Back in 2002, Rosco P. Coldchain had a couple scene-stealing features on the Clipse’s debut album Lord Willin‘ where the then young North Philly rapper held his own next to guys like Jadakiss, Styles P and Ab-Liva on the tracks “Cot Damn” and “I’m Not You,” before his promising career was cut short due to legal troubles. He was signed to Pharrell’s Star Trak imprint and was supposed to drop his debut Hazardous Life, but it was eventually shelved after the subsidiary left Arista for Interscope during the early 2000s. Then in 2008, he was arrested for his connection to a fatal shooting (he still maintains his innocence) and spent the next 14 years in prison.
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Now, back home for about three or four years, Coldchain is picking up where he left off. He’s dropped music since being back outside, but fans got excited when it was announced that he would be doing a tape completely produced by underground darling Nicholas Craven, whose distinct sound has become a fixture in that scene, and has led to critically acclaimed projects with Boldy James, Tha God Fahim and Ransom. The Montreal producer’s penchant for finding and flipping unique samples into loops is the perfect backdrop for the North Philly rapper’s oft-kilter reality raps, and their most recent tape certainly didn’t disappoint. Featuring Malcolm Kamal, Jimmie D, Bruiser Wolf and Ab-Liva, Play With Something Safe puts ‘Sco’s elite lyrical ability and Craven’s versatility on full display.
