“Welcome Aboard” - Review Of Playaz Circle’s Flight 360: The Takeoff

As explicit as the brandish on the sobriquet reads, Ludacris’ Disturbing The Peace label isn’t making much noise these days. Undeterred, Tity Boi & Dolla Boy, collectively known as Playaz Circle, stay playing their position well enough to see gameday action. Gearing up for their 2nd trip to the big leagues, Flight 360: The Takeoff is a polished approach to the world of trunk rattlers and “stackin’ cheese.”

Playaz Circle function like your typical Southern rappers, with heavy doses of braggadocio topped off with splashes of swag dominating their sound. But the fact these two cut no corners when it comes to their flow and wordplay serves as their primary distinction. Wasting no time to display their skills, “Look What I Got” finds the duo utilizing a chopped & screwed delivery — without the studio effects. The triumphant “Big Wheel Whippin” is another winner which chronicles PC’s perseverance in a competitive industry as Dolla Boy recounts: “MCs be copying you/but none of them ain’t seeing you/’Duffle Bag’ astonished you/’Duffle Bag’ was profitable/now you hear ‘Duffle Bag’ from every other artist too.”

The marketing ploys also work magic as the duo get “Stupid” with fellow Atlanta trap-rapper OJ Da Juiceman over producer Hurt’s dramatic mashup of 808s and keyboards as well as the swanky “Can’t Remember,” which features Bobby Valentino and manages to appeal to the fairer sex without being overtly sappy.

Occasionally though, the duffle bag boys do put Flight 360 on cruise control and veer off course. The overbearing redundancy of tracks like the closer “Outta Here” and Young Dro’s collaboration heard on “DJ Know Me,” ironically come off as predictable even with PC thriving in their natural element. Rare introspection like L.T. Moe’s “Ghetto” revisits the soulful sanctuary the Dungeon Family built in the mid-90s and reveals the kind of nobility Playaz Circle is capable of. When they deviate from the norm that is.

Infrequent bouts of turbulence accounted for, Flight 360: The Takeoff is the type of effort that garners commendation for the level of consistency alone. With continued improvement from album to album like this, Playaz Circle will earn first-class tickets to stardom in due time.