Richie Cortes aka InfyNite TraxX is an emcee who was raised in Tampa, is based in Orlando and maintains a foothold in both cities with performances and albums like fourth and latest full-length, Richy InfyNite. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Bay area producer/emcee Bobby Treacherous at his Treacherous Manor and featuring a who’s who of Central Florida hip hop talent throwing down guest verses or vocals, Richy InfyNite is a 21-track odyssey of moods ranging from dramatic stripped-back bombast to more relaxed and soulful contemplations. The music is broken up by skits with echoing sample splices and InfyNite TraxX’s gruff-voiced sing-song delivery given syrupy deep effect as he voices thoughts and observations and creeps into the occasional cut like “Gutta Make Em Suffa” with fast-spitting rapper brother Kenosobi.HAMP, TreyLo and TraxX challenge all the actors and counterfeit men to “get yo’ rhyme right” in “Grind Tyme,” trading verses over big crunkin’ bass, hissing and snapping high-hat and aggro-honking horn samples, while Bobby Treacherous and JRoc Jones join TraxX in the stealthy sinister “Go Get It (Ride Out),” which smacks with hard beats, fizzing and whirring synths, and a throaty spouted lyrical refrain (“This is this ride out, slide out, roll out them Chevys / if they tell me I’m gon’ rise, I’ma go, I’ma get it”). “Thro D Blunt Bak” is saturated in the haze of its subject matter, rides on a ‘70s soul vibe further augmented by creamy smooth guest vocals by Lefty Negron, and finds TraxX, Kenosobi and Dee Ebbaneeza blowing smoke in breezy abstract rhyme processes. Arthur Bogalis adds velvety elastic bass grooves to nostalgia-vibing ode “Coulda Had it All (I R-Memb-A),” Traxx adopting a breathy melodic timbre as he reminisces about his youth, learning to get his rhyme on and the foolish decisions he made and time he wasted when he could have been pursuing his dreams. Bogalis’ lowend depth is brightened by vocal splices of Lana Del Rey in “Cant Take Ma Love,” TraxX and fellow emcees B. Frances and RU mulling and brooding over her ethereally wistful wails.
TraXX proves he can hold his own sans guests as well; “AsskickD” has a more aggressive lyrical sway but maintains a calm easy tone, while “Wreck T Fy” has him spouting bravado, then backing it up with deliberate serpentine rap chops, laying down verses like “I speak of defiance / I am fighting to breach through the silence / the feeble define the evil as equal / beings of compliance / you need to be quiet! they cryin as they feed you they science” with the greatest of ease.
Critics’ Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Check out "“Thro D Blunt Bak” below. Listen to the full album at infynitetraxx.bandcamp.com; if you buy a digital copy now, you get a hard copy along with a free ticket to the InfyNite TraxX Album Release Party, which is hosted by Bobby Treacherous, features performances by InfyNite TraxX, Kenosobi, Jroc Jones, The Rukus, Rival and AMiAM, and music by Wally Clark, and takes place Sat., Aug. 1, 11 p.m. (10 p.m. doors), at Crowbar, Ybor City. Admission is $10 advance, $12 at the door (if you don't buy a digital copy of the album, of course).