Hey, everyone. Ethony Pottano here, and we're here for an album review for Connecticut Casual, Chapter 2 by rapper Apathy.

Coming from Connecticut, rapper Apathy, Connecticut Casual, Chapter 2 is a 10-year follow-up sequel that is both reflective and celebratory. A fantastic representation of everything that East Coast hip hop has to offer, including a lot of blends of fusions of different genres and styles. The album seamlessly jumps from jazz to rap rock in a way that really showcases a certain mastery after such a long career.

The album starts off with "Connecticut Formal," lamenting on Apathy's home state in a way that I found both endearing and loving, but also slightly tongue-in-cheek. With lyrics throughout the song that boasts about Connecticut culture, but also admitting never having old money and feeling a little bit outside of that. The jazz sample that loops throughout the song is so sweet and proud that it really sets off the essence of the album in a great way. This theme continues on songs like "Fenwick," which features Kappa Gama. Hometown pride and representation is such a strong theme in hip hop, and on songs like these Apathy is really doing a great job at repping that flag. And on "Fenwick," representing that on a much moodier, jazzier sample. On much darker beats, songs like "Hall of the Court," "Kids" and "Vacation," Apathy dives a little deeper into introspective in the psych of his mind.

For example, on the song "Vacation," he's talking about wishing to take a from his own mind because it's riddled with self-dou, anger, resentment, which I think is something that a lot of people can relate to. I personally would love to take a break from my own mind. Later into the album, we get to a song called "Jackie O," which is, of course, named after the former first lady. It's a really interesting song with a narrative that I found to be really fascinating. The song tells a story of Apathy, having a lot of dreams about Jackie O and wishing that he could be with her. To me, the song has two messages. On one hand, I think it's about wishing to be with someone that we'll say loyal to in the way that Jackie O was. But again, on this song, we circle back to another common theme where he talks a lot about the exuberant wealth that she experienced throughout her life. And in this really unique metaphor of Jackie O, it expresses how lonely and empty exuberant wealth can be.

With a slight lull towards the middle of the album, volume 2 has a really strong finish, with "Kingdom of the Corner" being a really fun and boathful mix of rap and rock, with Apathy just fully declaring himself the King of Connecticut with how resilient he's been throughout his whole career. "Tick Tock Tick" ends with some more smooth jazz that's a little more stripped back, but also just leaves me wanting more.

In my opinion, based on this album, he is the king of Connecticut, which is why I'm feeling a decent 8.

Anthony Fantano, Apathy, Forever.