Listening to Blue Chips 7000, the third installment in Action Bronson's Blue Chips series ("the 7000 is just because it's beyond. it's not part three, it's part 7000."), is just like watching the larger-than-life rapper do his thing on TV. As he spits out brilliant stream-of-consciousness bars filled with humor, knowledge, braggadocio, and self-awareness ("you can never score a point against my defense / for many years, my mind been going off the deep end / uh, like Tom Hanks with the soccer ball / you get turned into a taco / uh, they thought Body was Bruce Willis in Morocco."), you immediately get sucked into his engaging personality & beautiful, Queens-bred mind. Whether he is weaving in obscure pop-culture references or bragging about his expensive/goon-ish lifestyle ("and that's my life, 60k for the glass pipe/I'll break it on your head if you don't act right), he commands the listeners' full attention, and the funky, rare-grooves-based beats, produced by Alchemist, Harry Fraud, Knxwledge, Daringer, and Party Supplies, are the perfect accompaniments to Action's accessible genius. Check out "Let Me Breathe," "9-24-7000," "The Chairman's Intent," and "La Luna," and we'll go ahead and say it… Big Body Bes needs to do a full album!

• music label: Atlantic 2018

reviewed by lil herringbone 2/2018