Oakland, CA rap duo Main Attrakionz, formed by Mondre M.A.N. and Squadda B, are poster children for the obscure cloud rap movement: an emerging genre known for ethereal lyrics and cascading synth lines hooked around amorphous beats. After losing their first mixtape when the hard drive holding their work crashed, Main Attrakionz—in collaboration with Sacramento producer Tynethys—have finally released their self-titled mixtape, Main Attrakionz x Tynethys.
In a phrase, this album can best be described as hit-or-miss. Unfortunately, the many misses strewn throughout the 10-track release outweigh the hits. The song “On1,” which was pre-released in September, is clearly the highlight. It’s the perfect embodiment of the cloud rap movement and an excellent example of Tynethys’ (pronounced “teen this”) prowess. The lyrics are light and gentle, playing off of Squadda B’s soothing vocals and allowing the song to float over the listener. However, the soothing moment is regrettably followed by “Life,” an angry and scratchy mix with weak lyrics accompanied by unoriginal sounds and beats.
Main Attrakionz mostly stuck with the trademark descriptors of cloud rap: effortless and breezy. But from the leaders of the cloud rap movement, I expect uniqueness and unpredictability like we hear in “USB,” not the sleepy vocals and elementary rhymes displayed in “Verbal.” Tynethys describes this collaboration as “simple like the title. Drugs, a whole lotta tree, some brandy with lemonade, some vodka, drugs, a keyboard, and a microphone […] then repeat.” The process shows in the mixtape—if your interest is in unoriginal lyrics and simplistic airy beats, then this is your album; if not, stick with their hits and hope for more consistency on their next release.