The Underachievers - "The Proclamation"

When Indigoism came out at the beginning of this year, I immediately thought of classic duos like Smif-n-Wessun and M.O.P. In those groups’ respective primes, both members were basically evenly skilled and equally compelling. No one was waiting out a Billy Danze verse so that Lil’ Fame could take the mic, or hoping Tek would wrap things up so Steele could get his turn. On nearly every track on Indigoism, the same was true of both Underachievers, Issa Dash and AK. They worked perfectly as a self-contained group, and it’s telling that they are the only two voices on the mixtape.

AK (of the Underachievers) - "Times Change"

I’m still working on a review of the Underachievers’ debut mixtape Indigoism (which is great by the way), but in the meantime the duo has announced a series of tour dates with their Beast Coast brethren the Flatbush Zombies and Joey Bada$$, and AK has released his second solo track “Times Change” to celebrate the success that he’s been having with his group. AK and Issa Dash have released two solo tracks each since they started putting out music as the Underachievers, and they’ve made it very clear that they’re just as capable of holding down tracks by themselves as they are of working as a team. Really the only place these guys have ever come close to failing is in their beat selection. And while some of the weaker tracks on Indigoism (“New New York,” “Root of All Evil”) are dragged down by slightly low-grade beats, “Times Change,” with its low-key electric piano beat and AK’s impressive flow, sounds like it would fit nicely about two thirds of the way through the tape, around highlights like “6^th Sense” and “The Mahdi,” without dragging down the flow of the tape. It seems really unlikely that the group’s debut album on Brainfeeder and the inevitable solo mixtapes will not impress just as much if not more than Indigoism.