Grant JonesRemember when Dr Dre foolishly lodged a legal case against gynaecologist Draion Burch, because the latter was using the name Dr. Drai? The case was eventually dismissed in 2018 because Dr Dre is not a medical doctor, so there would be no confusion. The idea that people think he might be a doctor seems ludicrous, considering he would have been studying for his MD during N.W.A. He’d have been balancing medical exams with world tours. Applying for junior doctor roles in between recording skits for “The Chronic”. The notion that nobody could be a doctor and a successful rapper is challenged by Clarissa Redmond, also known as C-Red. Rap has already seen Lady London shift from her medical background into lyricism, and Queen Herawin similarly balances a career in academia with hip-hop, but this has usually been kept secret so as not to jeopardise that professional day job.
C-Red donned her scrubs during her medical studies for “White Coat Wednesdays”, which started to blow up on Instagram. This viral fame shifted from rapping over Drake beats to Khrysis and Illmind. Admittedly, these were more performative lip-syncs than traditional freestyles, but considering these were assembled on her lunch breaks, I can’t front. Taking a job in Houston influenced her sound, which explains why “2nd Call” (her second EP) has a blend of East Coast and Screw-ier, more warped instrumentals. With Masta Ace as the only guest feature, as an underground emcee on the come up, that’s a massive seal of approval. Eagle-eyed listeners will be aware of C-Red already, from Masta Ace’s own “Richmond Hill” album from last year, as she was on the song “Outside Looking In”. This came about because Ace had seen her social media videos, but their collaboration here, “2nd Call”, sounds like an offcut from a Masta Ace record. Producer Agent M is no slouch, fully understanding the assignment, and they have assembled a typically reflective short story of how you only get one life – there’s no second calling.
The hook is lovely stuff. Usually, on a track like this, you get a couple of verses, and that’s that. Everyone moves on with their lives before the next instalment of boom-bap upstart snags verse from 90s veteran. But C-Red proves she’s not another formulaic emcee filling in the gaps around higher profile artists – she’s singing, crafting infectious earworms that elevate beats to that next level. This is immediately confirmed on the track “Built Different”.
Her delivery is careful yet intentional, whispery but forceful, as if Bahamadia had trained her personally. Flipping between fast rhyming and smooth harmonising on “Lose Ctrl” showcases her range, turning a straightforward R&B number into something more interesting, documenting any underlying stress that she wrestles with:
“My Patagonias stay on the plane
They actin’ phoney bro stay in your lane
I only stress when I’m able to change
They want a piece of a player’s meringue
Agent M beats is a lay-up
Grandmomma taught me to pray up
If you ain’t rock wit’ me, straight up
I got no space you can take up
Might I suggest that you take notes
I do my best at the J-O
I get a check that I pay loans
I’ve been exceptionally grateful
I still got stamina, chasin’ a dream that nobody can hand me bruh
Internal soundtrack is something like Ante Up
Family that see me ain’t mad when I can’t meet up“
If you think it’s all about having your ear caressed, “Godspeed” has other ideas. Man, Agent M cooks up a beat so nasty it almost distracts from the rest of the album. Not much more than posturing from C-Red, there’s a beat-switch in this that combines heavy bass with demonic piano stabs; it’s surprising how calm C-Red is. That’s probably where the limitations of C-Red appear – even at her meanest, she’s never grabbing the beat by the throat, and this is the one time that would have been interesting to hear what that sounds like. She remains calm, cycling back to that background in medicine. You wouldn’t want a Billy Danze writing out your prescriptions, especially if it’s urology-related.
“2nd Call” is one of my favourite finds this year. Clearly, she’s not going to be operating on the level of Dr Dre, but until Andre Young enrols in night school, C-Red is proving how the impossible can be achieved. With little to criticise musically, it will be interesting to see if C-Red can continue this balance of two successful careers. Hell, some of us struggle to make something out of one!