Sliccs Gotcha

If you run across Sliccs Gotcha while driving, don’t tailgate. On “Used to Shootouts,” the last track of his new release, Prince of Whales, Sliccs casually warns: I’m used to shootouts/Shoot my own back window out/You get behind me, I be shootin’ your front window out. The rest of the album expands on that theme: violence, the daily grind, an endless trail of haters waiting at every turn. Gotcha’s big, boastful lyrics are cinematic, as gangster albums tend to be. As with many Major Factor releases, Prince offers smart, synthetically clapping beats to ride out, party and smoke a blunt to. Gotcha’s halting flows are at times so laid-back, they threaten to disappear into the production. But the energized associate rappers he brings along for the ride, including Felix Mitchell and Rappin Twan, complement Gotcha’s hypnotism, keeping the listener alert. As with darts, fast food and moderately attractive people, Prince is probably enjoyed best while intoxicated. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.