.. Two, is the latest mixtape from Fresno rapper Fashawn. A follow up to his first Higher Learning back in 08, it works as a nice appetizer until we get another great full length in the (hopefully) near future. Not to sell the tape short! Fashawn can spit, and often gets compared to a younger Nas because both had/have a talent for switching between young get fucked up and hood knowledge lanes easily and effortlessly. “Twist up a spliff/ get a fifth of patron/ hate a chick who just talk shit on the phone/ baby I’m tryna stick, give ya dicks to ya dome, shit/” right into a motivational street dreams anthem “Do What I Gotta Do” being a good example. Production is a bit of a mixed bag ranging from great to alright, especially when you contrast some of the ridiculous talent he’s worked with in the past. It’s just hard to swallow beats like “Manny Pacquiao” when you’re coming off entire LPs with A class producers like The Alchemist and Exile. Again though, they aren’t bad by any means and J.Cole even has a couple production credits on here along with a couple features. You’d also be hard pressed to find a weak verse on the whole thing (just don’t pay too close attention to GLC’s verse on “Weed Nap”) and thats something to be applauded given the nature of mixtapes in this day and age. A sizeable portion of the tape features original beats as well which is always a plus for a mixtape. “In The Rain” and “Just Another Day” being some highlights I loved. Fashawn had a great underground hit with his debut LP, Boy Meets World and if you aren’t fimiliar with Fash and the Grizzly City this is a great place to start. Just make sure you go hit up his excellent back catalog too.

Side Note: “Relaxation” leaked awhile back, tagged as a J.Cole track but it’s featured on this tape and it goes so you’re in for a treat if you’ve never heard it. Below is a tagless verision.

Download via XXL here.

Stream: [wpaudio url=”https://truantsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/11-Just-Another-Day-feat-Gilbere-Forte-Prod-by-Necronan-Beats-11.mp3″ text=”Fashawn – Just Another Day ft. Gilbere Forte” dl=”0″]

Stream: [wpaudio url=”https://truantsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/18-Big-Dreams-Prod-by-J.-Cole-11.mp3″ text=”Fashawn – Big Dreams (Prod. by J.Cole)” dl=”0″]

Download: [wpaudio url=”https://truantsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Fashawn-Relaxation-ft-Jcole-Omen1.mp3″ text=”Fashawn – Relaxation ft. J.Cole & Omen (Prod. By J.Cole)”] (160 kbps)