Seven Da Pantha and Ace Loner Connect To Give A Crisp Breath of Fresh Air

By Josh Rizeberg

How lucky we are that two of the best MC’s in Tacoma, WA are eager to collaborate and work with other like minds. Ace Loner AKA Don James and Seven Da Pantha AKA Bunchy Carter are individual powerhouses in the Washington State Hip Hop scene. The cool thing about both of these two is they have a healthy predication to join forces and make dope collab’ projects. Look on either of their catalog’s and you will see Don James has made an album with John Crown and Seven has made albums with a slew of talented artists all over the country. So it was much to my delight when I saw Fresh Air, the new album from both of them available on all digital platforms.

The cover is an arty photograph of an iconic wall in downtown Tacoma with both their likenesses in poster form on the brick wall. It is an alliteration of how both artists are just as foundational to our city’s music scene as the very bricks that make up our city. The album is a concise seven-song smasher that showcases both artists’ valuable attributes and inputs.

“Double Cross” the first track, is a funky, off-kilter, perplexing, head-nodder of a beat. James comes in and laces it with his unique, laser on-point, focused flow with just enough abstractness to make it highly interesting. In the vein of Griselda, the song ends with a high-octane rant by the Nature Boy Ric Flair.

Next up is “Franky Baby”. This beat is more of a dark-night, midnight-hour, boom-bap with some haunting melodies in the background. It is a good backdrop for Da Pantha who has a rougher, deeper, baritone of a spit. Then Ace comes in for the second verse and completes the murder with some quotables, “Murder every beat no hearsay. Sweet sixteens like a white bitch birthday.” Every song on the album sounds complete and full but do not always look for hooks or choruses. We have beats and verses but on some tracks, that is all our stomachs can handle when the food is this filling.

An exception to this can be found in “Get Off Yo Ass”, a summer-sounding hustle soundtrack. This is pure paper-chasing motivation music. However, it is not just energy like a Jeezy song. It is highly musical with deep verses and a complex chorus from Loner, “I get money not mad. Out here chasing that bag. I gets mine off the ave. Boy go get off yo ass…” Then Carter comes in and wraps it up with a swift, perfectly timed and rhythmic flow. There are not many MC’s who can catch a pocket like Seven Da Pantha.

Song five, “Triple Beam”, is a beautiful, slow-paced, masterpiece. The song is soothing like calm-waters yet somehow it manages to capture a hustler’s angst. It is a good juxtaposition. Just like the chill-vibes of Ace Loner meshed with the grittiness of Seven Da Pantha. The two combine for a well-balanced meal. The two lament about trying to get to be thousandaires off this triple-beam. It gives the song a real welcoming, everyman got to get-it-ness.

“Jungle” is track six and it begins with a classic, monster verse from the beast that is King Wojack (the King of Raps from Tacoma). This song is full of wordplay and street knowledge. It is obvious Ace Loner and Seven Da Pantha have reverence for the pioneer that is Wojack and all three trade barbs with top-notch quality.

The last song “Money Plays” is a solo song for Seven Da Pantha to shine on. It is hard to write a quote from him cause he is more of a block general barking orders instead of spitting complex rhyme schemes. Imagine a general in a war, commanding troops. These are the sounds we get from Da Pantha. There are no pretty poetics involved. Just life and death exclamations that dissect the wickedness of the system.

Beat Armada provides the bulk of the production and they do not disappoint in delivering for the job. All beats suit the maturity level these two MC’s bring to the table. It is a fully encapsulating ode to the mature, high skill-level Hip-Hop that Ace Loner and Seven Da Pantha make. I will be waiting with my headphones for a second album!