More than two years ago Rockie Fresh and Casey Veggies teamed up for the first time together on “Duckin N Dodgin,” which winded up on Fresh’s The Otherside Redux. The song pitted the two up and coming rappers together and although they were from different time zones, the chemistry between the two was obvious. Fast-forward to the present. Rockie Fresh found a home on Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and dropped his Electric Highway mixtape to great fanfare. Casey Veggies has been just as busy, staying on the independent trail with his Peas & Carrots movement, and made some noise of his own with his Life Changes mixtape dropped.
Right in time for the holidays, Fresh and Veggies end 2013 on a strong note and have once again joined forces for a 10-track collaborative effort aptly titled Fresh Veggies. The Puma-sponsored project contains guest appearances from Juicy J, Ty Dolla $ign and Kirko Bangz, as well as production from Hit-Boy.
Right off the bat, Fresh and Veggies start it off with the title track “Fresh Veggies” and pass the baton back-and-forth. Rockie Fresh wastes no time showing why Ricky Rozay added him to the roster:
“This world’s so deadly so I’m livin for the moment/ I do it how she want it, make her tat my name on it/ She love my energy, Redbull, I give her wings/ Designer shoes and bags and other nice things/ Fight for my position way before the bell dings/ I hope it’s bout some money every time my phone rings/ They try to hold me down but from the ground I just spring/ Let’s roll one up and make a toast, the young is living like kings.”
Not to be left out, Veggies brings his own quality bars. On the exuberant and stand-out track, “Aladdin 2 Interlude,” produced by Uncle Dave and YOG$, he rhymes:
“Got a small college chick, we put that dough together/ If she eat her veggies, she gon’ live forever/ I’m floating through the streets like Aladdin/ I don’t see nobody. I think I need glasses/ Different whips like them slave masters/ Nigga try to hang me, I’ma bash ‘em”
While Rockie Fresh and Casey Veggies are no slouches when it comes to lyricism, at times it seems as if they are too eager to pass the ball off rather than score one. Perhaps not wanting to step on each other’s toes, Fresh Veggies could have benefited if both the Chicago native and the Cali rapper went for broke on each song. What really makes Fresh Veggies shine is the stellar production. Teaming up with Jahlil Beats, Uncle Dave, Lunice, YOG$ and Hit-Boy, Fresh Veggies contains by far the freshest produce around.
“Celebrating Life,” although labled an interlude, is yet another stand-out that oozes with a lavish beat. Hit-Boy makes the dark and creepy “Fresh Circle” one to keep in heavy rotation. Ray Reel’s “Sacrifice” sounds like it was inspired by a commercial jingle and just like an good jingle, by the time the song ends, it’ll be stuck in your head. Both rappers stepped out of their comfort zone for a throwback to the 80’s era with the disco-esque song “World.”
Two years ago Rockie Fresh and Casey Veggies gave us a glimpse into what it would be like if they were a tag team on the mic. At times, they bring out the best in each other on Fresh Veggies. While this is a solid mixtape with undoubtedly superb production, if nothing else, Fresh Veggies whets our appetite in anticipation for their solo efforts.
