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O.T. the Real Recalls All “The Wars I’ve Won” (EP Review)

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Brand new EP & the 9th altogether from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee O.T. the Real. Getting his start in the underground almost a decade ago after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping 9 albums as well as a mixtape & his last 8 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living & The Devil You Know. 38 Spesh fully produced Possession with Intent a couple months ago & it’s my favorite of his in 2025, tapping in with Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla to flex The Wars I’ve Won.

“Bird Flu” opens with a drumless rap rock instrumental advising to respect the chain of command whereas “Fishtown” work in a vocal sample talking about being quick to hit the highway since it’s a perfect plan to him. “Life+Life” featuring Benny the Butcher & T.F finds the trio over a boom bap beat ruthlessly attacking those who fucked around & woke the sleeping dogs up leading into “Soldiers” remembering a homie of his who got killed by a cop.

As for “Small Cars”, we have O.T. over more rap rock production talking about only smoking these days while “Floor Boat” asks God if he can get in Heaven still on top of a drumless guitar. “Everybody’s Gone” talks about the streets & fans adoring him maintaining a rap rock sound while “Mick Jagger” grittily boasts of him rolling with stones. “End of the Day” finishes The Wars I’ve Won giving a middle finger to beef since he’s eating better now.

Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla’s production on Benny’s 6th EP Pyrex Picasso & Rick Hyde’s 10th EP Lupara are still enjoyable now than they were when both of them dropped, but them doing a new extended play with another skilled member from the B$F crew almost rivals O.T. the Real’s debut for TCF almost 3 months earlier. The jazzy boom bap styles of Possession with Intent are being carried over with hints of rap rock along with drumless & chipmunk soul added to the mix, soundtracking the descriptions of his battle victories.

Score: 8/10

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