by Injury Reserve

Released December 15, 2016
Reviewed December 19, 2021
Top tracks (based on community voting)
Oh Shit!!! (71%), S on Ya Chest (50%), All This Money (40%)
“This ain’t jazz rap,” Ritchie with a T proudly exclaims to kick off Injury Reserve’s second tape, departing from their wonky jazz in exchange for similarly off-kilter abstract hip-hop tinted with industrial. From teeth to toe, Floss maintains a steady grip on this sound. It either leans toward bass-heavy beats featuring dissonant headliners like the glitchy piano on opener ‘Oh Shit!!!’ and the evolving tinny clangs on ‘What’s Goodie,’ or, toward an indirect development of their previous tape’s timbres. Stuff like the chopped and bent horns on ‘S on Ya Chest’ and the distorted gospel samples amidst skittering percussive taps on the empowering closer, ‘Look Mama I Did It,’are some of my favourite moments in 2010s hip-hop. Writing a single paragraph on Floss really doesn’t do it justice; very rarely does a breakthrough tape pass with flying colours, with no skippable content and sparse yet vital features (Cakes da Killa’s grueling delivery is particularly commendable), all within forty-five minutes. It is one of the handful of abstract hip-hop records that marked the genre’s escalation in 2016, and it still sounds ahead of its time five years later. – Cam (9/10)
OH SHIT–five years have passed, and Injury Reserve’s breakthrough mixtape, Floss, is sounding even fresher today than it did upon release. The project’s propensity to mix “bling-era” rap influences with a menagerie of instrumental types keeps the listener guessing, often sounding simultaneously from the years 2006 and 2026. Giving Floss a re-listen in 2021is hugely satisfying, as it serves for two reminders: Each member has grown a lot over the last five years, and they were already immensely gifted when they made this. Parker Corey’s production isn’t as densely layered and spellbinding as fans know it today, and still, his crafty sampling and aggressive palettes were an exciting heartbeat at the center of Floss. Ritchie and Groggs are similarly gifted as rhymesayers, delivering the narrative level of this project’s persona in sharp, vivid resolution. Floss is packed with all the personality and flair anyone can ask for, and is five years proof of the timeless sound that will forever be associated with Injury Reserve. – DeVán (8/10)
Injury Reserve’s Floss is an eclectic celebration of southern rap influences blended into a fun record that celebrates rap as a whole. Members Ritchie and Groggs deliver some absolutely stellar verses all over the record, toting a sharp sense of personality as well as lyrical craftsmanship. Their bars on top of Parker Corey’s knocking production creates an experience that’s primal, while adding a lot of finesse. This record showed a trio of gifted artists who were simply having fun, while still finding the next step in their impressive evolution to come. – Jared (8/10)
Cam: 9/10 | Dominick: 9/10 | Hadley: 8.5/10 | Jared: 8.5/10
Pax: 8.5/10 | DeVán: 8/10 | Peter: 7.5/10
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