Crictic’s Corner: Kato – T.I.M.E. Vol. 1

Returning with a new mixtape release entitled T.I.M.E. (This Is My Everything), Kato is out to prove himself as an up and comin producer. This time around he refrains from the microphone, contributing only one verse on the entire tape. Instead he relegates the vocals to various artists around the country, leaving him to focus solely on the production tip. In similar fashion to illmind’s Blaps, Rhymes & Life series, T.I.M.E. has been released as a free download to maximize word of mouth marketing and exposure. For this review, we’re going to do things a little differently and focus more heavily on the production, this being a producer’s mixtape and all.

So is this release worth your bandwidth? You know the deal. Find out after the jump.

Intro – Not much to say. Short piano intro that leads into the next track.

Landslide [Mic Masters]– Kato takes the piano riff from the intro and chops it up and delivers a strong beat. I like the dirty sounding drums on this track. They add a bit of grime to contrast with the elegant sounding, chopped keys. I have a mixed opinion on Mic Masters’ style but he did a fair job on the track but didn’t quite live up to the killer beat.

Everybody Hatin’ [Grady] – There’s a lot about this track that reminds me of Jeezy. Everything from the beat to the way Grady spits made me think of Jeezy’s Put On. On that note, none of it sounds out of place but it does come across a bit copycat. The beat could have used a few more switch ups because it does feel repetitive towards the end. Overall the track is pretty good but it’s not as fresh as it could have been.

Crank It [Mike Petrone ft Lil Scrappy & Iam] – I remember feeling this song when I first heard it months back. It’s a banger for sure. Typically I don’t always fully appreciate southern hip hop but I gotta give up props here. In my humble opinion I think this could be an anthem. The synth/horn sounds are clutch… they really keep the energy up, making the beat hit hard and all the MCs deliver with tenacity. Kato really put together a hot instrumental here.

Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Kato Remix) [Kanye West]– So I’m a huge fan of the original beat, and to remix such a well known song is a bit risky. Fortunately he does a pretty decent job in recreating the song uniquely yet faithfully. Is it better than the original? No, not at all; but it is a cool alternate listen. I’m really digging the bass synth as it anchors the track, keeping it dark. This coulda been a train wreck but Kato proves he’s up to the task.

Don’t Be Hard On Yourself [Above Ave.] – With a jazzy piano loop, K keeps the track real underground, boom-bap style. It’s got an old school vibe to it that I appreciate, though I imagine its not nearly catchy enough for your average top 40 listener. The jazz scatting towards the end is an interesting change of pace but I think it could have been executed a little smoother as it didn’t seem to fit perfectly into the pace of the track.

Real Song [Adrift Da Belle] – In a way, any track featuring a femcee comes off as fresh simply because they are a bit of a rare breed. Regardless of my predisposition, this is a strong track. The mix down of the beat is very clean and I find no faults with it. In fact I wonder if the track was made specifically to match Adrift’s style or if she adapted to the beat because either way, it all comes together seamlessly. It’s got a earnest, almost Talib type of quality to the sound. One of the stronger cuts of the mixtape.

Go [Tommy Lee Soul ft Kato] – This strong, dirty, drum-kit heavy track immediately reminded me of Asher Roth’s ‘Lark On My Go-Kart’, only without the catchy synth. True to Blue Oyster Cult style, the cowbell actually adds a lot to the beat. The production may be kind of sparse but it works really well, delivering a stand out, memorable song. Plus Kato pulls double duty and actually gets behind the mic on this one, reinforcing the fact he can hold his own as an MC too.

Cheesecake Charger (Interlude) – Eh. This one went straight over my head. Pointless filler to me.

I Got [A’leus] – The production is very thin here, consisting of only drums. I like the sound but the song kind of gets mind numbingly repetitive with the hook. I wonder how this track would have turned out with a more charismatic, dynamic MC. A’leus doesn’t ruin it but he didn’t effortlessly carry the song either, and when you have such a sparse beat, you gotta kill it.

Rapper-O’s [Dumbfoundead] – I was diggin the track when I first heard it on dumb’s album and I’m still feeling it now. The production really exhibits Kato’s diversity in sound as he delivers a tongue-in-cheek, squeaky clean beat that plays hand in hand with dumbfoundead’s goofy delivery. I just wonder who does the TV voice overs because they did a humorously great job.

The Joint [Adult Film Stars] – This beat came off formulaic for some reason. One thing about the production that stood out was the steel drum sounding keys, but the rest was kind of dull to me. AFS deliver an almost uninspired performance where nothings really wrong with it except that nothing stands out. Unfortunately this song is pretty forgettable.

Holla (Kato Remix) [Mojo Swagger] – If there were a style of instrumental that epitomized Kato’s signature style, I think this would be it. With haunting keys and sweeping strings, the production gives off a modernized Dre type of vibe. Kato & Mojo Swagger have made a great team in the past, and they are still strong here as well. I thought their collab from Kato’s last album was better but I can’t hate on this one either.

T.I.M.E. (interlude) – In a way I kind of wish this wasn’t just an interlude yet I’m also glad no one jumped on it. I say this because the beat is pretty heavily layered, and there is a lot going on at certain moments, so adding an MC could have made the track relatively messy. This interlude has an interesting, almost old school video game sounding synth melody going on. Overall it’s a smooth change of pace and switches things up nicely.

Easy Come Easy Go [Mic Masters] -I’ve never been the biggest fan of MM’s choppy style of flow, but maybe I’m getting more and more used to it because it didn’t bug me nearly as much on this track. The production seems a tad dull on this one… maybe because I’ve heard several other like-sounding songs from Kato. It gets lost in the mix and isn’t as memorable as some of his other work. One thing that did stand out was the narrative MM crafts throughout the song, it kept the song at least somewhat compelling.

Mack Jones Shit [Mack Jones] – Eh, definitely not feeling the hook. The song has a cool bounce to it though. The song has an underground sound to it, but I think it could have had more appeal with a better hook. In the end this is just an OK track that fails to sway me in either direction. A shame because I think a different artist could have done a lot with this beat.

Action [Slick Audio] – Something about this track gives off a similar vibe to Diddy’s Bad Boy For Life. I like the production, especially the main synth line but Slick doesn’t do the greatest job in taking the track the distance. He comes off very generic in this track, too bad considering I’ve heard some of his other material and it was def stronger.

Party Snatchers [Thirsty Fish] – This track is very odd & quirky but that can be mostly credited to the MCs. It’s a goofy but enjoyable track except for the lame hook. It’s just too repetitive and off-center for it’s own good. This is one of those tracks where the MCs outshine the beat, which probably wouldn’t have been as enjoyable on it’s own. It’s got a knight rider type of sci influence to it that sounds cool but wasn’t fleshed out enough to make it a classic.

Hot ‘N Cold (Kato Remix) [Mic Masters] – Surprisingly, this twist on the Katy Perry single came together very well. The new beat really carries on the spirit of the original’s sound, bringing a catchy mainstream hip-hop switch up to the song. Additionally, Mic Masters seems like the perfect fit for the track, choppy flow and all. This may be the most accessible, top-40 sounding beat Kato’s ever made but he did it well. Props.

Conclusion:
Kato gives us a pretty dynamic sounding album that showcases his production well. However, in too many cases, the MCs don’t fully do the beats justice. In comparison to his last release ‘Ears & Voices’, this mixtape offers a few more pleasant surprises but also offers a couple more forgettable tracks as well. While no joint is all that bad, there are definitely a couple numbers that should have been retooled with a different artist to make them stronger. Hopefully as Kato’s reputation grows, the circles of MCs he works with will either grow with him or expand to include artists of a more dynamic caliber. It was great to hear Kato experiment a little bit with his sounds, never relying too heavily on a given style. His few forays into a more mainstream direction show promise as he was able to pull them off seamlessly while still jumping back to backpacker anthems now and then. Hopefully Kato’s reputation will continue to spread and provide him an opportunity to further diversify both his sound and network of artists. Since this is a producer-centric mixtape we’re going to give two scores, one for just the production and another for the complete package.

Must Listen: Crank It,  Real Song, Tommy Lee Soul, Rapper-O’s, Hot ‘N Cold Remix

a-Tunes Score: Production – 8.5/10, Complete Package – 7.5/10