Listening to Cage’s lyrics, many times he presents himself as someone most people wouldn’t like as a person. His first few albums presented him as a drug-addicted, ex-Bellevue patient obsessed with horror movies and misogyny. That all changed with the release of Hell’s Winter, the album where Cage “got better,” so-to-speak. Still an incredibly dark release, Cage matured after having his daughter, and left much of his previous album’s subject matter behind. With the release of his upcoming full-length Depart From Me just a month away, Cage gives us a taste of what to expect from his new full-length with the Never Knew You EP. This EP acts as the single for Depart From Me, but also packs in an additional four extra songs that won’t be included on the full length. And also, it’s free.

On paper, this might sound like a recipe for garbage, as EP’s usually suck in general, especially free ones. In hip-hop history, we’ve had a few EP’s that broke the mold (Beatnuts’ Intoxicated Demons, Digital Underground’s This Is An EP Release), but usually they consist of tracks not good enough for the full-length release. In this case, Cage has defeated the EP stereotype, delivering an incredibly solid five-song collection that hints at what the Depart From Me album might sound like.

The EP and forthcoming album’s single, I Never Knew You, meets at the crossroads of old Cage and new. Here, we find him embracing the more indie-based sound found on Hell’s Winter, but the subject dabbles the darker side of his persona found on his earlier works (minus the immaturity). The song deals with a young man’s obsession over a girl he can’t get to notice him and the lengths he’ll go to change that. Without spoiling things, one can kind of surmise where this goes, as Cage’s self-depreciating lyrics get more and more intense as the guitars reach crescendo.

The addition of live instrumentation gives Cage a fuller sound, such as on “Follow The Bleeder”, which blends power chords and Run DMC-esque drum patterns, as Cage channels his inner death metal vocalist briefly during the hook. “Tounge In A Shark’s Mouth” presents a sinister bassline over live drums that show the perfect evolution of an artist since his early Fondle ‘Em upbringing. Meaning, his original sound has not at all been sacrificed here, but at the same time has progressed tremendously. On this autobiographical track, Cage recounts time in the hospital, painting vivid, disturbing pictures of his past life.

The last two tracks are more reminiscent of his earlier material, but again with a fuller, more modern sound. The leaky burn of “Hell Oh” finds Cage zoning out on a beach somewhere, letting his thoughts run wild over a mellow, almost reggae-tinged track. “It’s The 80’s Again” wakes him back up, as he gets his “G.O.D.” flow over 808 bass and guitar stabs, reminiscing about the Reagan era.

If the I Never Knew You EP represents what wasn’t good enough for his upcoming album, (or perhaps just what didn’t fit with it), Depart From Me has a chance to be one of the strongest indie hip-hop releases of the year. In an industry when many artists string together all of their crappy leftovers and call it a “mixtape” in hopes of getting your $15, Cage outdoes them all with a short, tightly knit release with a price that can’t be beat.  At the end of the day, whether or not you like Cage as a person becomes irrelevant, as you can’t help but like his music. – D.T. Swinga