Spectreview: Gifted Gab – Cause & Effect

-LIGHT CORAL-

“Y’all don’t deserve my nouns and verbs
I’m superb with my curvature”

Gabrielle Kadushin’s rise in the MC world has been slow but assured. Her considerable talents were already on full blast from her first single back in 2012, and ever since then she’s been working the scene, hitting her biggest success yet when “Come Correct,” her 2017 track with San Francisco rapper Blimes Brixton hit 10 million hits. It’s all well deserved, as Gab stands apart from the pack with her tempered flow and incisive lyrical prowess. She’s done the Seattle rap scene proud, and her new album Cause & Effect is yet another testament to the bar she’s set for herself, and how consistently she hits it. The obvious highlight is the album’s first half, where Gab gets the chance to spit fire and ice over Antwon Vinson’s trendy, trap-influenced beats. “Eye on ‘Em” sees her evoking Kendrick Lamar on good kid, while “Don’t Push Me” is a playground of dense rhythms and whip-smart flexes. The album’s second half, mostly neo-soul-based, is less immediately impressive but still just as enjoyable of a listen, with tracks like “He Gon’ Roll” and “Conflicted” setting the lighting to purple, allowing Gab the opportunity to croon and set the vibe. Should Gab choose to leave Seattle for a more-rap-oriented scene (and it would be great to see her profile to rise), she’ll at least have her legacy as one of the city’s fieriest rappers of the last decade.

Recommended for hotboxing in the car.