Johnthan Reviews: Ashton Travis’ “Mr. Freshman” Mixtape

Greetings, all.

So, I peeped my Twitter DM’s and found a message from a young woman that I follow/follows me (@susie_boujee) that requested that I peep this mixtape from Ashton Travis. Now, I haven’t heard much about him, except that he’s a Howard student, a freshman and that he raps. I, of course, agreed to listen.

From the first song, you’re taken into an Andre 3000-like auditory journey. Travis shifts effortlessly from dropping knowledge to dropping panties, delivering his own touch to songs ranging from Drake’s “Bria’s Interlude” to Gym Class Heroes’ “Viva La White Girl” to Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin’,” even managing to drop a track over the Jackson 5 classic “One More Chance” and a spoken word performance from Jayde Stuckey, another Howard student. Suffice to say, Travis exhibits a unique range of musical knowledge that is missing from some hip-hop today.

Travis’ punchlines, such as “I was born a star like holding shift and pressing 8″ and “…show me big Love, like Faizon/and if they act up, they get scrubbed like Faison,” are a treat to hear and will elicit chuckles as well as several “ohhhhh sh*t!” moments. Add this to a conscious, but still hood-tinged, persona, and you have a freshman who could one day stand his own ground against legends.

Flaw-wise, the mixtape is pretty much on point. The production values are superb, there is a ton of diversity on the song front, and the original beats bang–even when they don’t try to. Freshmen and veterans alike, take notes.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Peep it here: http://usershare.net/ixr15manvwok