More or Les

For his fourth release, Toronto, ON's More Or Les takes his love for food to the next level. Mastication is mostly self-produced, the music mellower and smoother than on his last couple of releases, and the topics are most often conceptual. The rapper/producer/DJ/foodie discusses overindulgence on the minimal "Consumption" and the hard rockin' "Filet Mignon," and uses food as a metaphor for rap skills on posse cuts "Saltines" and "Top Chefs (Yammy)." The former features Timbuktu, Chokeules and Wordburglar over broken beat minimalism, while the latter is a reggae-lite jam with the Mighty Rhino and the return of rapid-fire rapper Chip-Fu (Fu-Schnickens). Addiction is the topic of both beat box-based "Coffee" and "Fast Food," the latter a highlight, thanks to Peter Project's fast-paced production, while "Big Sugar (Raw Mix)" examines the exploitation that feeds our sweet tooth over a groovy, densely layered beat by UK producer Bryn Griffiths. Still, sometimes the songs just celebrate food, with "Brunch Again," a soulful, horn-heavy sequel to fan favourite "Brunch," "Pizza Party" a funky, up-tempo sequel to "Pop N Chips," and "Ice Cream in the Park," an ode to the cold confection, the remix a smooth summer jam featuring a cheeky verse from Jesse Dangerously, while the Jesse-less original is a little more g-funk. And let's not forget the rapped recipes of "Chilli" and "Black Cake." More Or Les takes a fun, personal concept and sticks to it, resulting in a fine addition to his already solid catalogue.