Pumpkinhead

Third Earth Music is definitely dropping jewels on the hip-hop world. Now they come at us with Pumpkinhead's second release, Beautiful Mind, a decent little EP with some shining moments but doesn't hold strong against its labelmates. Pump is definitely on the more hardcore tip and doesn't exactly drop jazz numbers, rather coming hard and attacking with cuts like the dance club bouncer-bashing "Supahstar" and the hot-tempered "Pumpin'." Pumpkinhead definitely shines more when he slows down the tempo and brings his lyrical flow down in pace like the church organ-laced highlight "Park Slope" and the piano-driven "Blacklisted," which starts Beautiful Mind on the right foot, but slowly begins to drop from then on. Pumpkinhead tends to lean more towards the club scene, with an abrasive flow that is a tad harsh on the ears and ass-shaking tracks like "Brooklyn Academy" that lack originality and fail to hold one's attention. Pump has it in him to create something fantastic and has proven it more than once, but Beautiful Mind is too lopsided to fully enjoy his potential.