Sx3H.W.A (Stuff Someone Should Have Written About) #2: I/O the ProcessR’s “Vestiges”

“Vestiges,” was released back on June 1st this year. We remember what was going on around that time and for I/O, and everyone else, a lot of personal goals and projects took a necessary back seat. With the world changing and burning in front of our very eyes, most other things didn’t matter except protecting you and yours, and most importantly: justice. I/O and B&E went ahead with their scheduled release. However, instead of promoting it for their benefit, they gave away free copies of the project if fans donated goods and funds to Pimento Jamaican Kitchen or the George Floyd Memorial Fund. That decision was the morally right and thoughtful way to share someones art. Even so, “Vestiges” sort of became a vestige in itself already in its short life. I started writing this the day before everything really kicked off in Minneapolis, and it took me till August 10th to write this preface and do my final edits. For that reason, I decided to make this episode #2 of “Stuff Someone Should Have Written About.” Someone should’ve written about this, me specifically. But it had to take a backseat for a while. So without further adieu, let’s jump right in to what I started penning in late May.

B&E Music has had another release this year, and if I know them well enough, this won’t be the last. In this round, we have B&E’s co-founder and jack-all-of-trades I/O the ProcessR. I/O’s talent and skill doesn’t just brush against the microphone, it splatters all over, leaving its mark scattered around the studio and every facet of the music he makes. I/O has produced a vault’s worth of tracks including self-producing “Vestiges.” Not only does I/O produce for himself, he shares his beats with his label-mates and the rest of this scene. On top of that, he dabbles in engineering; mixing his projects, as well as for his label-mates including the most recent B&E release of Prime & PM’s “Creatures from the Basement.”
I/O and Walrus the Human are self-proclaimed “Metal Scene refugees,” as both were in a metal band prior to emigrating into Hip-Hop. The metal influence is apparent in their overall sonic architecture and style. I/O and Walrus are in a sort of music family tree. In my opinion, both should be regularly spinning on 93X by way of their style. And let’s face it, that radio station could definitely use some better music.
“Vestiges” leads off with the fast paced, 8-bit-like instrumental, “Immaculator.” This inaugural track sounds like it should have a rightful place in the TRON universe, maybe in the upcoming CyberPunk video game. If the creators are lucky, they’ll come across this joint and plug it into their universe. I/O’s vocals glide right over the beat as his pace and cadence feels like a car consistently building speed on the freeway.
The second track “Another Line” holds one of my favorite beats on the project. I/O brings a multi-layered instrumental with a lot going on, but spread out sparingly to create elegant chaos.
“Lower” comes in as the third track on “Vestiges.” The instrumental has the most dirty, grimy, futuristic-grunge sound on the whole project. This joint will bring out the headbangers and create a sea of people abusing their necks simultaneously. I/O comes in with one of his best vocal performances on the project. His voice regularly penetrates the higher frequencies of the spectrum, but in “Lower” he extends a slight drawl to pad the lower frequencies and adds an unapologetic charisma to this banger. Along with one of most infectious hooks on the project, I/O delivers some of my favorite lines, including:

“Black cats cross paths, I’m Baskin.
I’m stepping on cracks, cause to me, they’re irrelevant.”

And:

“You be lucky I don’t feel the need to try like:
Liu Kang, I’m down-left-right.”

Which can refer to Liu Kang’s many finishing moves through out the Mortal Kombat series. Whichever one you imagine is up to you, choose your fatality. I/O’s sound bite at the end of this track proclaims “I’m not willing to spend any more time on this song.” Which, personally and professionally, I feel that.
The next two tracks, “Paint a Wall” and “Feed it” create a consistent bridge into the thick of the album. “Paint a Wall” creates a deep wavy trance. I/O shifts from smooth melodies to sharp bars seamlessly. I found some mixing magic on this track that I came to appreciate. On the last leg of the track, I/O punches a full stop. His vocal’s cease, but the delay plug-in carries it into the void as it bleeds away into beat, becoming part of the instrumentation for the rest of the song. “Feed it” serves as my biggest reinforcement in my case that I/O should be spinning on 93X. The atmosphere in which the song sets is ironically colorful in the sense of the darkness it paints: Dogs repetitious and viciously barking along with a hasteful breath steadily rising to a panicked one. Ominous bell synths insert themselves into this duet. I/O’s vocal performance seamlessly marries the beat, but what I’m most impressed by in this song is the audio theater it conducts.
“Black Art” gets my favorite song sticker for this project. I/O comes with another demanding and crisp performance over a pumped up just-weird-enough instrumental, which may also be one of my favorites on the project. His second verse on the joint is one of his best with a dominate verse that accurately describes his sound as “Entropy.”
I/O tags in one of the best pure lyricists in the Twin Cities and close friend and collaborator to B&E Music: Mookie the Magician. Mookie delivers one of my favorite verses as I/O passes the proverbial baton for the final verse and finishes effectively. Full of memorable bars, my favorite has to be:

“Hit stick is what I call every pen when I’m told to jot.”

Walrus the Human (left) and I/O the ProssessR (Right) performing at Can Can Wonderland for the “Victory Laps” show last October. The show was a joint show thrown by B&E Music and Chicago based Ever Evolved Music. (http://www.everevolved.com)

“Noose” provides a staggered pace but holds the same energy as previous tracks with a gritty feature from south side Chicago emcee Novatore. “Dust Collection” serves as a segway to the last leg of “Vestiges.” This joint switches shades into an introspective and poignant performance from I/O over an intimate piano sample-lace instrumental. I/O delivers some lovely choruses over the span of “Vestiges.” However, with the substance of this hook, it makes it one of my favorites.
“Ape” and “Swing Away” are a pair of songs that are attached to each other. Not only have they been in I/O live set rotation for a while, they have rightful places within it. “Ape” adopts pandemonium and anarchy along with cold, calculated bars. Apes are heard shouting and screaming throughout the beat as I/O professes:

“This is how we know it’s a jungle!
That’s how we roll in the Jungle!”

“Swing Away,” carries the energy with a different pace as I/O continues to flex his impeccable ability to deliver quick bars clearly and passionately.
The last track, “Song 11” provides the sickest baselines I’ve heard in awhile. This beat would be perfect for Vince Staples, but I digress. I/O completely tears this beat apart as he bows out of his project with brutal grace. A lot of cats I’ve reviewed have had some more than dope outros, but I/O probably executes his outro the dopest.
“Vestiges” in definition means a small visible trace of something's existence. I/O’s vestige is this shadow relic of black magic in the form of 11 tracks in 40 minutes. All that’s happened around the world since this project does make it feel so long ago with little trace of being released. So, in a way, “Vestiges” fits perfectly for this project. But what was given and what is left shows that I/O’s Vestiges are some of the best of the year so far.

Listen to “Vestiges” and other projects by I/O the ProcessR here.

Review by: Paul Thorson, Hip-Hop Writer @PaulyT03
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC