at Ya Idle Mind” features thrillingly aggressive and threatening verses from Streetz and a standout feature Joey Bada$$, who complements and builds on Streetz’s entertainingly murderous vignettes. While his tales of drug-dealing are Streetz’s usual fodder, his work here is freshly succinct and playful, as on highlight “Heart Break Hotel.” The titular line “Was sellin’ hoes molly out the Heart Break Hotel” best exemplifies Streetz’s knack for witty phrases that effortlessly roll off of the tongue. My personal favorite bar on the record might be “Two Ls, roll a cool J, I'm smokin' cannabis” off of “Chrome Magnum.” Who can resist some LL Cool J wordplay?

Noise Kandy 5 is sonically coherent, chock-full of entrancing, whirring and warping sample-based tracks that allow Streetz to ruminate on his past as a pusher and boast about his glamorous present. The beat accompanying Streetz’s punchy one liners on “Magnum” are dusty and dirty, and Conductor Williams’ signature producer tag is especially fitting, with the sample’s high pitched guitars sounding like a train veering off the tracks, crescendoing to a final 40 seconds of chaos where the pitch of the sample chaotically bends and shifts as a man’s voice yells “Conductor we have a problem!” Adding variety to the boom-bap heavy tracklist are “Pocket Full of Beans” and “Shake and Bake,” which show Streetz trying on new styles, with instrumentals that nearly resemble 2010s Soundcloud trap. Sandwiched between these two tracks is the brooding “Black Magic,” which features a muted trumpet dropping in and out, resembling a bee buzzing and complementing Streetz’s pointed coke raps.

Ultimately, Noise Kandy 5 shows Rome Streetz at the peak of his game, working efficiently and effectively with top-tier producers to further develop his signature sound. The record features several cuts that noticeably place drums lower in the mix than in previous albums, placing a spotlight on Streetz’s ever-improving craft as a rapper and storyteller.