Yaphet

Curly Castro, one half of Shrapknel, draws on 1970s Blaxploitation cinema for Yaphet, using its heroes and antiheroes as fuel for dense, reference-heavy storytelling. Produced entirely by Milwaukee beatmaker Locust, the record gives Castro a lively backdrop of heavy drums and eclectic beats as his restless flows move between cinematic bravado and stark autobiography. Loss, mortality and the death of his infant daughter give the album its most vulnerable moments. Guests include billy woods, PremRock, Fatboi Sharif, SKECH185, Blueprint and AJ Suede.