Hip-Hop, Football & Life (HFL)

JUNE 2020 ALBUM REVIEWS

2020-07-02T15:20:00.000+01:00

What's good my readers that are leaders. Not many releases last month but June was a definite case of quality over quantity.

RUN THE JEWELS- RTJ 4

'Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin'
Motherfucker, if you did, then Killer Mike'd be platinum' Kendrick Lamar, Hood Politics

The above bars by K.Dot were from 2015. 5 years on the rapper, actor and activist that is Killer Mike is mostly known to the mainstream for the latter. It is mainly the quote unquote hip hop heads that know the Outkast affiliate for the former. In spite of this, Killer Mike has been enjoying success as one half of Run The Jewels... the other half being El-P.
Each of their projects have been met with critical acclaim and their latest release RTJ 4, which dropped early June, was their first album to break into the Billboard Top 10. Not platinum yet but the progress is undeniable.

Both Killer Mike and El-P can bar. The verses on the opening tracks are quite miscellaneous but that doesn't matter cos they both have the wordplay and wit to make you mean mug whatever's in your view. As the album progresses the content gets pretty heavy as they cover many issues that are plaguing the world. So that would no doubt include racism, police brutality, overcoming doubters and past problems, media brainwashing and also struggling to walk the 'narrow path'.
Despite all the heavy topics that were just mentioned, the beats on RTJ 4 lighten the mood so it won't surprise me if you end up wanting to wild out instead of lamenting over the lyrics.

The previous paragraph now leads to the beats. The production is predominantly handled by El-P. Whether some of the beats were straight hip hop or rock-influenced, every beat was gassed from start to finish. Ooh la la is a head nodder for the 'strictly hip hop' crowd while tracks like the opener yankee and the brave and the ground below were made for the mosh pits.

RTJ4 successfully bridges the gap between El-P's New York and Killer Mike's Atlanta ... the gap between rock and rap ... most importantly in my view, the gap between information and entertainment. Definite shout for album of the year. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- ooh la la
Verse- Killer Mike- goonies vs E.T.
Feature- Zach De La Rocha
Track- the ground below

AMBUSH BUZZWORL- ASK MY BROTHER

Camden rapper Ambush dropped his latest project Ask My Brother on June 5th. There hasn't been much info regarding how it did commercially though it has been well-received by several publications.

Best known for his immensely popular 2018 single Jumpy, Ambush has encountered a few obstacles since then. In 2019, he served some time in prison which stopped him performing at Wireless and Merky Fest. Also very recently in an insane flurry of social media exposes (e with an accent), RnB singer Ray BLK revealed on Twitter that Ambush had groped her during a night out. With all this controversy surrounding his name, It's gonna be an uphill battle for the NW spitter to regain his 2018 momentum.

Speaking on the album though... AMB kicks off with the intense AMB (Intrill) where he raps

'Federales kill my nigga and I’m mad still
How my nigga kill my brother and it's that real?
I'on really know if niggas know how that feels
Shit's trippy dawg, it's like a I took a bad pill'

The first line would likely refer to Nuno Cardoso, a law student who was a victim of police brutality in 2017. Seeing as the issue of police brutality and anti-black racism is at the forefront in 2020, Ambush's verse is as relevant as ever.

Though he raps about drip and ballin' out of control just like many other rappers, it is clear he rides his luxury whip down a bumpy road. Evident in the raw emotion in his voice as well as the intensity of the production. Ambush thinks so himself based on the bars below.

'Huh, I'm a G, it's in my vibe
You can hear it in my voice, the way I talk' How I Feel

Aside from the aforementioned drip talk, AMB was predominantly hood talk, playa talk (Side Bitch was like a cross between 50's 21 Questions and Fab's Can't Let You Go) and trapper talk. For me this made Eastenders, a track where Ambush tells 2 crime-of-passion stories, a standout. Seeing as he said it was based on a true story, I am sure that the second verse alludes to the highly-publicised stabbing of fashion model Harry Uzoka.
Ambush can definitely spit. He has good levels of technical ability and his delivery is top-notch.

Apart from Side Bitch which is as female-friendly as it gets on AMB (not the bars.. or the title), the beats are gutta and made for the roads. Production-wise, the only thing that fluctuates in AMB are the levels of aggression. The quality is pretty consistent throughout.

It's strictly an UK affair in terms of features. Other than grime legend D Double E, the rest of the features were road rap specialists. That includes Giggs who featured twice, C-Biz as well as H Moneda and RA who impressed with their verses.

Overall this is a very solid release. His indiscretions outside the studio will likely cause him to encounter even more speed bumps on this road he's travelling but if I'm speaking strictly from a musical perspective, this is currently the best UK project to drop this year. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Been On
Verse- Eastenders verse 2
Feature- RA/ H Moneda
Track- AMB InTrill

July reviews coming next month... well later on this month. See you lot then and keep strong and safe during these trying times.

Peace Out!

MAY 2020 REVIEWS

2020-06-05T21:25:00.002+01:00

Wanna kick off by saying Black Lives always have and always will Matter. May 2020 saw the release of a few albums both ranging from meh to dope. Check it out.

FUTURE- HIGH OFF LIFE

Nayvadius Wilburn aka the supplier of legendary memes like 'she belongs to the streets' and 'it's an evil world we live in' aka that rapper dude with 6 baby mothers aka the top dog of toxicity aka the 2012-2013 chorus king aka the guy that's been elevated to messiah-level by the lost souls on social media dropped what seems like his 100th album on May 15th. It's actually his eighth studio album (excluding all the collab projects and EPs) and it landed at No 1 in the Billboard charts. Arguably the face of trap, Future is well within his rights to feel high off life... along with the lean, aderall, molly and percocets.

Like many of the trap albums I've reviewed, HOL is a lengthy album with 21 tracks and is over a hour long. The main pull of any trap album is never the lyrics but the beats. Some of the tracks make for a good listen such as the Young Thug-assisted Harlem Shake and Ridin Strikers while there's others I know I won't listen to again once I've finished this review... which to be real is quite a lot of this.

Future stays true to his 'toxic masuclinity' brand for the most part with tracks like Comfortable and Last Name though he does show a softer side of himself on Accepting My Flaws which is an ode to his girlfriend Lori Harvey. The typical topics are covered. Drip, hood, gangsta, playa. All that talk is there. Songs like Up The River and, to an extent, Last Name did however provide a more introspective side to Future with the former being about his struggles.

This review might seem a bit vague but TBH I ain't got much else to add to this. Me personally, I've never seen the hype with Future due to my indifference to trap music. This project won't be the one to change my view on either the self-styled Hendrix or the immensely popular, autotune-heavy sub-genre. Given his popularity though, Future is clearly doing something right and won't be the past anytime soon. I'll give this a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Harlem Shake
Verse- Up The River verse 1
Feature- Lil Durk
Track- Ridin Strikers

KOTA THE FRIEND- EVERYTHING

A year after droppin' FOTO (one of my favourite albums of 2019), Brooklyn spitter Kota The Friend returns with EVERYTHING. Extremely underrated and somewhat of an unknown, his third LP (based on the info I've gathered from Spotify) dropped on May 22nd to glowing reviews and was also his first album to break the billboard 200.

'What means everything to me is love
Everywhere I go, everything I do, everywhere I am
There has to be love, there has to be positive vibes
Life is too short for anything negative
And anything that you don't love, so for me love is number one
It means everything' Outro to Summerhouse

The first tune I ever heard from Kota The Friend was Alkaline and he caught my attention as his lyrics were so genuine and pure. Kota's bars remain as real and as optimist as ever as he encourages listeners to strive to be the best versions of themselves. He also tells us everything that makes him happy and everything he hopes to achieve. The above quote basically summarises EVERYTHING in a nutshell. While the below quote shows why Kota stands out from the average rapper. Most rappers place value on wraiths and roleys, Kota now...

'Tryna go fishin' 'cause that's somethin' I always wanted to do
Sit by the river with all of my sisters and fuck with the view
Crazy how somethin' so special to me, don't mean nothin' to you
I came from nothin' to here, I don't got nothin' to prove' Mi Casa

As expected from a NY rapper, his technical ability is dope and delivered in a relaxed and reserved style. Ideal for those that like easy listening.

Entirely produced by Kota himself; the beats are warm, breezy and perfect for these forthcoming Summer months. Even if it was dreary outside, this 12 track LP can brighten someone's day.

Perhaps indicative of his growing profile, EVERYTHING has a lot more notable features in comparison to his earlier projects. This includes fellow New Yorkers Joey Bada$$ and Bas who both drop a nice verse on one of the album's standouts BQE. There was also interesting interludes from A-list actors Lupita Nyongo'o and Lakeith Stanfield who give their interpretations of the word 'everything'.

I wouldn't say that this album is better than FOTO but I do think with 2020 and the rap game in general being polluted with so much toxicity, Kota is a much-needed breath of fresh air. This is the musical equivalent of the phrase 'positive vibes only'. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Long Beach
Verse- Summerhouse verse 2
Feature- Bas
Track- BQE

GUNNA- WUNNA

Trap A-lister Gunna dropped his sophomore LP Wunna on May 22nd. His second solo album in as many years, it went straight to Number 1 in the Billboard charts amassing over 140 million streams in it's first week.

Best known for his affiliation with Lil Baby and Young Thug, Gunna definitely sounds like the smoother and arguably the most lyrical out of the three based on my limited knowledge. Although Gunna's content for the most part was limited to the typical drip, playa and balla talk, he did display some nice internal rhyming at times. His smooth, laid-back delivery also makes him stand out from other trap artists.

The production was obviously trap but there was also a decent level of variation. Examples include the rock-influenced Rockstar Bikers & Chains, the EDM-ish Skybox, there was Feigning for the streets, Met Gala for the ladies and I imagine Nasty Girl would get spins in a stripclub. The beats were cool in parts but for me it wasn't as dope as Lil Baby's My Turn.

There's not much for me to add tbh, some of the tracks were OK but this was another lengthy trap album that can get tedious if you're not into this type of music. To summarise this on a positive note, I like his laid-back flows and it's a decent album overall. I give this a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Dollaz On My Head/I'm On Some
Verse- Don't Play Around
Feature- Roddy Ricch
Track- Dollaz On My Head

FREDDIE GIBBS X ALCHEMIST- ALFREDO

Currently Indiana's most famous son, Freddie Gibbs linked up with one of the best producers in the game to make Alfredo. It dropped on May 29th to critical acclaim.

Freddie Gibbs has been one of the most consistent rappers in recent years. His fourth release since 2018, you would be forgiven for thinking he wouldn't be able to surpass the dopeness of Bandana (arguably the best rap album of 2019) but I think he has with Alfredo. Significantly shorter at 10 tracks, this is a classic case of 'less is more'.

'God made me sell crack so I'd have somethin' to rap about' Something To Rap About

'Plus I got a show, the promoters ain't got the dough for that
These losses set me back, man, I'm literally sellin' dope to rap' Skinny Suge

Kinda goes without saying what Freddie's fave topic to rap about is but if you've never heard of him, the above quotes say it all. Other than that, the regular playa talk and hood talk; he does speak on his plans to live a better life, his run-ins with the law as well as his struggles in transitioning from a trapper to a rapper. Freddie's fast-tempo raps, his technical ability and visual storytelling coupled with some of Alchemist's dopest production makes Alfredo a compelling listen. If there's one thing I can't imagine being true though, it's Freddie Gibbs claiming he hit Doja Cat from the back back. We all know he's not her type.

Alchemist is one of hip hop's greatest producers and he shows why on Alfredo. Known for his gutter beats as well as his soulful production, it feels like some of his best work is on this album. Especially the soul-drenched instrumentals.

To top it off, some of my favourite musicians make the guestlist. Namely Griselda's Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher on separate tracks as well as grammy winner Tyler, The Creator. Rick Ross also makes an appearance. I thought Tyler would be the only artist to offer something different but everyone did their thing. Especially Conway who laments over his role as a father, a side to him he rarely shows.

After dropping numerous quality projects and posting madness on his instagram account non-stop, there's no denying Freddie's work-rate. At the very least, he should be in the discussion for most under-rated rapper. Alfredo has dope beats and dope bars (in more ways than one) and as it stands, is the album of the year. I give this a 9.

FAVES
Beat- Babies & Fools
Verse- Scottie Beam
Feature- Conway The Machine
Track- Scottie Beam

That's it for this month's reviews. Took almost a year but I'm more or less up to date with my album reviews. Hope you enjoyed reading and keep your head up during lockdown.

Peace Out!

MARCH/APRIL 2020 ALBUM REVIEWS

2020-05-26T23:13:00.000+01:00

Months have passed and lockdown is still in effect. Hope everyone is getting through it. Anyways here's my latest post.

CJ FLY- RUDEBWOY

CJ Fly has been active for nearly 10 years and is best known for being one of the original members of the Brooklyn collective Pro Era (along with the face of the group Joey Bada$$, the deceased but much revered Capital STEEZ and DJ Powers Pleasant). The oldest member of P.E. dropped his debut album Rudebwoy in early March and it was met with positive reviews.

The New Yorker spills his weed-intoxicated guts straight out the gate. Offering the rarely-heard perspective of the 'other' type of rapper... The spitter who hasn't yet attained the level of success or fame that their talent should elevate them to. The opening bars going...

'Ever feel Iike you can't doing nothin' right?
Goin' insane and the frustration make you wanna fight
Was looking down at this page and thinkin' what to write
I'm livin' check to check and yet some people claim they want this life' Goin Thru

His vulnerability, blunt honesty and just straight up barring is appreciated at a time where superficiality is at an all-time high.

As you can tell from the album title, CJ Fly is of Caribbean descent (Jamaican and Bajan) and references to his island roots are made throughout Rudebwoy via his use of Patois. His talk of New York on Show You shows you (obviously) that he is also very proud of his NY identity.

Rudebwoy has a dope guestlist that nearly rivals Royce's The Allegory. Features include Griselda's Conway The Machine on the thugged-out City We From. His reputation for murderin' mics brought out the best in CJ. The brilliant Oshun delivered some nice vocals and verses on I Tried. Joey Bada$$ (who's also Jamaican as well as St Lucian) represented on the title track and the rest of his Pro Era partners made appearances on Block Party, Goin Thru and the posse cut closer The PROs.

In terms of technical ability, Pro Era don't mess about when it comes to bars so obviously CJ Fly did his thing on the mic. Content was varied. Standout moments include CJ's storytelling on tracks like Barrell where he talks about traumatic life experiences and Struggling where he raps from the perspective of his father who, as hinted from the title, had difficulties adjusting to his new life overseas. Another notable track was Jooks which was a salute to Yonkers legend DMX as he does an almost-perfect impression of the troubled but talented MC. CJ definitely ain't limited when it comes to subject matter.

I first heard CJ Fly on Don't Front from Joey Bada$$'s classic 1999 mixtape. That joint was produced by Statik Selektah and he produced the whole of Rudebwoy. While some tracks were more soulful and others were more grimy, many were head-nodders. It was like vintage 90's East Coast (or 'boom bap' as some call it) with a modern feel.

Dope beats, dope rhymes. What more could I want? To CJ Fly to get more recognition. A shout for album of the year for sure. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Rudebwoy
Verse- Goin' Thru
Feature- Nyckz Caution
Track- Rudebwoy

JADAKISS- IGNATIUS

Mr Raspy returned with his fifth solo LP Ignatius which dropped in late March. His first since 2015, there tends to be a huge time-gap between Jada's projects. While he's a much-respected veteran in the rap game and one of my all-time favourites, his popularity isn't what it was compared to the mid-2000s as this is his only album not to land in the billboard top 5. With that being said times have changed considerably and Jada's always been more about the bars and less about the charts. Anyways keep reading.

Since the 90s Jadakiss, whether solo or with LOX/D-Block (the original... not Adz and Dirtbike), has never stopped supplying heat for the streets. With Ignatius however the Yonkers great seems to be calming down with the Pusha T-assisted Huntin Season being the only real release of rugged rap. The general tone of Ignatius is quite laid-back. The best production was the 'luxury rap' type beats. To describe luxury rap, I would say think J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League or the type of beats you'd hear Rick Ross on... like Kisses To The Sky which features you know who and Angels Getting Pedicured.

On one of the standouts, the 80's soul-inspired Me, Jada spits

'... Who started off movin' that work?
Put you in a black hearse, never had a wack verse? (Me)'

I agree 100% with the above bar and I've been saying for years that Jada's never had a wack verse. This hasn't changed but Kiss is well above spittin' non-wack verses... he can spit some of the dopest stanzas about... Damn near everything he spat in the mid-2000s is proof of this. The bars here were cool for any other rapper but this is a bit below the standard that Jada is capable of. It feels like he was just coasting for the majority of the album. The content might have played a role in this as well with the majority of it being either miscellaneous or for the ladies. Cos of this Jada may have not felt the need to really tear the mic up. His best verses actually came on the more introspective tracks such as Government Cheese and the aforementioned track with Pusha.

One of the strongest points of Ignatius were the features. Every rap feature (from the A-List like Pusha and Rozay to the lesser-known Millyz and Nino Man) was impressive to a point where I couldn't pick a favourite. Want something street? You'll prefer King Push. Feeling like you won the lotto? You'll prefer Rozay. Want something serious? Millyz and Nino Man. Very good line-up... You could argue they outshined Jada which is something I wouldn't have imagined writing. Oh and Ty Dolla $ign never has and probably never will disappoint with the hooks.

Ignatius had a couple dope tracks and it was a decent album overall. I don't know if I'm being too hard or not but I still think the legendary Ruff Ryder's got it in him to make a classic. Jada though seemingly finds himself in a category of dope spitters that for whatever reason can't mould that magnum opus. Maybe he will with his next album... that probably won't drop for another five years. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Angels Getting Pedicured
Verse- Huntin Season verse 1
Feature- TBD
Track- Kisses To The Sky

LIL UZI VERT- ETERNAL ATAKE

The Philly trap star is one of the premier names of the sub-genre. He's known, like many others, for his face tats and piercings. In addition though, his past references to satanism have raised a few eyebrows. You may notice that a popular nickname for the devil rhymes with Uzi Vert. Forgetting all that though, the pint-sized weirdo dropped his highly-anticipated debut Eternal Atake in early March to both critical and commercial success landing at the top of the billboard charts.

Exclusively trap, Eternal Atake is a concept album about space split into three different themes (tracks 1-6 then 7- 12 then 13 onwards). So theme one (the take-off to space) starts off real gassed then after it goes into some EDM-type beats then changes to a mix of either some trippy or gassed production. Bigger Than Life and Prices had some soulful/gospel elements which was cool and Chief Keef impressed with his composing skills on Chrome Heart Tags though I did find Uzi's voice kind of annoying by this point. If Keef Cozart keeps it up, people might start calling him Keith Mozart.

This album was somewhat different to the other trap albums I've reviewed. Other than this album having a concept, the other trap albums I've heard are packed with features but EA only had one. It wasn't another trap artist like Young Thug or his affiliate Playboi Carti but one of my favourite artists Syd from The Internet. Syd's soothing hook and verse certainly made Urgency a better listen.

Some of the production was dope in places and included some of the best beats I've heard on a trap album such as Baby Pluto, Lo Mein and Prices for example. Some of the other beats though were spoiled by Uzi's flow and tone. As mentioned earlier, Uzi is tryna take the listener outer space but if they're playing EDM then I'm making a U-Turn cos I'm Sorry and Celebration Station had me feelin' more outta place than outer space.

Bar-wise, Uzi's not a bad rapper. Most Philly artists can more than hold their own. He's obviously not on the level of someone like Black Thought but he does utilise a bit of multi-syllabic rhyming. EA didn't have much to offer in terms of content. It was the same old 'I get bitches, look at my riches, put my opps in ditches' talk. On the bright side there was no satanic talk. He spoke about past relationships and chick stuff on the EDM tracks as well as on one of the standouts Bust Me. Other than that though, I'm pretty sure Uzi gave his fans what they were expecting.

Decent album. Some dope production in places. I ain't got much to say other that. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Bust Me
Verse- Prices verse 2
Feat- Syd
Track- Bust Me

JAY ELECTRONICA- A WRITTEN TESTIMONY

Perhaps the most enigmatic figure in hip hop, Jay Electronica... fuck that... call him Jay ElecHannukah, Jay Elec Yarmulke... sorry force of habit. I'll start over. Years after blessing the rap world with several instant classics such as Eternal Sunshine, Exhibit A and Exhibit C; the New Orleans God-hop artist known as Jay Electronica... f...inally dropped his debut album at age 43 titled The Written Testimony. Obviously Jay's been a busy guy. I mean he was dating a member of the infamous Rothschild family so I get that he might have forgot that signed rappers are supposed to drop an album or two. Anyways, AWT dropped in mid-March and was well-received by publications. Commercially, it landed just outside the top 10 in the Billboard Charts.

Jay Electronica is known for being a member of the Nation Of Islam and the album kicks off with a speech by the polarizing NOI leader The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan over haunting strings and a high-pitched piano loop.

Although this was released as a solo album, Jay Z features HEAVILY on AWT and drops an abundance of dope verses. Many would argue that the Roc Nation head stole the show. I wouldn't go that far but given that Jay Elec made us wait so long for what is essentially a 9-track album, this should have been 98% Jay Electronica in my personal opinion. With that being said, I did enjoy them going bar for bar especially on the festive Shiny Suit Theory.

The majority of the production was handled by Jay Electronica himself with additional help from heavyweights like Alchemist, Swizz Beats, No I.D. and Hit-Boy.
The sound of AWT is difficult to categorise. It's not boom bap, It's not trap, it's not that dirty south sound that the hot boys (also from Jay Electronica's birthplace of Magnolia projects) were known for but the uniqueness of his sound (along with his stellar lyricism) contributes to what has made him such an alluring figure in the last 10 years.
There were some dope beats though such as the epic blockbuster Universal Soldier, the soulful Fruits Of The Spirit and Ezekiel's Wheel was simply beautiful. The latter sounds like the music you would hear if you were trying to call God and you were put on hold.
If there's one producer I would have wanted to hear on AWT, it would've been Just Blaze without doubt. Another installment to the flawless exhibit series would've been dope. Certainly would've preferred that over Flux Capacitor which was the only wack track (production-wise) on the album. The rest I thought was mostly dope.

At his best Jay Electronica's pen game is of the highest tier. His rich vocabulary, proud references to his Islamic faith as well as the esoteric makes his music most appealing to the hip hop head... or hip hop nerd if those terms aren't interchangeable. After such a long wait for his debut, he speaks about the pressures on The Blinding of the hype surrounding him. He also delivers what sounds like an autobiography on The Neverending Story.

In regards to the former, did AWT live up to the hype? If you were expecting an instant classic like the Exhibit tracks then probably not. With Jigga's heavy input, it might seem like a collab album but even then this was still a quality release and undeniably one of the best albums to come out this year so far. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Universal Soldier
Verse- The Neverending Story
Feature- Jay Z- Shiny Suit Theory
Track- Ezekiel's Wheel

SKEPTA/ CHIP/ YOUNG ADZ- INSOMNIA

This was a project that surprised many. UK Rap A-Lister's Skepta, Chip and Young Adz joined forces to record Insomnia which dropped in late March. It landed at No.3 on the UK album charts and was met with positive reviews.

In spite of the contrasting styles with DBE's Young Adz being a trap artist and North Londoners Skepta and Chip being predominantly grime acts, they did merge well together. In what was most likely a mistake, The Intro is the last track and the album kicks off with trap track Mains with Chip coming out the gate to obliterate.

Which leads to the question, who was the MVP of Insomnia? The first couple of tracks I was saying Chip but Skepta came back heavy afterwards. So it's a tussle between the two Totty MC's. I got one criticism for each though, On Demons Chip says

Yo, lyrical niggas on tired beats
I ain't here for that, turn them off (Forget that)
Me and LB in the pool in Ibiza with six gyal, panties off (It's lit)

If Chip Diddy Chip's gonna make them kinda comments then he should at least spit that on a track with a more fire beat and the next rhyme could at least... rhyme lol.
Hold tight Skepta as well. I remember him once rapping 'It's Skepta, I will never sing to the inspector'... I rather Skepta just didn't sing at all tbh cos hearing the BBK leader sing on the chick-friendly Golden Brown was a bit cringey still. To be real I'm getting tired of rappers singing but that's just me innit.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beats. I was expecting a whole bunch of trap and autotune but the production was varied which was good for someone like myself. Yeah the first half was mostly trap but the second half covered sub-genres like drill (Star In The Hood), Mic Check had a garage feel which explains the numerous references to garage classics and High Road had a more traditional hip hop feel. This made for a more well-rounded project. A grime track would've been good though.

In terms of content, we all know what Young Adz is about. This go around an insta model with 4.5m followers and a lesbian (a more PC term) benefited from his LeBron James movements (taking his talents 'down south'). The first half of Insomnia was the typical trap stuff. Balla talk, trapper talk, playa talk and whatnot but room was made for more serious content on tracks like Traumatised and High Road (Young Adz dropping a standout verse on the latter). Basically all the artists showed that they're not one-dimensional.

Before listening to this album, I was kind of expecting the worst. Initially thought this was just an album done for the hype but it's actually quite a good project. The younger audiences will probably appreciate this one more than me but this album did have some moments. Young Adz, Chip and Skepta can sleep well, I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Insomnia Interlude/ Star In The Hood
Verse- Chip Verse 1 (Mains)
Feature- Dirtbike LB
Track- High Road

WESTSIDE GUNN- PRAY FOR PARIS

The head of Griselda's work-rate can rival any artist, even Lil Wayne during his monumental 2005-2009 run. In the past two years, the self-proclaimed Flygod dropped 8 different projects (including Griselda's debut album last year) with Pray For Paris being his latest release. Dropping in mid-April, it was met with positive reviews which no doubt solidifies Griselda's importance to the game.

Being the flygod that he is, PFP kicks off with the recording of a Leonardo Da Vinci painting being auctioned for a record $400m... I need to buy some paintings... and it kinda sets the tone for the rest of the album because if you know about Westside Gunn, you know he loves extravagance and he spits plenty of that throughout.

The last solo album I heard from Gunn was Supreme Blientele and the most recent project I heard from the Buffalo rapper overall was Griselda's WWCD. What's changed and what hasn't?
Well French Toast is the first tune I've heard from WG that's aimed at the ladies or should I say les dames (Google translation told me that). The Wale-assisted tune is somewhat gritty but the lush piano loop and Joyce Wrice's lovely vocals adds a touch of class to the rugged drums and ad-libs.
One of my fave beats on the album was 327, which featured Joey Bada$$ and Tyler, The Creator. Prior to this, I don't recall hearing WG on a 'lo-fi' beat. It was a standout track though so I wouldn't mind hearing more of this.
Daringer who is Griselda's in-house producer and has featured prominently in previous projects took a backseat this time as he only made one beat. PFP instead saw Westside work with a West Side legend in the NY-born/LA-raised DJ Muggs, a future West side legend in Tyler, The Creator (no G-Funk sounds from either), hip hop's GOAT DJ Premier and most surprisingly Jay Versace. The boy in that meme who took a selfie crying his eyes out? Yes that's the one. None of them disappointed with their contributions. I was actually impressed by Jay Versace's gospel-influenced production.

What's remained is that other than French Toast, WG stays true to his core base and to who he is. That trapper talk, the gangsta talk and the drip talk wasn't gonna go anywhere other than to France with him. I am not complaining. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Regular collaborator The Alchemist came through and dropped 2 tracks. I love a soulful loop but the sample used on $500 Dollar Ounces was a little tedious. He more than redeemed himself on the addictive Claiborne Kick which was a definite standout.
His Griselda family (professionally and personally), Conway and Benny, dropped by to butcher two tracks like the lyrical machines they are.
No WG album would be complete without a Keisha Plum spoken word, a Westside Pootie skit, some WWE skits as well as the best ad-libs in the game right now and none of the aforementioned were absent.

The production was mostly cool as I previously mentioned but there were a few tracks where the beat didn't merge well with WG's vocals.
The feature-list was impressive... maybe too impressive... as bar for bar WG does end up getting outshined by Benny, Conway, Joey, Roc Marciano and also Boldy James. WG can spit though and does drop some entertaining verses.

All in all, it's a good effort by the Buffalo boss and it was refreshing to see WG put at least one foot outside of his comfort zone. No surprise one of the better albums to drop this year. I'll give this an 8

FAVES
Beat- 327
Verse- 327
Feature- Benny The Butcher
Track- Claiborne Kick

As inconvenient as lockdown has been for people the world over, I'm lucky that I'm able to catch up on my reviews. I've almost caught up. Anyways next post should be coming soon.

Peace Out!

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 ALBUM REVIEWS

2020-04-07T15:25:00.000+01:00

Yo. I guess I could ask how your year's going but let's be real... 2020's been crazy AF. If you're bored in the house and in the house bored though at least you got these album reviews to read, check it out.

MICK JENKINS- THE CIRCUS

Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins kicked off 2020 with a nice 7 track EP titled The Circus.

The Circus is a mix of soothing sounds and 'turn up' tracks and the production is what makes this an enjoyable listening experience... especially the 3 track run of Carefree, The Light and Flaunt.

The content for the most part tends to be quite miscellaneous though I did dig the topic of Carefree

'It just don't look like this If you living carefree then you probably don't look like us' Carefree

The above quote is the opening bars to the standout track which is about Mick trying to enjoy his life in spite of having to endure racial profiling by the police. This is sure to resonate with black people who experience this regularly... mix the content with Black Milk's dope mellow/melancholy instrumental and you have a contender for one of my fave tunes of 2020. Flaunt had some lightweight boasting but as mentioned a lot of the verses would be classified as freestyle topics to me.

Mick's flow and technical ability are sharp though at times there were a few lines that didn't rhyme and his ambiguous content will be a case of either you love it or hate it.

The dope beats and Mick's artistry was enough to keep me entertained so I'm the former. Good project to chill and unwind to. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- The Light
Verse- Carefree verse 2
Feature- Johnny Venus
Track- Carefree

EMINEM- MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY

The legendary Detroit MC unexpectedly dropped his 11th album titled Music To Be Murdered By on January 17th.

After 20 years in the game and millions of records sold, Em's legend/GOAT status has been solidified amongst hip hop purists... as well as a very specific demographic. In recent years though, he's been criticised by some for his 'lyrical miracle spiritual individual criminal, subliminal in your swimming pool' type verses (style over substance basically). Also for his recent material not quite measuring up to his earlier works. Commercially though, none of that stopped MTBMB from becoming his 10th number one album in a row. Critically speaking? Keep reading.

Eminem comes out the gate addressing the disapproval he's received with a fire verse on Premonition ...

'They said I'm lyrically amazing, But I have nothing to say/ But then when I put out Revival and I had something to say/ They said that they hated the awake me

... Instead of us being credited for longevity/ And being able to keep it up for this long at this level, we/ Get told we'll never be, what we were/ Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was, I'm still twice as good as you'll ever be'

... on the following Unaccomodating however he reverts to his vintage marmite style. This shows that Eminem ain't gonna stop barring like Eminem anytime ever and to be fair he probably shouldn't.

Despite his 20-year long connections to the likes of Dr Dre and Mr Porter, Marshall Mathers (along with Nasir Jones) has often caught flak for his beat selection. While the beats on this aren't particularly amazing, they're not necessarily horrible either. I do commend the diversity of the MTBMB actually. While I expected to hear Eminem spit over traditional hip hop and them spooky slim-shady-type beats (you know what I'm talking about), I was somewhat impressed to hear him over Trap/R&B (them Bryson Tiller/6lack kinda beats) on the standout No Regrets and even dancehall on Farewell (take that Chet Hanks) which sampled No Games by Serani. Overall though there were a couple misses.

Bar for bar we all know Em is a beast with it and I'm sure he'll retire for good before he ever drops some nursery-rhyme level verses. Some punchlines were dope while some were silly but quite funny (for example 'How you doin? You Straight? No I'm bi'). All of the guest rappers impressed with their verses especially protege/longtime friend Royce as well as the rest of his former Slaughterhouse brethren (not Joe Budden though).

Standout moments on this 20-track offering include the super-speed syllabic slaughter on Godzilla where he rapped a PB of 11.3 syllables per second. Darkness was a brilliant story with multiple meanings and he also addresses people he's been having problems with. This possibly includes Lord Jamar and Joe Budden.
Other than that the content ranges from relationship problems, drug use, the typical slim shady horrorcore stuff (Stepdad is quite similar to the sickening Relapse track Insane) and there were some dope posse cuts too.

In 1999, Eminem was something different to what mainstream music had seen. In 2020, we all know what Em is about so now it's a case of take it or leave it. Though he may have tried to reach out to other audiences with the trap tracks, this is still strictly for his Stans. Funny how that classic which was critical of crazed fans are the same ones keeping him relevant. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- No Regrets
Verse- Premonition
Feature- Royce Da 5'9 (You Gon' Learn)
Track- Darkness

MAC MILLER- CIRCLES

Mac Miller achieved a lot in his short life. Despite having a hugely successful indie career (selling over 2 million records with Blue Side Park) and making the Forbes list at just 20, Mac Miller couldn't shake off his dependence on drugs and overdosed at just 26 years of age. Circles was the last album Mac was working on. It was released on January 17th to critical acclaim landing at No.3 on the Billboard Charts.

Though a rapper, Circles is predominantly a non-hip hop album with Mac doing a lot more singing than spittin'. Because of this, I'm going to keep this review relatively brief.

Class A drug use, although illegal, is common and is stereo-typically consumed by those with money to blow. It's been this way for decades. While some use it for recreational purposes, others use it as a tool of escapism and based on the content of Circles, I assume music and drugs were Mac's way of achieving the latter.

A pattern I noticed on Circles, in my view, is the contrast of borderline-feelgood production with gloomy lyrics. For me, the beats allow this album to be an easier listen otherwise it may have been too depressing to listen to. The lyrics below are somewhat eerie given what ended up happening and makes me wonder if suicide was something he was contemplating...

'Some people say they want to live forever
That's way too long, I'll just get through today' Complicated

'There's a whole lot more for me waitin' on the other side
I'm always wonderin' if it feel like summer'

TBF, it's not entirely doom and gloom with lines like this for some level of balance...

'Yeah, why don't you wake up from your bad dreams?
When's the last time you took a little time for yourself?
There's no reason to be so down
Rather fly around like there's no ground' Hands

Whatever the beloved Pittsburgh artist was going through, at least it produced Circles which will no doubt serve as a beautiful parting gift for his fans and loved ones. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- I Can See
Verse- Blue World verse 2
Track- Hands

J HUS- BIG CONSPIRACY

Arguably the biggest UK rap star in the game, the king of Afroswing returned with his sophomore album Big Conspiracy in late Janauary. It was both a critical and commercial success landing at No.1 in the UK national charts and it currently has an impressive metacritic score of 87.

Big Conspiracy gets off to a strong start, kickin' off with the smooth title track and Helicopter. The mysterious vocalist icee tgm provided a sweet hook on each.

The first four tracks were pretty dope but I wasn't too sold on Play Play however and I found the excessive use of phallic similes somewhat cringey. The theme didn't stop there though as it continued on the following track, the aptly-titled Cucumber. Though the latter did make for a better listen.

Unlike his debut Common Sense, J-Hus opts to work with artists outside of his genre including rising Jamaican star Koffee (Repeat), the 'African giant' Burna Boy (Play Play) and the platinum-selling RnB star Ella Mai (One And Only). Not gonna lie to you, besides Repeat (where Hus only done the chorus), I was quite indifferent to the other two tracks.

Overall though the good definitely outweighed the not-as-good (I opted for that term as none of the tracks were BAD).

Production is handled mostly by Jae5 (who produced every track on Hus's last album) and the beats are pretty fire overall. The East Londoner's versatility sees him display his talent on a variety of genres including hip hop, afroswing, dancehall, afrobeats and drill. The TSB-produced No Denying without doubt being the standout. If you're into something a bit calmer though you might prefer the title track.

In terms of bars, J has a good level of technical ability. Content-wise, he shows he can get beneath the surface when he's ready as displayed on tracks like Deeper Than Rap but he's well aware of his core audience thus he keeps it palatable to the mainstream.

The selling points of Big Conspiracy are the upbeat radio-friendly vibes (generally), the catchy hooks, the sing-rap flow and the production. This enables him to say whatever (such as Fight For Your Right where he says 'I was a real nigga till I fucked my nigga's girl/ The only way to repay him is to give him the world/ And when I get my own wife, he can fuck her as well') over whatever and his fans will still dance to it paying little attention to how outlandish those bars were.

J Hus's brief stint in prison and his infamous twitter rants haven't done anything to stifle his ability to make bangers. He knows what his fans want and I'm sure they'll be more than satisfied. I'll give this either a 7.5 or an 8.

FAVES
Beat- No Denying
Verse- Deeper Than Rap
Feature- icee tgm
Track- No Denying

LIL WAYNE- FUNERAL

Rewind back to 15 years ago and the pint-sized, dread-headed, lean-sippin' workaholic from New Orleans was the hottest name in rap. Although the baton was later passed on to his YMCMB protege Drake (who still has it now), you could still argue that Weezy's 2005-2009 run was stronger. Given I was one of the few not on the bandwagon, I vividly remember feeling like 2pac due to the 'me against the world' debates I had during this period.

OK now back to the present, things are a little different. Lil Wayne's output hasn't been as consistent. Reasons include but not limited to a highly-publicised feud with former mentor/father figure Birdman, drug-related health issues as well as his supposed retirement plans (possibly hinted by the title of this album). Also while his best-selling album Tha Carter 3 is viewed a classic (NOT BY ME!), the critical response to his following albums haven't been received with the same admiration. His previous album Tha Carter 5 has been viewed by some as his best work since Tha Carter 3 though the former's metacritic score of 72 is quite a way off the latter's 84. Still though, Lil Wayne's rep is enough for this to be his 5th number 1 album. My thoughts? Keep reading.

At 24 tracks, you already know how I feel about lengthy albums. I'm automatically going to presume this is going to be a quantity over quality project. This isn't entirely the case with Funeral however as the production is pretty damn dope. The majority of these beats are gassed and in my view would be a good album to have in the whip or to play at the gym. The ones that differ from the core sound include the RnB-flavoured Harden and Sights And Silencers which are amongst my favourites. The Adam-Levine featured Trust Nobody has more of a rock vibe to it while Bastard and Get Out My Head have a dark, gothic, eerie feel.

As far as bars go, he has his moments I suppose. On Trust Nobody he briefly shows some vulnerability and introspection but it's mostly braggin' and superficial talk (I'm from the hood/ I'm tough/my guys are tough/ I got mad hoes and even more dough etc). I thought he went hard on tracks like Piano Trap, the title track and Darkside but then he had some bars that were mad silly

'Titty-fuck your baby mama
She breastfeed your child while I do it, I'm stupid' Mama Mia

Well... Least he's honest. You'd think I'd have more to say about an album with so many tracks but to be real I don't. The previous two paragraphs pretty much summarised it. It's a real pick-up-and-go offering.

This is a decent release and not as bad as I anticipated but the length is a bit much for me. His fans might love it but there's only so much Lil Wayne I can take in one go. The gassed production is the main pull of this album and is enough of a reason for me to give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Mahogany
Verse- Piano Trap verse 2
Feature- Lil Twist
Track- Harden

A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE- ARTIST 2.0

A Boogie, real name Artist definitely lives up to his government name... giving that's what he is for a living. 'A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie' however? I've found several pics of him not wearing a hoodie... Anyways forget that, the NY rapper dropped his third album Artist 2.0 on Valentine's Day landing at No.2 on the billboard charts.

Despite being born in the borough that birthed hip-hop, Boogie (much like Compton's Roddy Ricch) made a name for himself opting for the new-age trap sound instead of the 'boom bap' beats associated with NY. This album is 20 tracks long and you already know what I'm gonna say about that. Anyways keep reading.

I see why this album was released on Valentine's Day given most of the content is about relationships. Not so much romance however as numerous songs (including the opener Thug Love) are about failing or failed relationships. Aside from that, you have the typical superficial content. The closer Streets Don't Love You being one of the only tracks that is about something different. If you're not into trap, getting to track 20 might be a task.

The production was strictly trap. Many of which had an RnB flava to it. The first 2 tracks being pretty good. The following 3 tracks (as well as Hit Em Up, DTB 4 Life, Another Day Gone) had a heavy-guitar influence with Hit Em Up having a wild west-trap feel to it. The beats for me ranged from average to good. Stain, Thug Love, Streets Don't Love You and Calm Down being the standouts.

The BX sing-rapper boasts

I’m that nigga, no cappin', I’m a goat
All these niggas flow jackin' and I know. Stain

I'm not the biggest trap fan to know if this is true but I doubt it is.

Like most new-age trap artists (Young Thug, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch etc) and even afroswing artists like J-Hus and MoStack, A Boogie has a sing-rap style which he confirms as seen on lyrics below

They call me a singer, I'm rapping with melodies,
nigga, like, na-na-na, na-na (Na). Hit Em Up

I mean they all have the same kinda sound in my view so I don't know...

A Boogie recruited the A-List of this turn-up sub-genre from Young Thug to Gunna to Roddy Ricch to DaBaby. TBH, I feel the guests were important as they helped to make Artist 2.0 more listenable. Lil Uzi Vert stole the show on both of his features.

After a while Artist 2.0 becomes kinda tedious.. I wouldn't say A Boogie can't rap but his verses are nothing special and nothing really stood out for me except maybe the closer. Also quite a few tracks had longer choruses than verses. Being the hip-hop head I am, there's only so much new-age trap I can take.

If you're gonna make an album with the same sound and content, I don't think it should go over 12 tracks as this was the point where I started to get a bit fed up. I would say out of the 20 maybe 7 for me had some level of replay value. The rest is either take-it-or-leave-it or a straight skip. A trap fan might feel this, an A Boogie fan might feel this but a dude like me? I have to give this a 6.

FAVES
Beat- Stain
Verse- Streets Don't Love You
Feature- Da Baby
Track- Stain

ROYCE DA 5'9- THE ALLEGORY

In my view the best lyricist in the game right now, the Detroit veteran Royce Da 5'9 dropped his 8th LP The Allegory on February 21st. Since Layers in 2016, Royce has been consistent with his output dropping a solo project every 2 years. He's been even more reliable with his artistry as his top-tier level of lyricism has been maintained since the late 90s... perhaps even improved.

At 22 tracks, The Allegory adds itself to the list of lengthy projects in the last couple of months. I don't know why there's been so many but given Royce is no joke on the mic, I'm hoping for the best. Keep reading.

Closing off a gripping verse/spoken word on the opener Mr. Grace (where he speaks on the structure and corruption of society), Royce explains the meaning of the album title (also explained on Ice Cream interlude). As shown below, you can guess what Royce might be alluding to...

'I guess it's from the back of the back to back to sittin' with my back to the shadows
With actors standin' behind me with puppets controlling nothing but shapes
But that shapes our fate
This is the Allegory of the cave theory by Plato'

Not surprising for any hip-hop head, the bars are straight fire from start to finish. The content focuses predominantly on the black experience in America and on nickle nine showing the world why he's a ten on the mic. You're spoilt for choice when it comes to dope verses but some of the standout bars were the shots he threw at former labelmate Yelawolf, Donald Trump and fashion brand Gucci to name a few...

'In reaction to slithers from lizards mouth
Yelawolf this is your first and your last pass
I ain't gon' put it on blast, your punk ass know what this about
You think it's 'bout being loud or tryna be hostile
'Til you get found face down on the ground outside of Kid Rock house
Though you a vulture pundit, I hope you get sober from this
Men lie, women lie, so do numbers' Overcomer

'I hate that your Commander In Chief is more demander and thief
And it seems like this boy just can't be impeached
I can't be under the thumb of one who seems to be attracted to his own daughter' Rhinestone Doo Rag

'Only Gucci we acknowledge around this way is Radric Davis
Only thing fly around this way, hollow tips, I dodge that shit
Gave my nigga three to five for marijuana and legalized that shit' My People Free

Even though we're only a few months into 2020, I expect The Allegory to have the guestlist of the year. To name a few, every member of Griselda featured seperately as does former partner-in-rhyme Kxng Crooked and T.I. There were no weak features and the skit by Eminem (where he doesn't rap but does touch on the topic of race and music) is sure to provide food for thought. Some of the standouts for me was the fairly obscure Cyhi The Prince on Black Savage and Ashley Sorrell (who features thrice) on My People Free.

A significant component of The Allegory are the skits. All of which in my view made for good thought-provoking listens. Aside from the impressive Eminem contribution, there's the polarizing anti-vaccination/pan-African Black People In America.

To varying levels (producer or co-producer), Royce is responsible for the album's entire production. Although Royce is abundant in dope lyrics, this album is lacking when it comes to dope beats.

If you asked me to name some dope beats from a Royce album I could.

Rock City? Boom.
Layers? The title track.
Book Of Ryan? Cocaine and Boblo Boat.

The Allegory? ...
I mean the soulful melodic loop and beat switches on Overcomer were pretty dope, I Play Forever was kinda tough and Rhinestone Doo Rag was nice and smooth. The beats aren't wack but overall they're not as good in comparison to his past albums. I feel this LP needed someone like Mr Porter or DJ Premier (both are regular collaborators) to drop some heat on the beats.

I would have given this a way higher score if it wasn't for the production. Super-lyricists need to remember that the fans need dope lyrics AND dope beats. Good project regardless. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Rhinestone Doo Rag
Verse- Mr Grace/FUBU
Feature- Benny The Butcher/Ashley Sorrell (My People Free)
Track- Overcomer

LIL BABY- MY TURN

Somewhat ironic but Lil Baby happens to be one of the biggest guys in the trap game right now. The Jamie Foxx doppelganger dropped his sophomore My Turn in late February. Landing at the top of the billboard charts.

Several artists have been dropping albums with 20+ tracks recently and guess what? Yeah you already know so I ain't gotta say it. Anyways keep reading.

The content is pretty much what I would expect from any other trap rapper. Nothing wrong with that either to be fair. So you can expect the drip talk, the playa talk and some hood talk. It is what it is. As far as technical ability goes, he's a better rapper than I expected. He's obviously no Royce Da 5'9 but he can put words together and does use a fair amount of multi-syllabic rhyming with the odd lightweight simile. Were there any tunes where he went a little deeper with the content? I guess you could say Can't Explain where he talks about his troubled past. Sum 2 Prove as well as Chase The Sun were quite introspective as well. Let's be real though, trap ain't never been known for bars. It's known for music to turn up to.

Bringing us on to the production. Just like the title of the album's closer, the beats were most definitely solid. Many of the heavyweights of trap such as Gunna, mentor Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert and Future made an appearance as well as Lil Wayne.

Generally the beats were gassed. There were a few like Chase The Sun, Same Thing and Solid that contrast with the overall feel of the album but there's plenty to turn up to... maybe even too much? The sound is consistent and the beats were quite dope. At 20 tracks though, this could either be exactly what Lil Baby fans want or it could be a little tedious and repetitive. I've made it known that I'm not the biggest trap fan in the world so for me, it's the latter.

'They don't treat me like no rapper 'cause my vibe like I'm in the streets
I'm one of the top five, it ain't too many guys as real as me' Same Thing

Even though I'm no trap enthusiast, My Turn topped the billboard charts and he's holding his own with all of the big names in trap so I guess he has every right to feel that he's amongst the top 5 (in trap, not hip hop overall). Me personally, I think My Turn was a good offering. I would go as far as saying that every tune was good in it's own right but it was just a little too long for me. These 20-track albums have to stop IMO. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Gang Signs
Verse- Sum 2 Prove verse 2
Feature- Lil Uzi Vert
Track- Sum 2 Prove

Anyways, that's January and February done. The reviews for March and April is coming soon.

Peace Out!

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 ALBUM REVIEWS

2020-02-03T23:10:00.001+00:00

GANG STARR- ONE OF THE BEST YET

After a 16 year hiatus, the legendary DJ Premier puts a full stop on Gang Starr's 30 year discography with One Of The Best Yet.
Their last release was in 2003. The reason for the 16 year gap is due to the pair falling out then splitting up in 2004. In 2010, the rapper Guru sadly suffered a heart attack and there was then a legal battle over who could use Guru's unreleased material that took several years to resolve. With that done with, we now have OOTB which is Guru's acapella verses over new Premo production.
The LP kicks off with a montage of past Gang Starr bangers which validates the album's title. As far as the 'new' stuff goes... Guru's unreleased stuff was still pretty dope. The technical ability was as on-point as anything he spat during the late 90's onwards and he had some good concepts locked away such as Hit Man... I noticed a good chunk of the content is Guru's unfavourable view of the rap game. Keep in mind these bars were pre-2010 so imagine how he would feel now with mumble rap and trap being so popular.
Ask the average hip-hop head who their fave producer of all time is and more time you're gonna get DJ Premier. I wouldn't say there's anything here that rivals Nas Is Like but the beats are still good for the most part. There's only maybe one beat I'd skip.
There were some real heavy hitters on the guestlist such as Royce, J Cole and Jeru Da Damaja to name a few. Everyone involved was clearly aware of this project's importance as they all dropped a nice verse.
To summarise, Gang Starr cemented the place as one of the best yet long ago and Premo did well to put together what he did with what he had. Not a bad sign-off at all. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Family And Loyalty
Verse- Hit Man
Feature- Jeru Da Damaja/J Cole
Track- Family And Loyalty

KREPT AND KONAN- REVENGE IS SWEET
South London duo Krept And Konan returned with their 2nd album Revenge Is Sweet on the 1st November. The pair have had some downs in recent times such as tragically losing Cadet (Krept's cousin) and Nash but also some ups such as the two opening their own restaurant Crepes And Cones and also this LP reaching No 5 in the national charts.
With them going through so much, this album (though only 11 tracks- excluding the skits) isn't short on content. What I like most about RIS is the balance. So while they do address serious issues such as their current career standing, the people they've lost, image gang... the duo both delivered their best verses on the standout title track where they addressed their critics and doubters. A couple bars below...

The same girl I had in the hotel is on the internet telling people we don't like black girls
Akh it's a mad world

When everyone was on SBTV, dropping Ask Rashid who got Behind Barz popping?

... They also made tracks for the streets in I Spy and for the sheets in First Time and everything in between. The same goes for the production as you get a mix of hip hop, UK drill, afroswing, dancehall as well as RnB.

I already mentioned the content but bar-wise, Krept and Konan have been known since they were on the come-up for their technical ability especially punchlines and RIS has this in abundance. Good feature-list which included verses from Cadet, Stormzy, Headie One, Spice and even Tory Lanez who sings the chorus for First Time in patois. Some may forget he's of Caribbean descent.

Revenge Is Sweet is a well-rounded album and one of the better releases from a UK act in 2019. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- GOAT Level
Verse- Revenge Is Sweet
Feature- Cadet
Track- Revenge Is Sweet

DAVE EAST- SURVIVAL

After releasing several mixtapes, a 13-track 'EP' and a joint album with Styles P in 2018, Harlem rapper Dave East finally dropped his debut solo 'album' on November 7th last year.
Known for tracks such as Keisha, Survival was released via Nas's Mass Appeal records as well as Def Jam and reached No.11 in the Billboard charts.

The Harlem rapper has skills no doubt... I mean imagine a super-lyricist like Nas signing a mumble rapper. Survival was abundant in good wordplay and content. Lengthy at 18 tracks, the 6'4 East Coaster isn't short either in height or on topics to talk about. Given Dave East's criminal past, there was a fair amount of hood talk but there was also a high level of introspection. He wrote songs of appreciation to his mum and daughter, he has songs addressing haters and doubters, he talks about the past when he was struggling also On My Way 2 School and Me & Mine's were cool concepts.

As far as the beats go, other than AJ Tracey, this project is probably the most diverse in comparison to the rest of 2019's releases. There's obviously the traditional hip hop sound but there's also trap, RnB, 80s Soul, 'luxury rap' and though Dave reps NY, he also has a ... I think it's hyphy... track with E-40 for the West Coasters. So plenty of quantity, the quality however doesn't quite measure up. My fave beat was the closer which I would describe as a Just Blaze-lite production. The beats overall weren't bad, a lot of them just lacked that 'replay just for the beat' factor.

To summarise, a decent 'debut' for Dave though I think for the next release he should keep it shorter but by no means sweeter. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- What You Mad At
Verse- Need A Sign
Feature- Nas
Track- On My Way To School

*It's January 25th and this should've been finished last month so now I'm doing one-listen reviews*

GAME- BORN 2 RAP

'You 38 And You Still Rappin *puke sound*' The Game, One Blood

Game spat that bar when he was 26 years old. Fast forward to 2019 and he is now 40 years of age. Possibly conscious about this bar and not wanting to go back on it, the Compton spitter declared that his ninth album Born 2 Rap would be his last. B2R was released on his birthday and reached 19 on the Billboard charts.

At 25 tracks, I was lowkey expecting the worse as I always presume that hefty albums will be a case of quantity-over-quality. However this album is an exception to the rule and only validates the point that maybe Jayceon Taylor was indeed born to rap. He covers a wide range of topics other than the superficial stuff including his importance in the rap game, speaking on the people he's lost, his relationship with his estranged brother (a sequel to One Night somewhat), his career achievements and even his own version of Nas' classic story Rewind. Some things never change either as Game continues with the name-dropping. I've said in the past that Game is the Shang Tsung of rap as he's always adopting other rapper's styles. Not so much on this album though he does use Big Pun's style once (Stay Down) and even on a few tracks, I got a 2pac vibe from him. Mic skills are as sharp as ever and he raps with a level of raw emotion that had not been reached on other releases.

When it comes to the 'who's the best beat picker?' question, some will say Jay and some will say Rozay etc. Me? My pick is Game and he doesn't contradict my opinion with this release. From the epic-sounding No Smoke to the melancholy Roadside to the rough and rugged West Side to the 'pimpish' Gold Daytonas, there's definitely something that will make you nod your head.

I have this theory that musicians don't retire and Jay is proof of that. With a quality feature-list; dope beats; some memorable moments and vivid verses however, if this turns out to be Game's last album, he definitely proved that he was born to do this. I'll give this an 8.5

FAVES
Beat- No Smoke
Verse- No Smoke verse 1
Feature- Nipsey Hussle/D Smoke
Track- West Side

GRISELDA RECORDS- WHAT WOULD CHINEGUN DO?

Newly signed to Shady Records, the dopest group in the game right now both literally and figuratively dropped their mainstream debut in late November titled What Would Chinegun Do?

Conway The Machine says on DR BIRDS

'Hall N Nash and Benny like James Worthy, Kareem and Magic'

Funnily enough prior to hearing that bar I was comparing them to Barca's formidable MSN front three from a few years back. Whether you liken them to the legendary LA Laker's trio or Barcelona's, either way they're the magic three right now.

Produced entirely by in-house producers Daringer and Beat Butcha, the beats are straight gutta. Some might be more aggressive and menacing while some might have a more darker, colder feel... A beat switch added a soulful dimension to The Old Groove but the common denominator is that these are straight beats for the streets. Are there exceptions to the rule? I would agree with anyone that said the Kennedy beat was jazzy and classy. As you can hear from the lyrics though, Westside Gunn (with the lovely vocals of Tiona Deniece) clearly had other ideas.

The bars are strictly drug talk, hood talk and baller talk and the people that know Griselda would expect nothing less so that's a given. Skill-wise they can all spit. Who's the MVP? That's a definite toss-up between Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher. Compared to Westside Gunn, their technical ability and consistency is a little more noticeable. This isn't a shot to Westside however as the high-pitched spitter can definitely hold his own lyrically, he has the best ad-libs in the game and his enthusiastic delivery juxtaposed with Benny and Conway's 'no-nonsense' style is a big reason why I rate Griselda so highly.

I enjoyed all the features. From the aforementioned Tiona Deniece to Raekwon's words of wisdom to Keshia Plum's sadistic poem to Eminem... well being Eminem. Standout for me goes to Novel though. The raw emotion of his vocals and bars had me playing The Old Groove on repeat.

To summarise, this is strictly for Griselda fans and people into that rough, rugged, gutter, gritty hip hop. Violent verses and powder poems galore. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Freddie HotSpot
Verse- Benny The Butcher- Cruiser Weight Coke
Feature- Novel
Track- The Old Groove

RODDY RICCH- PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR BEING ANTISOCIAL

The 21 year old Compton native has been enjoying a successful career thus far. His debut album PEMFBA dropped in early December 2019 and made it all the way to the top of the Billboard charts. Despite hailing from the same city that gifted us the likes of NWA; DJ Quik; Game and Kendrick Lamar, Roddy's sound isn't that vintage G-Funk or the traditional hip hop sound you may have been expecting. Roddy Ricch from what I know is the West Coast's premier trap artist.

The content is pretty typical for the most part. You have the trapper talk, the playa talk, the hood talk and of course the drip talk. Thankfully for myself, it's not limited to those topics as he rap-sings about the need to protect himself from his haters, Intro contained a nice hook-less introspective verse, one of the standouts was Prayer To The Trap God where he raps about the time police raided his crib.

The beats are all trap though some contain influences from other genres (such as RnB) for a more sonically diverse body of work. The Box for me was the hardest beat on the album.

Roddy has a rap-sing style similar to the likes of MoStack, DBE, J Hus and probably many others (I mentioned UK artists as I don't follow US trap like that). Roddy's main artistic attribute is the aforementioned, his flow and his ability to spit lines that his fans will no doubt recite at raves/concerts in unison. Roddy does display some good wordplay such as multi-syllabic rhyming and he can compose a good verse though there were a few times where his words weren't rhyming and I also feel he went into auto-pilot a few times... With this being said, this maybe what his fans want hence his album went number 1.
I'm no trap enthusiast but I don't wanna be insular and part of the 'trapped in the 90s' crowd per se plus it's only fair I give artists from different sub-genres a chance. Solid release in my view and I'm sure his fans will feel it. I'll give it a 7.

FAVES
Beat- The Box
Verse- Intro
Feature- Meek Mill
Track- Intro

STORMZY- HEAVY IS THE HEAD

Arguably the biggest name in the UK rap scene at present, South London's Stormzy probably has every right to feel like a king. Hence the title of his sophomore LP Heavy Is The Head. The final major release of 2019 dropped in mid-December and was both a critical and commercial success landing at number 1 on the UK charts and has since been certified gold.

Given that Stormzy feels like a king, it's pretty much expected that there was going to be boasting and bragging galore and HITH had plenty of that.

'If you can't do 10K first week then I don't wanna hear no chat about numbers
You man are my youngers' Wiley Flow

The above quote is but a brief glimpse of what Stormzy spits about in abundance but don't get it twisted there's way more to this project than that.

'When I take a stand, they say I'm ruining my brand
But I could never give a fuck, that's just my duty as a man' One Second

Stormzy with the above quote shows a level of integrity and courage that many artists are criticised for lacking so much kudos is deserved. One must imagine how Stormzy must feel with all eyes on him everytime he does take a stand.
The phrase Heavy Is The Head would suggest that one has a lot on their mind and Stormzy leaves plenty of room to vent about his present life. He leaves a message to his haters/doubters. He speaks on his dependence on weed, industry gripes, the importance of standing up for what's right as well as dropping an ode to his black brothas and sistas. He also talks about his regrets regarding his broken relationship with Maya Jama.

Stormzy's always been a dope spitter and has always been able to jump on different types of beats. Though mostly a grime/hip hop artist, the first tune that I heard him on was his remix of the RnB track All That Matters. His versatility continues on HITH and his technical ability hasn't dropped at all... He hasn't stopped dabbling in singing either. The production was calm. I liked the grime stuff best. I wouldn't say the beats were amazing but they were good.

Overall a very solid release from Stormzy to round off 2019. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Audacity
Verse- Crown verse 2
Feature- Headie One
Track- Superheroes

It's the 3rd February 2020 and I'm saying from now that I will never fall this far behind again LOL. Let me know what you think.

Peace Out!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ALBUM REVIEWS

2019-12-30T16:02:00.000+00:00

Yo. If you checked my last post it's the same deal as before. Still playing catch-up. Enjoy the read.

SKYZOO & PETE ROCK- RETROPOLITAN

One of the dopest indie rappers in the game, Skyzoo and legendary producer Pete Rock joined forces to drop Retropolitan in late September. Both hailing from New York, the album title clearly suggests that they're here to bring back that vintage, east-coast, boom-bap sound for the hip hop purist and for those 'trapped in the 90s'.
A mixture of the traditional 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus...' structure and 'no-hook/straight spittin', the content tends to focus on Skyzoo's younger years that moulded him into the man he is today. I believe Penny Jersey's is the best example of this and it's all done over some nice Pete Rock instrumentals. Dope bars from start to finish.
Behind classics like The World Is Yours and T.R.O.Y. , Pete Rock is one of the greatest producers in hip hop history and he sustains this reputation with Retropolitan. Soul Brother No.1 is best-known for his soulful beats and while Retropolitan has this in abundance, this is balanced out by more gutta tunes like Carry The Tradition and 10 Days.
I said previously that Eve by Rapsody had the best guestlist this year but Retropolitan is definitely up there in terms of features. There's verses from Styles P, Pete Rock, Elzhi and Griselda Records as well as vocals from Raheem Davaughn and they all brought their A-Game. ECAS is probably the best posse cut I've heard all year.
Album was tight from the beats, the bars to the features and perfectly captured that vintage East Coast period that produced so much classic material.
I'm not gonna go overboard and say this is a classic but I will say that dope beats and dope rhymes equal a dope album and I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Carry The Tradition
Verse- Penny Jersey's
Feature- TBC
Track- Richie


D BLOCK EUROPE- PTSD

The men of the moment Young Adz and Dirtbike LB aka D-Block Europe returned with their 3rd mixtape and second of the year titled PTSD. Landing at No.4 in the UK national charts and having one of the biggest fanbases in the UK right now, their commercial success is currently as high as... well them!
Critically though, this is a 28-track mixtape and you know I have my quantity-over-quality suspicions about lengthy projects but keep reading.
I've noticed that DBE have a huge female fanbase and I think I know why. Based on the overall content of this mixtape, I have to wonder whether PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or if it actually means Pussy Tasting, Sucking and Devouring as there's more songs about the latter than there is in a whole discography of certain rappers. The funny thing is there's a tune titled Thoughts which is primarily about trappin' yet Young Adz still manages to squeeze in the line 'I ate the pussy good from the back' even though it was clearly out of place LOL. Besides that, the duo mostly spit about lean, drip and a bit about trappin'. Nothing too deep. Skill-wise they're not crap... they can rap... though it seemed like they went on autopilot in some tracks.
The beats overall were pretty good, predominantly trap with either a turn-up or 'cruise in the whip' kinda vibe. There were a sprinkle of 'hip hop' beats but this is definitely for trap fans.
Solid feature-list with notable artists from the UK and USA such as Lil' Baby, Dave, AJ Tracey and regular collaborator Yung Bxne.
At 28 tracks, this is a quantity-over-quality project as I assumed and it's difficult to fully digest unless you're a DBE or trap stan... and of course a chick that wants to hear a ton of tongue-twister talk. I'll give this a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Cartier Frames
Verse- Outside Verse 1
Feature- AJ Tracey
Track- Cartier Frames

WALE- WOW... THAT'S CRAZY

DMV rapper Wale returned with his sixth album Wow... That's Crazy in early October. Viewed as the poet of MMG records, some may feel that he's overshadowed by Philly labelmate Meek Mill as well as the bearded face of the label Rick Ross. In spite of this, he has still managed to achieve 2 number 1 albums as well as 2 top 10 albums (including this) since signing with the label.
WTC focuses mainly on relationships and girl trouble. While Wale may be enjoying a successful career, the content suggests that the life of a rapper isn't as glamorous as his labelmates may suggest. Speaking of which, he does have a solitary song with Meek and Rozay about ballin' but that's an anomaly amongst all the angst that Wale vents about. Aside from the topic that wasn't part of Jay's 99 problems, Wale also speaks on image gang and mental health as well as using alcohol as a coping mechanism. It's not all doom and gloom however as he also made room to write an ode to black women and declared that he's going to support everything black *insert black power fist emoji*.
The production is very RnB-flavoured for the most part with sprinklings of a 'hype' track (as already mentioned with his MMG brethren), an afrobeats track and two tracks which I would describe as... 'groovy'. Beats are nice and I personally think you'll love this album if you're more into RnB/ female-friendly rappers.
Skills? Wale can rap. He has good wordplay, capable of a good punchline (kicked it in DC United, now I bid her adieu (reference to former DC Utd footballer Freddy Adu)), he's versatile and clearly has more depth than the average rapper but... One thing I've realised for a long time with Wale is that some of his bars don't rhyme. Throughout this album and previous releases he will go a good couple bars not rhyming nothing and being the hip hop head that I am, I can't get past that. Unless it's Phonte's verse on Whatever You Say, I expect your bars to rhyme, all the time lol.
Aside from that, it's a solid release by the underrated Wale. Despite the overall dark theme, the production and the few light-hearted tracks made it an enjoyable listen. I'll give this an 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- On Chill
Verse- Expectations verse 3
Feature- Boogie
Track- Love Me Nina/Semiautomatic

WRETCH 32- UPON REFLECTION

Tottenham's finest returned with his fifth (fourth on a major label) LP in mid-October. It was his first project in two years and unfortunately the first to land outside of the Top 20 in the album charts.
Given that Wretch has topped the charts in the past and has seen two of his albums reach the Top 5, he may find this disappointing from a commercial POV. From a critical standpoint however, the feedback has been considerably better in contrast.
  Wretch 32 is one of the best artists to come out of the UK and he displays why throughout this 12 track project. The North London MC has always been introspective and as hinted in the album title, Upon Reflection offers more of that. He speaks on life's ups and downs, expresses appreciation to the females in his life and also discusses his own career. Wretch 32, as most rappers do, wasn't going to drop a rap album without doing a bit of good old-fashioned bragging however as shown on Winning and 10/10. The main letdown on this album for me were the more female-friendly tracks towards the end which for me, weren't as good as the rest of the album. I'm kinda disappointed he never spoke on the Scorcher rumours either.
Although a hip hop artist, he shows his vocal versatility on the reggae-flavoured Visiting Hours and the afroswing-ish Spin Around. To be real though, Wretch's main attribute has always been his dope pen game. So here's a few lines that stood out to me.

'I'm the father of the group/ That means that daddy gotta steer the ship through, gotta harbor for the youths' Winning
'My little nigga showed me two nines/ Said he bought them both for one eight/ Bang bang bang at your Landrover/ I don't know, call that a gun range/ Bang bang bang, you're in theatre/I don't know, call that gun play' Insurance
'You think you've had your heyday (haye) and they feel they'll Tony Bell-ew' Upon Reflection

The production was good for the most part. It covered several genres such as reggae, afroswing, trap, rnb and of course hip hop but nothing particularly stood out to me.
Wretch has a song called 10/10 on UR and while I wouldn't give it this score, we can all see that Upon Reflection was a solid release by one of the scene's veterans. Over 10 years in the game, Wretch 32 has every right to see himself as one of the best. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Mummy's Boy
Verse- Upon Reflection verse 1
Feature- Avelino
Track- Upon Reflection

KANYE WEST- JESUS IS KING

Kanye's ascension from college dropout to Roc-A-Fella's in-house producer to one of the world's most famous figures is thoroughly impressive. No ascension however will ever match that of the lord Jesus Christ's and the guy from Chicago knows that himself hence his 9th studio album being titled Jesus Is King.
Released in late October, due to Kanye's massive stanbase, JIK landed at No.1 in multiple countries. The commercial success however was in stark contrast to it's critical reception with the 'gospel'-influenced album being his lowest rated album to date.
To be droppin' an 'gospel' album after years of secular behaviour (and even once stating he sold his soul to the devil) may seem odd... but we're all humans and no-one's perfect. There are numerous Christianity-related references and tunes like Water, Hands On and God Is had good content if you can take it at face value. Skill-wise, the bars weren't particularly bad but he's a long way away from his College Dropout days and you may be interested to know that CyHi The Prince and Clipse have writing credits on songs they did not feature on.
Described as a gospel album, there are indeed elements of gospel music present throughout. JIK also covers other genres such as RnB, trap, EDM, hip hop of course as well as jazz. A good move in my view and one of the better points of this album.
The standout moment was without doubt the surprise return of the much-loved DMV duo Clipse with No Malice FKA Malice, who left mainstream rap for religious reasons, droppin the best verse of the project.
Just under half an hour, the album is short but sweet? Not so much. I don't think it's as bad as people made it out to be but this would not be in the top end of Kanye's lengthy discography. I'll give this a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Follow God
Verse- Follow God
Feature- Pusha T
Song- Selah

That concludes this post. The final set of 2019 reviews be on the next post. Thanks for reading.

Peace Out!

JULY/AUGUST ALBUM REVIEWS

2019-11-29T12:22:00.003+00:00

Yo! I've fallen so far behind with my album reviews that I've now decided to do some quick reviews month by month. Not ideal for me but not even the likes of Usain Bolt or Christian Coleman could catch up with my previous method so I'm gonna try be as quick and as detailed as possible...

CHANCE THE RAPPER- THE BIG DAY
After 3 mixtapes and 3 years of absence, Chicago's Chance The Rapper returned in July with his 'debut album' titled The Big Day.
As the hook on the opening All Day Long goes, 'We can't be out here pleasing everybody.' This is fitting.
Though it landed at number 2 on the Billboard charts and received positive reviews from some publications, it received quite a roasting on social media. Most popular examples being this ... and this. What do I think though?... Keep reading.
Now when I see an album in this day and age has a lengthy tracklist that tends to be a red flag. This leads me to think the artist went down the quantity-over-quality route. All his previous mixtapes from 10 Days To Colouring Book had 14 tracks and received positive reviews but this one has 22 and was poorly received by many. There's no denying the correlation in this case.
The guestlist was star-studded (impressively includes the legendary SWV and En Vogue), the bars weren't bad generally speaking, the sound was diverse (that's a pro and a con, more so the latter if you're strictly hip-hop) and though the album as hinted by the title focusses mostly on his marriage, the content was fairly varied...
... but Chance keeps singing mid-verse throughout TBD and it's very annoying. There's a severe lack of replay value in my view and getting halfway to this album really felt like a chore. The beats were simply not to my taste and a lot of the content was delivered in a corny, sesame-street style. Also for all the praise for God, he does rap with some of the most secular rappers around but hey we're all humans.
It did receive some positive reviews so this album is for someone but that someone ain't me. I'll give this a 5.

FAVES
Beat- Roo
Verse- We Go High verse 1
Feature- Nicki Minaj
Track- N/A

YBN CORDAE- THE LOST BOY

The DMV-based YBN Cordae dropped his debut album The Lost Boy in late-July and it is definitely one of the better albums of 2019. As the album title suggests, Cordae is a 20 year old (at the time) trying to navigate his way through life.
Throughout the 45 minute long project, his introspective bars allow the listener to discover his perspectives on numerous topics from personal struggles, family problems to social media pressure (Thousand Words). The pain he reveals on tunes like Family Matters and Wintertime (to name a few) is somewhat balanced out by more upbeat tracks such as the gospel skits as well as Have Mercy and Lost And Found.
Lyrically, Cordae drops fire on pretty much every verse. Also Meek and Pusha dropped by to deliver some nice verses.
The beats for the most part are quite laid-back and soulful which I believe reflects Cordae's character and upbringing.
While the youngster declares he's lost, Cordae's on the path to great things and may find his name in many people's fave rappers lists if he maintains this level of artistry. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Lost And Found
Verse- Wintertime verse 1
Feature- Meek Mill
Track- Family Matters

RICK ROSS- PORT OF MIAMI 2

Miami rapper Rick Ross returns after a 2 year absence with his 10th studio album and the sequel to his 2006 debut, Port Of Miami 2. After 13 years you should already know what to expect from the beardgang pioneer. The M-M-M-Maybach Music soundbites? Check; The trademark ad-libs like huh! and woo!? Check; The drug talk? Check; That trademark luxury rap sound? Absolutely check; The DJ Khaled-esque wafflin' between verses? 'mAKe LovE tO mE lIKe An EMpoRER'... yeah check unfortunately.
Most of the content is braggadocio though he does drop a few lines on a few serious issues such as his car getting shot up by BMF, his seizures as well as losing friends either to prison, death or disloyalty. As always he recruits a lengthy list of guest features such as Drake, Meek Mill, Nipsey Hussle and Lil Wayne as well as singers John Legend and the newest RnB sensation Summer Walker. Many of the guests impressed with their contributions. Many people claim that Rick Ross is the best beat picker in the game and the production on POM2 is good supporting evidence for this opinion. The gassed, gutter beats are there; the RnB beats for the ladies are there and of course the luxury rap. Standout tracks for me include BIG TYME and Vegas Residency.
Rick Ross knows what the addicts of his music want and he delivers a package that will keep them satisfied until the next fix. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVE
Beat- BIG TYME
Feature- Meek Mill/Nipsey Hussle
Verse- Bogus Charms verse 1
Track- BIG TYME

BLADE BROWN- BAGS AND BOXES 4

The UK's premier trap rapper Blade Brown returns with the 4th re-up of his number 1 product, Bags And Boxes 4.
'niggas saying i don't rap enough, i just tell them you don't trap enough' Progression.
His first release in 5 years, the bar above pretty much summarises not only BxB4 but Blade Brown himself. The bars? Trappin'. The beats? Trap. The features? Trap. Blade for sure knows what his fiends want.
The question is... is there anything for those that are not trap fanatics? I would say Intro had more of a traditional hip-hop feel to it so naturally that was my fave track on the mixtape. The Knucks-featured Harrod's was a little different from your average trap tune. The horns on the boasty hook added a jazzy dimension. The RnB-flavoured 6AM was obviously for chicks who fantasise riding shotgun in a badman's whip.
Bars? Blade Brown can spit. No denying the South Londoner's skills. If you asked me who the best trap rapper in the UK was, I'm no trap guru but I'm saying Blade Brown all day. Content? Boasty AF (if you can't make a 100k in a 100 days, kill yourself, Littest Niggas). Trapper talk, balla talk and playa talk from start to finish but I didn't expect anything less tbh. You're not gonna go into KFC asking for vegan food are you? Standouts for me as far as content goes though is The Pattern and the 3-man tag on Triple Threat was a dope listen.
Armed with 10 features (both mainstream and underground); trap beats galore; boasty bars and that funny laughing ad-lib every time he says something cocky, I expect Blade fiends to be feelin this. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Intro
Verse- The Pattern verse 2
Feature- Triple Threat
Track- Intro

LITTLE BROTHER- MAY THE LORD WATCH

To the joy of many hip hop heads, the beloved North Carolina trio-turned-duo made a surprise return to the rap game after nearly a decade out.
Like their last album The Leftback, Phonte (the most underrated rapper in my opinion) and Rapper Big Pooh were not joined by former in-house producer 9th Wonder. Though he played a key role in their first two critically-acclaimed albums, the dope soulful production that 9th was known for is still there. As is the meaningful content, the lyrical skill as well as the hilarious skits and bars that made Little Brother one of the most beloved underground acts during the 2000's.
In the absence of 9th, Khrysis handles most of the album's production as well as Focus and Nottz. The beats, as expected, has either that soulful or 'real hip hop' sound and I wasn't disappointed at all.
Skill-wise, those that know about Phonte already know how dope his mic skills are and Rapper Big Pooh is far from what his stage name may suggest as they flaunt their technical ability from start to finish. Differing from the average mainstream rapper, the bluesome twosome are far from boastful and are prone to having the odd moan or two. Depending on the type of mood you're in, you might appreciate the honesty at times and wanna skip some other times. They cover subjects such as their struggle to success on Right On Time, their ambitions on What I Came For and even the club scene at their age (Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte are 39 and 40 respectively) on Sittin Alone. I definitely respect the fact they rap like the everyday grown man as that's rarely a perspective you get to hear.
The 15-track album has 5 skits and though that's normally excessive, it can be certainly forgiven and forgotten due to how hilarious they are. LB fans will love the blasts from the pasts such as Roy Lee, Joe Scudda and Mad Black Daddy. Standouts include Dyana Changed My Life which is based on Iyanla Vanzant.
All in all as a LB fan, I'm happy Little Brother managed to put their sibling rivalry to one side to drop this album. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- What I Came For
Verse- Phonte- Sittin Alone. Rapper Big Pooh- Right On Time
Feature- N/A
Song- Goodmorning Sunshine

RAPSODY- EVE

Now 9th Wonder may not have dropped any beats on May The Lord Watch but that doesn't mean he's been inactive.
If you were wondering where 9th was, he's been with another North Carolina rapper by the name of Rapsody. The Roc Nation spitter returned in late August with her 3rd LP Eve and it's her most critically-acclaimed album yet.
Each song title is named after a famous black woman that has inspired Rapsody and they come from different walks of life be it entertainment, activism or even royalty from ancient times. As you can tell from the titles, the album concentrates primarily on black women. Content includes her struggles as a black woman in the industry; encouraging self-love and pride as well as some thought-provoking bars concerning black men. Eve serves as a tool of empowerment for black women.
Production-wise, Rapsody needed 9th a lot more than Little Brother did as all the best beats came from either him or Nottz. In my view, the beats are better towards the end of Eve and that's when they took over all the production.
The features on Eve were brilliant and probably the best guest-list I've seen on an album this year. Ranging from old school legends like GZA and Queen Latifah to 'newer' acts like SiR and J Cole, everyone made a dope contribution.
The main-selling point of Eve was Rapsody's lyricism. Aside from the pro-black content, she displayed some nice wordplay (similes, schemes and juxtapositions) throughout and was a refreshing contrast from the ratchet City Girls talk. I do find it disturbing and also deliberate that rappers like Rapsody don't get the same level of promotion.
To summarise, I feel Eve might be the closest we have to a Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill although I personally feel there were a couple flaws. I'm undecided on the score but it's either a 7.5 or an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Michelle
Verse- Afeni verse 1
Feature- J Cole
Song- Afeni

HEADIE ONE- MUSIC X ROAD

Tottenham rapper Headie One is one of the biggest names in the UK Drill scene right now and in late August, he dropped his mixtape Music X Road.
'Now it's just music on road, man's doing up both' Music x Road
Looking at the above lyrics, the album title describes his life right now. From a musical viewpoint though it's possible he could also be referring to the sound of this project. I'm not a drill enthusiast so I could be incorrect but I think Headie One's sound is normally the traditional raw, gutter sound but there were a couple of tracks with 'commercial' appeal. Examples include Both which samples the dance classic Free by Ultra Nate (it peaked at number 13 in the UK charts. His 2nd most successful single), Home which samples RnB classic Soon As I Get Home by Faith Evans and I can imagine Rubbery Bandz going off at a couple raves. Headie also did a bit of singing on the 100 Bottles interlude which I wouldn't expect from any drill artist.
Headie knows where his bread is buttered though and he doesn't stray far away from the drill sound. At 15 tracks, I actually commend the versatility as it prevents MXR from becoming repetitive to those who aren't drill connoisseurs.
The content is what's to be expected from a drill rapper. So the hood talk and the trapper talk is there. He left some room to spit about drip and the ladies as well as some introspective content about his time on the illegal path. As far as wordplay, he had the odd bit of multi-syllabic rhyming but he kept it simple for the most part. I also noticed that the choruses tend to be quite long and nearly the same amount of bars as his verses. This appears to be a theme with the new breed of UK artists.
Landing at No.5 in the UK national charts, MXR is a commercial success for this highly criticised but thriving sub-genre. Critically, I would say this was a solid release overall. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- All Day
Verse- Ball In Peace verse 1
Feature- Dave
Song- 18Hunna

KANO- HOODIES ALL SUMMER

Better known to some (those not from the UK) as Sully from the critically-acclaimed show Top Boy, one of the original grime kings returned at the end of August with his sixth studio album Hoodies All Summer.
His first release in three years, it's a short album at 10 tracks but the East London MC definitely has a lot to say. A versatile project in both content and sound; it covers both serious and light-hearted topics such as gun crime, legal issues, racism and broken relationships but also rising above your circumstances, enjoying life and revisiting his underground grime roots.
Although viewed as a grime MC for the most part, Kano doesn't limit himself and dabbles in dancehall, house, hip hop, garage and of course grime. He also recruits the right feature depending on the sound. For example, Popcaan on Can't Hold We Down.
Kano, who in my view is one of the dopest lyricists from the UK, hasn't lost a step at all and effortlessly shows everyone why he's one of the best like a true veteran.
With dope bars, content that goes beyond the typical and a versatile sound; This is up there as one of Kano's best and one of 2019's best. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Class Of Deja
Verse- Trouble Verse 2
Feature- Ghetts
Track- Class Of Deja

Thanks for reading. September and October reviews soon come.

Peace Out!

PROMO CKOOLKEYS- CKOAT REVIEW

2019-09-10T22:56:00.002+01:00

Up-and-coming New Orleans rapper CKoolKeys enters the game with his debut solo project CK.O.A.T. In case you're wondering, CK.O.A.T stands for 'coolest of all time'... or as Keys would say ckoolest of all time.

Ckool rappers need ckool beats to match their ckoolness and CK.O.A.T has plenty of that. Production-wise, the beats were pretty dope from start to finish. Some were smooth like the intro CKoat Speaks; others like IF (which samples the Destiny's child track of the same name) had a 'RnB feel' to it while tunes like Gotta Be had more of a 'street' feel to it. Either way all of the beats had that all-important co... ckool factor.

There's swag talk, playa talk, a few tunes for the ladies and hustler talk throughout the 9-track album. For me, IF is the standout track and I believe this was where Ckool was at his most introspective by letting the listeners know about the ups and downs in his life. Aside from that, other standouts were Ckoolest Of All Time and F.Y.G.E.S. KingiKeem also dropped a solid guest verse on The Big Man.

'I've been through a lot and I done did a lot/
think you comin for me you can't have my spot' IF

Solid effort by Keys and as you can see from the above quote, CkoolKeys ain't gonna give up his CK.O.A.T title. Check that out.

FAVES
Beat- IF
Verse- IF verse 2
Feature- KingiKeem
Track- IF

NAS- LOST TAPES 2 REVIEW

2019-09-04T13:03:00.000+01:00

The QB legend returned with his second instalment of The Lost Tapes in mid-July. The Lost Tapes series, for those that don't know, is a compilation album consisting of songs that never made the final cut for his previous albums for whatever reason. On this release, there's recordings from Hip Hop Is Dead that was released in 2006, Untitled in 2008 and the critically-acclaimed Life Is Good in 2012. There's also speculation that there's songs from the album after which some claim was scrapped. The album was released to mixed reviews and I'm playing catch-up so it's only now I've managed to check it out...

Nas can rap with the best of them. Many declare he IS the best of them. His technical ability hasn't regressed and he's never been short on content. He has plenty even on this project... On LT2, he seemingly addresses Jesse Jackson on Who Are You which is about black people who could be deemed as out-of-touch with black society.

And you talking some gibberish, anti-nigga shit
'Cause you marched back with Rosa Parks
...
While our enemies plot, you ain't out of the shot
Matter of fact, you're an easier target
And I respect everything you accomplished
But I hope I never get old and talk that nonsense

Touches on divide-and-conquer as well as his personal evolution on War Against Love.

I went from, semi bummy nigga to money nigga (ha)
Bike nigga to car nigga
Christ nigga to Allah nigga (Alḥamdulillāh)
Then I evolved, nigga (yes)
No religions, my commandments are my standards

His longevity in the rap game on It Never Ends

Did songs with Chubb Rock to Chris Brown, switch styles
Yet to see any heavyweight make it to this round
This that pure champion sound, I wear the crizzown

This is very impressive taking into account that the tunes he did with Chubb Rock and Chris Brown are 20 years apart. In addition to speaking about the legendary Prodigy on Queensbridge Politics, Nas' addresses several topics from Baby Momma drama to artist exploitation on the standout closer Beautiful Life.

How many been married, divorced, their ex lady wildin'
Hires a lawyer, judge awards 'em monthly eighty thousand
Stevie Wonder sent me word that he was in my corner
Blind but still sees the pain of a young performer
...
Her bad, she wanna keep the kids away from their dad

Queens Wolf was a pretty cool concept too. A tribute to Teen Wolf, the track goes from Nas seemingly speaking about his teenage days to actually becoming a wolf known as the Queens Wolf... I f with his creativity...There's no denying Nas' lyrical prowess or his storytelling ability (he has a few 'love' stories on this). This is his main selling point that has led to many, including myself, labelling him as the G.O.A.T.

There's more to rap than lyrics though. Butter needs bread and rhymes need beats. This is where it gets a bit sticky. The NY spitter has been criticised by many for his beat selection. Most notably DJ Vlad who labelled Nas as the 'worst beat picker'. In addition he, being the stirrer that he is, makes a point to ask what seems like damn near everyone he interviews for their opinion on Nas' beat picking. DJ Vlad himself claims that The Simple Life where Nas declares 'Never sold a record for the beat, it's my verses they purchase' was a response to him.
How do I feel myself? TBH Nas is one of the few rappers that I can listen to regardless of the beat because he's that dope of a spitter. The fact he's my favourite rapper may also contribute to why I might be more lenient towards him in comparison to other rappers.
The production line-up was extremely impressive and star-studded. It made me excited for what was in store. Unfortunately I was disappointed with a lot of what I heard sonically speaking. From a 16-track project, I would say No Bad Energy; Lost Freestyle; Tanasia and the last 3 tracks were beats that I would rate between good and dope. The others were more or less meh or worse. You might find it hard to believe that Highly Favoured was produced by the same guy that did C.R.E.A.M. ... that Royalty was also done by the guy that did Niggas In Paris ... or that War Against Love was co-produced by the man that made Money Trees. Their beats on LT2 weren't awful per se but the hip-hop nerd in you might have been hoping for something on the same level of dopeness as the other beats I mentioned.
Credit should be given to Nas on his ability to make classic material out of... unspectacular beats but yo the fans still wanna hear dope instrumentation regardless. Personally, I would love to see someone like Rick Ross or Pusha T assist Nas with picking out beats.

The main factor for me with this offering is replay value. There's definitely some tunes I will revisit but there's also some that I know I won't once I'm done reviewing LT2. Personally I would have cut this album down to like 10-11 tracks max. On a whole though, I give this album a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Beautiful Life
Verse- Queeensbridge Politics
Track- Lost Freestyle

FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB- BANDANA REVIEW

2019-08-27T10:36:00.001+01:00

Growing up in the same place as Michael Jackson could be a massive inspiration to it's residents. It could show them that they could become one of the most famous people to ever walk the Earth. However Gary, Indiana which is notorious for it's high levels of poverty has seen it become somewhat of a ghost town over the decades. What does that mean for those left that don't possess the ability akin to one of the greatest entertainers ever? Well where there's poverty, there's bound to be crime especially drug-dealing. Step forward Freddie Gibbs, Gary's very own coke-rap connoisseur, who returns with the much-celebrated beatmaker Madlib to drop Bandana. Released to critical acclaim in late June.

Throughout the album, you will hear Freddie say 'CAINE or CAINE SEASON' and that's the central theme of Bandana. So yeah if you're into coke-rap then this is for you. Aside from the trapper talk, Gibbs does touch on relationship regrets on Practice as well as the stresses of life on Gat Damn. He also share his views on political and social issues throughout. A couple examples below

Maxine Waters, fuck your poison, keep your vaccines off us

Crackers came to Africa, ravaged, raffled, and rummaged me
America was the name of they fuckin' company

Obama got elected today, and I got arrested
LA County literally strippin' a nigga naked
And I never tell on none of my enemies or connection
Motherfuck Jeff Sessions, I'm sellin' dope with a weapon

I highly recommend checking out Genius where he personally annotates his bars and delivers some interesting insights. As far as technical skills go, he definitely has that... Madlib's not known for working with wack rappers at all let alone twice. Nice displays of internal and multi-syllabic rhyming throughout. My one gripe however is his fast flow makes him incoherent at times. All of my favourite verses on this project was when Freddie was spitting at a slower pace.

14 tracks plus a skit long and entirely produced by Madlib, the main selling point of this album in my view is without doubt the production. Having previously worked with J Dilla on Champion Sound ; Talib Kweli on Liberation and most notably MF Doom on Madvillainy, the producer sustains his reputation of putting out dope collab albums on Bandana. The core sound of the production is soulful although Madlib does dabble in trap on Half Manne, Half Cocaine as well as dancehall on the Jamaican-influenced Massage Seats. In between that there's of course that traditional raw hip-hop that hip-hop heads can enjoy. Most of the plaudits I saw when this was released was from the aforementioned. As far as beats go, this is probably the best-produced album I've heard this year. I've always had a preference for hip-hop with a soul/jazz sample so this was right up my street. For me, the standouts were Crime Pays, Fake Names and Cataracts.

Only 3 tracks include features and Bandana is an undeniable example of quality over quantity. Gibbs brought out the A-list of lyricists on Bandana with Pusha T, Black Thought and Yasiin Bey FKA Mos Def all stopping by dropping dope verses. Anderson.Paak who is amongst RnB's finest also delivers a nice hook and verse.

Overall with dope beats and literally dope rhymes, this is a definite shout for album of the year. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Crime Pays
Feature- Pusha T
Verse- Flat Tummy Tea verse 2
Track- Cataracts

BENNY THE BUTCHER- THE PLUGS I MET REVIEW

2019-08-17T20:30:00.001+01:00

The hardest group in the game right now is Griselda. Consisting of Westside Gunn; Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher, I've said before that Benny is currently the best rapper coming out of NY. The Griselda camp's productivity is unquestionable and not many can match them in this day and age. Having dropped the dope Tana Talk 3 last winter, Benny returns with a 7-track EP titled The Plugs I Met.

Beginning with the 'wolf and the blade' story (which was also used as the intro for Dead Prez's debut Let's Get Free), the EP kicks off with a soulful sample loop (Al Green- Look What You Done For Me to be exact) followed by Benny and Philly super-lyricist Black Thought taking turns doing what they do best. No hook, just straight spittin'.

My bitch keep sayin' I'm famous, but it ain't hit me
I'm too ghetto, mellowed out, this Hollywood shit tricky
See, before I knew an A&R, I was weighin' hard
Back when Nicki Minaj was in a trainin' bra
You play this game, you better play hard
The judge'll give you life and later that day, he gon' be playin' golf

The content is mostly drug talk and hood talk. They go hand in hand. That's evident from the project title, the cover (Scarface) and just from previous knowledge of what the Buffalo butcher is about. That's what he's known for and he excels in this field. While some rappers only appear to highlight the 'glamorous' aspect of this activity, the highs and lows of this topic can always lead to covering other topics. Benny shows glimpses of this on TPIM as seen from the lines below.

More bars then them niggas who got hit with the Reagan laws

Spent my daughter first birthday locked in a hole

Rappers y'all compare me too, niggas scared of me too
It make they heart beat faster just hearin the truth

But like I said that's just glimpses and the album as expected is mostly drug talk. The streets will love it.

On the production side of things DJ Shay; Griselda's main producer Daringer and the legendary Alchemist produced 2 beats apiece. Beats were mostly heat for the streets. Other than the aforementioned soulful Crowns For Kings, I would describe everything else as being dark and/or gritty and/or gutter. I'm also curious to hear more from DJ Shay. Although the lesser known of the 3, DJ Shay produced 2 of my fave beats on the EP in Crowns For Kings and 18 Wheeler.

Lyrically, almost every verse I've heard Benny spit has been at least 8/10. His wordplay, delivery and use of multi-syllabic rhyming makes Benny, in my view, the hardest from the East Coast right now. He proved that on Tana Talk 3 and again on TPIM. You have to be of a certain level to go bar for bar with the likes of Black Thought and Pusha T.
This brings me on to guest verses, there's 6 features on this EP which is quite a lot considering this is only 6 tracks but it's an impressive guestlist with Pusha, Black Thought, Jadakiss and Griselda partner Conway dropping dope verses. The lesser known artists pulled their weight as well so this was a rare case of quality AND quantity.

To conclude, though Benny doesn't dig as deep as he did on TT3. He keeps the rap fiends satisfied with his raw uncut coke raps. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Crowns For Kings
Verse- 18 Wheeler
Feature- Pusha T/Conway
Track- Crowns For Kings

GOLDLINK- DIASPORA REVIEW

2019-08-12T18:42:00.001+01:00

Diaspora (n):-

1. The dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland.
2. The sophomore album of African-American rapper GoldLink released on June 12th 2019.

As hinted from the title, the DMV artist acknowledges there's a musical world outside of the United States and links up with his brothas and sistas from across the globe to explore what the black diaspora has to showcase.
Goldlink experiments with a wide-range of different genres from trap to afrobeats to bossa nova/jazz to reggae/dancehall to rnb and of course hip hop. The majority of the artists he works with are UK-based such as Lola Rae, Maleek Berry and WSTRN for example. Gold made sure to Link with his DMV peeps though, most notably Pusha T. Outside of that, he also works with one of Nigeria's favourite son's Wizkid and even Hong Kong artist Jackson Wang who is the only non-black artist to make an appearance.

Diaspora kicks off with Joke Ting where Goldlink flaunts over an upbeat instrumental about his success. In addition to the balla talk, he added a bit of hood talk and even some philantropy talk on the 24-bar track. The UK's Ari Pensmith provided a nice chorus.

While the first 3 tracks do sound like trap, each song has a different type of feel to it. Maniac had that traditional menacing, gassed vibe that I expect to hear from a trap tune while the Khalid-assisted Days Like This had a RnB feel to it. He doesn't nail down one particular topic at this point and seemingly just spits about whatever. Be it money, warning the opps or sex.
Afrobeats is the first genre outside of hip-hop that you hear Goldlink dabble with. Both Zulu Screams and More are mad catchy and you'd have to be a soulless statue to not at least nod your head to these tracks. The features come from two British artists of West African descent in Maleek Berry and Lola Rae. Neither disappoint with their complimentary contributions. Bibi Bourelly (a German-born DMV resident of Morrocan and Haitian descent *exhales*) provided the outro on the former track in Lingala which was cool.
In between the hip-hop and trap, Goldlink hooks up with West London's WSTRN for the dancehall-influenced Yard. Even though Wizkid is arguably the face of Afrobeats, his collab with Goldlink was oddly enough a trap tune. It was good nonetheless.
Not departing too far from his hip-hop roots, the prominent genre on this 14-track album is trap and hip hop with sprinklings of international flava. In reverse the collabs are predominantly with people from outside of the US, especially the UK.

The main selling points of Diaspora aside from the 'concept' is the production. The majority of the beats, regardless of the genre or the vibe, were dope.
Also no feature went to waste on Diaspora. Other than the aforementioned contributors, Pusha T has been in beast mode all year and he did what he does best on Cokewhite; Tyler, the Creator proved he can still bar on U Say... The lesser known acts also impressed. Everyone brought something from their world to make this listen an enjoyable journey.

As far as lyrics go, GoldLink shows glimpses of his mic-skills potential. Had some cool internal and multi-syllabic rhyming here and there but it was relatively rare. The content was mainly on superficial topics such as balla talk and hood talk etc. His fast-tempoed flow is fresh however and this album is mostly about vibes and versatility. GoldLink gets a gold star on that.

All in all, this is not quite a classic but this is an enjoyable album with no weak link. I also commend GoldLink for showing the world a taste of what the black population can create when unified. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Tiff Freestyle
Verse- Maniac Verse 1
Feature- Pusha T
Track- U Say

MOSTACK- STACKO REVIEW

2019-07-30T18:08:00.000+01:00

Reppin' North London, Mostack dropped his highly-anticipated debut album Stacko on June 7th. Mostack's 'rnb flow' as I call it, his technical skills and tendency to spit over 'radio-friendly' beats has seen him build a sizeable fanbase. Evident in the fact that Stacko landed at number 3 on the UK national charts.

Mostack seems to have a knack for making tracks with the cruddiest content palatable to the mainstream. Block Popping which was released 3 years prior to Stacko is just one example. In regards to hood talk though, it feels like you only get glimpses of that on this album such as on the track Yes Yes. The standout opener addresses the incident where he was unfortunately attacked and robbed for his jewellery. Over a fire Steel Banglez/Zeph Ellis (FKA Dot Rotten) co-production, it sounds like a hit with extra grit. Aside from speaking on the aformentioned ordeal; he added a bit of balla talk, some playa talk and some hood talk with some memorable lines that give an insight into Mostack's personality (as shown below).

'They wanna come when I'm havin' a juice
But sorry bruddah, you ain't gang enough
And the price of this Canada Goose
Cost more than a flight out to Canada
...
Bun 'im then bun myself just to act like it weren't me
Ahh fuck, shouldn't have done that
...
Had mum vexed 'cause she couldn't find her kid at night
Had mum vexed 'cause she couldn't find her kitchen knife' Yes Yes

Aside from that and Take Em Down (A somewhat radio-friendly UK drill track), Mo keeps the crud talk to a minimum in favour of more commercial content.
The subject matter for the most part does focus on superficial topics such as drip. Also whether it's sweetboy bars (Shine Girl) or playa bars (Girl Diary), there's a good number of female-friendly tunes on Stacko... damn near half the album (he actually just dropped a video for Shannon).

We've established that the content is very much mainstream-oriented and the production is no exception. Ill Blu handles the majority of the beats and while my favourite beat on the album was the harder-sounding Yes Yes, for others (namely UK youngsters/the wireless crowd) this could be the soundtrack for the summertime season.

Mostack brought strictly the A-lister's of the UK rap game to feature. J Hus, Dave, Stormzy and Fredo all did their bit and I was also very impressed with the vocals of singer Dolapo on Make Me Fall In Love...
Fredo's verse was basically his infamous 'don't feed the badders pasta' IG live video in music form. Although both are rappers, Stormzy and Mostack were moving like K-ci and Jojo on Shine Girl with the singing. I was just waiting for one of them to go 'ooh yeah'.

There's no denying Mostack's technical ability. He can float on any track with his flows, he can display complex wordplay at times and his bars can be very catchy such as the 'arm and a leg' bar on Stinkin' Rich (see below)...

'And now there's blood pon my arm and a leg
Like I chopped up a arm and a leg
I would dash away these clothes, but these labels on my arm and a leg
Kinda cost me an arm and a leg'

... but it's clear he was going for the hits so any raw 'cypher-type' lyricism he might be capable of took a backseat for that 'rnb flow' which is ever-present throughout Stacko.

I feel this would be appreciated mostly by ladies, under 25's and casual rap fans. If you're the traditional hip-hop head/'trapped in the 90s' type, I doubt you'll enjoy it as much if at all. Me personally, I feel it's a cool album for the summer. Nice to play in the whip when you want something easy to listen to. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Yes Yes
Verse- Yes Yes verse 1
Feature- Dave/Fredo
Track- Yes Yes

DENZEL CURRY- ZUU REVIEW

2019-07-22T19:22:00.001+01:00

'Even though I don't really like trap, Denzel Curry can spit better than the average artist of the sub-genre and I respect that.'

The above quote is something I wrote a few years ago in a previous blog post when he was featured in the XXL Freshman list. The Miami rapper dropped ZUU on May 31st and was met with critical acclaim.
The album title is a nickname for Denzel's hometown of Carol City and he stated on Twitter that ZUU was 'all Miami'. This is evident from the fact that all but one of the features are Miami-based to even skits like YOO which gives an insight on how some Miami people roll.

The production is handled predominantly by FnZ who featured prominently on Denzel's previous album Ta13oo. As expected from a trap artist, the beats are gassed from start to finish. Even WISH which initially sounded like it was gonna be a tune for the ladies with the 80's soul sample turned out to be a beat for the streets with the thumpin' bassline and vicious verses. RICKY, BIRDZ, stripclub track SHAKE 88 and P.A.T. were standouts for me. SHAKE 88 had that Back That Azz Up feel to it while the latter sounded like a tune for the moshpits. Miami must be lively AF based on ZUU.

'Lets start it over
I, a Jehovah
Come take a look at my city and its culture
City full of vultures, city full of zo's
City full of gangsters, that's sticking to the code
Everybody thinking they know me, for real?
'Cause they only see me on the poster, for real
Don't test my dogs, they got holsters, for real
Fuck a pop tart, we carry toasters, for real' BIRDZ

Given that Denzel declared that ZUU was 'all Miami', it makes sense that the album kicks off with the self-explanatory title track opening up with '305, we in the house'. As shown in the verse above, the bars tend to have some connection to the Miami life whether it be about family (RICKY), the murder of friend and Miami native XXXTentacion (SPEEDBOAT), local haters (AUTOMATIC) or Miami's famous nightlife scene (SHAKE 88).
As I stated earlier, Denzel Curry spits better than the average trap artist and he displays his lyrical prowess throughout. He had some good content (AUTOMATIC being a standout) and dropped some decent similes but for me personally, I was most impressed with his use of internal rhyming and his flow's dope. One possible gripe for some listeners is that his verses are quite short. The average verse from Denzel is normally around 8-12 bars instead of the traditional 16. I doubt however that the average trap fan cares about bars so that shouldn't be an issue.

This 12 track album is just under 30 minutes. Short and straight to the point. I don't even like trap and I f wit this so trap fans will probably love this. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Verse- AUTOMATIC verse 2
Beat- RICKY
Track- BUSHY B INTERLUDE

SKEPTA- IGNORANCE IS BLISS REVIEW

2019-07-11T22:36:00.001+01:00

Grime's premier artist Skepta returns with his fifth album after a three year absence. Since 2016, the Tottenham MC/producer has been seen in magazine shoots with supermodel Naomi Campbell; had a child; and enjoyed a worldwide profile boost following his collab with Harlem's A$AP Rocky. This album landed No 2 in the UK national charts thus showing he's as relevant as ever in UK's thriving 'urban' scene.

Ignorance Is Bliss kicks off in a similar fashion as his previous album Konnichiwa where on the opening track, he has a quick recap of his life since the last album. Since Reflecting in 2009, Skepta has never disappointed with these 'intro' type of tunes.

'Recently I been learning a lot
All I know is there's no better feeling
Than going home and seeing my little girl in the cot, so
This year we're done talking, forget the bagga chat, it's just action
Man are trolling to get a reaction
Everyday it's another distraction
Gotta fight temptation, can't get lost in the sauce...'

Skepta's albums have always had introspective content and this offering is no exception. From the music industry (the constant indirect shots at Wiley) to the dating scene ('Same old questions, what's your body count? Who were you linking before me?'), the consistent tone of IIB is Skepta venting his frustrations. Giving this is titled Ignorance Is Bliss, I can only assume that the BBK leader has endured some eye-opening events. Skepta seemingly indirects friend-turned-rival Wiley throughout. In addition to Bullet From A Gun, I'm convinced he also took shots on No Sleep and You Wish. The latter being a standout tune and more focussed.

'I don't know why this emcee tried to test me
I had to teach him a lesson
But it's like he weren't learning, fam
I just murked him, and I never needed a weapon
Said that you're a top boy, but I can't lie, fam, I can't see the progression'

As with previous albums, Skepta handles the production almost solely. He tries his hand at trap with Luton's Nafe Smallz (who could easily be mistaken for Young Adz) on Greaze Mode and the Oriental-influenced Redrum which features KEY! from Atlanta. The Far-East flava was present on No Sleep as well. Guess he was still in 'Konnichiwa mode' when he made them two beats.
Feature-wise I was expecting the link-up with J-Hus to be THE standout track of the album but to me, What Do You Mean? was disappointing. Although J Hus made the best out of a bad situation, I still weren't feelin' it. Nafe Smallz did his thing though as did BBK on Gangsta. From working with trap rappers like KEY! to doing commercial, EDM-type tunes (Love Me Not) as well as that traditional 'Skepta/ practice hours/BBK' sound, IIB was another showcase of Skepta's versatility. Problem is many of these songs don't have a great level of replay value and even more so if you compared it to Konnichiwa! which I still listen to.

Given this album is called Ignorance Is Bliss, Skepta probably won't wanna hear this. This definitely doesn't best Konnichiwa lyrically or sonically. Judging it on it's own, it's pretty decent but quite underwhelming. I'll give this a 6.5.

TYLER, THE CREATOR- IGOR REVIEW

2019-06-23T16:30:00.000+01:00

The LA-based Tyler Okonma undeniably lives up to the 'creator' part of his stage name. Creator of Odd Future, one of the biggest stables in modern hip-hop that ultimately gave us Frank Ocean; The Internet; Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler himself. Creator of dope beats and troublesome tweets. Creator of art and clothing. Also the creator of roadblocks as seen when he made a surprise return to London on May 18th. Tyler returns with his 5th LP titled IGOR.

Released on the same day as Father Of Asahd, DJ Khaled was mad that IGOR beat his album to the Number 1 spot on the billboard charts. As I said in my review of FOA, if Khaled cared more about critical success than commercial success then maybe he wouldn't have happened. Quite fitting that Khaled recently released a song called Jealous eh?
Anyways enough about Khaled and congrats to Tyler for scoring his first ever number 1 album on the billboard charts.

While there is a bit of rapping involved, this is certainly not a rap album overall. Feels like the West Coaster was singing for the most part as seen from his lead single EARFQUAKE. IGOR certainly shows that Tyler has evolved from his horrorcore Yonkers days to a complete musician.
Lyrically, the album focusses predominantly on the breakdown of a relationship and he enlists the likes of Solange and the legendary Charlie Wilson to emphasise this. They amongst others were used to great effect. A couple rappers such as the UK's Slowthai and Lil Uzi Vert featured but the only rapper that dropped a rap verse was Playboi Carti and frankly, I wish he didn't. I don't f with mumble rappers.

Tyler did actually drop some cool verses but I feel IGOR was more of an outlet for the OFWGKTA leader to showcase his composing ability rather than his songwriting. Entirely self-produced, I'm not even sure how to define the sound of this album. There are elements of hip hop but also 70's soul, gospel, R&B, experimental, funk, electro, dance, rock and possibly a lot more.
What I will say though is that the production's dope and I would describe this as a child of N.E.R.D's In Search Of... and a sibling of Matt Martian's The Drum Chord Theory.
You may be interested to know that Tyler, The Creator cited In Search Of... as the G.O.A.T album and also did some production work on The Drum Chord Theory.

The student and the master

I review hip-hop albums and I wouldn't class this album as such so I'm not gonna spend much more time on this. I will wrap this up by saying Tyler is additionally the creator of one of the best albums of 2019. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Verse- NEW MAGIC WAND v4
Beat- RUNNING OUT OF TIME
Feature- Charlie Wilson (EARFQUAKE)
Track- RUNNING OUT OF TIME

INJURY RESERVE- INJURY RESERVE REVIEW

2019-06-21T21:14:00.000+01:00

Injury Reserve are quite lowkey in the rap game. Comprising of rappers Ritchie With A T; Stepa J.Groggs; and in-house producer Parker Corey, I actually became aware of the Arizona-based trio once again thanks to Spotify. S On Ya Chest (bar the shot to Little Brother's Rapper Big Pooh and that annoying part at the end) and 2016 Interlude are both tunes I listen to on a regular. So I thought, let me check out their self-titled debut.

Their debut album kicks off with the bouncy, minimalistic-sounding Koruna & Lime. Oakland native Stepa J Groggs drops some nice lines on the first verse like-

'If you didn't help me get it, don't be speakin' on mine
No, for real, don't say s*it, like you speakin' in mime'

Now moving on to his partner-in-rhyme Ritchie With A T. Based on the tunes I mentioned in the intro, Ritchie isn't one to bite his tongue and hold back any criticism. You'll certainly clock this on Jawbreaker where he gives his 'You know what grinds my gears?' take on today's fashion trends. Another minimalistic production, Rico Nasty drops a dope guest verse and gives some game to the listeners with

'I got money and the power and I'm still myself
Momma said don't go broke tryin' to fill yourself
Momma said don't break tryin' to build yourself
And don't feel ashamed if you need some help
'Cause we all do...'

The production is handled predominantly by in-house producer Parker Corey. I previous pointed out the use of minimalistic beats and that is the prominent sound for the first five tracks. They're pretty dope though. QWERTY Interlude kinda reminded me of Hive by Earl Sweatshirt and Jailbreak The Tesla is definitely one of the standout beats on the LP. The latter could give the best-behaved child ADHD.
After track 5... Gravy N Biscuits takes the listener from hyper to happy with the feelgood vibes. Three Man Weave had a similar feel to S On Ya Chest with the jazz influence though the horns can feel overbearing at times. The aforementioned tracks felt like anomalies though as the overall production was pretty damn raw and aggressive. I f'd with it though.

Both Ritchie and Stepa are technically adept and IR's content doesn't get boring as they rap about various topics from the light-hearted to the serious.
One standout was Best Spot In The House. Over a beat that is both rugged and haunting, they both speak about their shortcomings as people. The brutal honesty definitely made me revisit this a few times.
Another was What A Year It's Been where over an intensifying crescendo, the pair lament over personal events that took place in the last 12 months.

Out of the 13 tracks, 5 of them had features including Freddie Gibbs and all of the guest rappers impressed with their verses.

There were some interesting moments on this album. For one, this is the first time I've heard an openly-gay rapper (Cakes Da Killa on GTFU) feature on a hip hop album.
Also after what was said about Rapper Big Pooh, I certainly wasn't expecting to hear his old partner-in-rhyme Phonte (who he recently reconciled with) on this album either. Even if it was just to drop a couple ad-libs on the closer Three Man Weave. Richie being Richie, he may raise some eyebrows by claiming his basketball skills parallel the mic skills of Russ... we'll leave you to judge how he rates his ballin'.
Rap Song Tutorial was a cool concept too and probably the most original song I've heard this year.

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Good debut from the trio and feels somewhat unique. Injury Reserve definitely have the quality to be first-teamers in this hip hop game. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Jailbreak The Tesla
Verse- Best Spot In The House
Feature- Amine (Jailbreak The Tesla)
Track- What A Year It's Been

SLOWTHAI- NOTHING GREAT ABOUT BRITAIN REVIEW

2019-06-12T23:17:00.002+01:00

Typically when you think about UK Hip-Hop, most of the artists that would instantly spring to mind would be London rappers. After being named in BBC's annual Sound of... 2019 list however, the Midlands-based Slowthai will surely be aiming to put his region on the map.
NGAB was released on May 17th to critical acclaim and also landed at number 9 in the National charts so he's definitely doing his part in regards to putting his side of town on the map. With this being said though, what do I think of this album?

The album begins with title track... Nothing Great About Britain... Now this is my first time ever listening to Slowthai and he makes it clear from the gate what he's about to the unfamiliar.

'Swings and roundabouts you're round my kid
Grass ain't always greener where the other side lives
Nothing great about Britain
Tea 'n biscuits, mash, jellied eels and a couple little trinkets
East end you Phil Mitchell
Get stabbed with the PhillipsHand on my heart I swear I'm proud to be British' NGAB

In the opening track, he reiterates the uncomfortable truth to those that falsely stereotype Britiain as this splendid place where the road is 'paved with gold'. He then refers to Ainsley Harriott as a bounty and a member of the royal family as a 'see you next tuesday'. On first impressions, It's safe to say... This yout gives no typa f*ck!

Produced predominantly by Kwes Darko, the album for the most part had that 'grime' feel to it. Slowthai does however show his versatility on the Mura Masa-produced Doorman which reminded me of the music The Prodigy used to make. I can imagine Doorman becoming one of Thai's signature tracks and shuttin down festivals for sure.
The beats for the most part were aggressive and intense though Toaster was a fairly mellow contrast and Thai's melodies blended well with the production.

NGOA covers a range of different topics. The title track being self-explanatory; Gorgeous sees the rapper reminisce about his younger years; Crack sees Thai speaking about his dependence on a toxic relationship; and the standout track of the album Northampton's Child is an ode to his mother who struggled to raise him. In addition, it's a recap of his turbulent childhood.
You could argue the content doesn't match the beats but Slowthai's expressive delivery skills makes this a case of opposites attract.

Both Skepta and Jaykae dropped dope guest verses on Inglorious and Grow Up and to be real, the host was outspat on both occasions.
I wouldn't class the Northampton rapper as a super-lyricist as such but he does have a decent level of technical ability; he can flow well; he covers multiple topics and can deliver some memorable one-liners.

I feel the album may have needed another tune that gave me the same vibe as T N Biscuits (I'm not reviewing the deluxe version) but a solid debut overall from a rising star. Also it's good to hear some Grime-type beats giving so many UK artists have seemingly abandoned that sound. Aside from the aforementioned banger, I look forward to see what next this wild yout brings to the table. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES

Beat- Grow Up
Verse- Northampton's Child
Feature- Jaykae on Grow Up
Track- Northampton's Child

DJ KHALED- FATHER OF ASAHD REVIEW

2019-06-09T00:09:00.000+01:00

DEEEE JAYYYYYY KHALEEEEEDDDDD.

'All I do is cringe cringe cringe no matter what/
Chat nonsense all the time and I think I've had enough/
And If I see Khaled in the building, I'm a tell him shut up
and don't come here, and don't come near, and don't come here/
shut up now, shut up now, shut up now/
Cos all I do is cringe cringe cringe/
When I hear you sing, don't come round here, just stay there'

That's what I would've said in a drunken rage if I copped a ticket to Wireless last year and if DJ Khaled actually turned up... Neither happened LOL.
The DJ, 'motivational speaker', devoted father, meme legend, hit-maker, 'unintentional' comedian and overall walking cringefest returns with his 11th LP. As always, it is packed with the A-listers of Hip Hop, RnB and even Dancehall.

Father Of Asahd kicks off with Holy Mountain. With Sizzla; Mavado and the recently-freed Buju Banton all featuring, this should have been a classic on paper. Unfortunately it just sounded like a bag of noise. Their verses would have been better suited to a traditional dancehall riddim.

Jealous (Breezy, Weezy and Big Sean) and the SZA-featured Just Us (which samples the classic Ms Jackson by Outkast) will most likely be released as singles. Neither of them to me are particularly bad tunes but I don't feel they have any true replay value. I can already imagine me forgetting about these tunes once I'm done with this review.

Higher is fire and is the best track on the album by a long way. The verses; the beat; the chorus, everything was dope.
Won't Take My Soul had two cool verses from the legendary Nas and Meek Mill had a fire verse on Weather The Storm.
Higher to Weather The Storm was a 3 track purple patch on FOA. The fact that Higher was the last video Nipsey Hussle shot will give this album a lot more significance... which is a shame in some ways considering how weak this LP is.

Other than that Jay Z dropped a nice verse that went to waste on the forgettable Top Off. Big Sean shows why I think so highly of Detroit rappers on Thank You and Buju Banton's reggae closer Holy Ground proves my point about Holy Mountain as this tune was pretty good.

This was a 15-track album and the other stuff isn't worth mentioning unless you wanna hear something negative. For example, Freak N You was garbage and never shoulda sampled the Jodeci classic.

DJ Khaled had a temper tantrum when FOA failed to go number 1. If he cared more about critical success than commercial success maybe it would have. DJ Khaled loves to say We The Best, not if this is anything to go by. I'll give this a 4.

FAVES
Verse- Meek Mill on Weather The Storm
Beat- Higher
Track- Higher

KOTA THE FRIEND- FOTO REVIEW

2019-06-02T19:50:00.000+01:00

Firstly I gotta give a shoutout to Spotify. If it weren't for the Daily Mix and that thing when they do a shuffle based on the last song you listened to (song radio?), I wouldn't even know who Kota The Friend is. Dude doesn't even have a wikipedia page! He does however have over 20k followers on Twitter, over 150k followers on insta and a second album titeld FOTO that he dropped on 15th May.
The song that made me aware of Kota was Alkaline. The super chill vibe and the introspective content from the Brooklyn spitter caught my attention and hence I decided to check this album out.

FOTO kicks off with some words of wisdom by an old-head on Full Bloom who speaks on the importance of photos. Followed by a soulful beat and some laid-back lyricism. When Kota said 'I hit you with that boom boom bap like it's Dilla Day' I had a feeling this album was gonna be dope. Thankfully I was proven right.

The production was very smooth and chill. It seems Kota is influenced by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest because the beats (mostly self-produced) had that soulful, jazzy, 'nod your head' feel for the most part.

Content-wise, the LP seems to be split up by interludes.
So from the start to the 2nd interlude (Pop's), the bars are very introspective. While 'Birdie' is clearly a tune about dating, Kota doesn't nail down one particular topic at this stage of the album (tracks 1-8) in my opinion. Seems to me (and I could be wrong by the way) like he was just observing life and decided to write down whatever he felt at that time. I believe the following bars give a good insight on Kota's character.

'Hella bummy, nigga fuck an image
People calling when it benefit them
Voicemail be like going fishing
Waking up and every day is sunny
Gotta calm spirit, you can't take it from me
Everybody smiling on my mini island
It's an added bonus we making money' Church

'Ain't no counting money finna woo me,
Smack you if I see you wearing Gucci...
Lil Kota playing in the backyard
Nigga, I am busy taking pictures of my offspring
Lotta folks need a whole lot, wish they had more
I am okay, find joy in the small things
People wanna see me in the limelight
I just want a hammock on the lake"Kota, you about to get signed, right?
I be like, "Nigga, no way' Hollywood

The Gucci bar likely relates to the high-end brand being accused of racism. A topic he covers further on Alkaline and For Coloured Boys. The bars I posted kinda explains why he's not as well-known as he should be. This is because fame isn't a goal for Kota.

The Saba-assisted Solar Return and Mommy are sandwiched between three different interludes which signifies to me that these songs are unique in comparison to the others. The former sees Kota and the Chicago rapper (the sole rap feature) exchange great verses over a beat that... certainly suits the brand of rap that Saba is known for... The latter is a cool concept where the verses see Kota rapping from the perspectives of a struggling mother. Check that out.
After Uncle Cal's Interlude, The album then takes an upbeat, 'turn up' vibe with Backyard and KOALA where Kota raps about partying with friends and travelling the world.
The final interlude (Grandpa's) sees Kota rapping about past memories which explains why the closer is called FOTO and highlights the wisdom and significance of the opening speech by the old-head that I mentioned earlier. Kota speaks on past relationships, offers advice to young black boys on the standout For Coloured Boys and raps about past events in his younger years.

Kota can spit for sure. We all know at this point that Kota has good content. In addition, he displayed dope wordplay and different flows throughout FOTO.

While FOTO speaks on serious issues such as systematic racism, consumerism, bad parenting etc it also covers relationships, chillin' with friends, having fun and just generally life. FOTO is basically an insight into the life of a young black person who, against all odds, is trying to be great and enjoy what life has to offer.

Kota is a friend to the 'hip hop head'; the 'backpack rap' fan; the person that wants a break from trap, drill and songs about hallucinogens; to those who want to hear soul in their earholes.

This is definitely a good shout for album of the year. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Full Bloom
Verse- For Coloured Boys
Feature- Saba
Track- For Coloured Boys

LOGIC- CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND REVIEW

2019-05-29T18:55:00.000+01:00

Maryland rapper Logic returned with his 5th LP in as many years on May 10th. To be real, I haven't listened to much Logic in a very long time. I used to f' with him when he was droppin' his Young Sinatra mixtapes and I liked his debut Under Pressure a lot. Since his sophomore album though, I haven't been following Logic. Seeing as I'm a blogger though, I feel it's only right to check what he's been keeping up with.

The album gets off to a great start with Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (the name of both the song and album). The beat has a mellow and reflective feel to it and Logic brings lyrical content with dope internal and multi-syllabic rhyming to match on the first verse. On the second verse, he addresses his worst critics and does provide some food for thought in regards to the way celebrities are treated.

Now why you think so many rappers be overdosin' at the crib?
'Cause people just won't let 'em live...
... that's why I keep goin'
That's why I keep flowin'
That's why I keep perserverin'
Even when I'm hearin' I'm a bitch, I'm a fag
I'm a motherfuckin' hypebeast,
I ain't black in the slight least
I ain't good enough, I should quit
I should kill myself (Kill myself)
'Cause you'll never be Kenny
You'll never be better than Drizzy or Cole
"You're losing your hair, you're too fucking old", yeah
These are the comments I'm readin' on Twitter right now
They make me depressed and they pullin' me down
I'm trying to swim but I think I might drown
So I'ma turn that feeling into a sound

The second track is the Eminem-featured Homicide. Both rappers have a huge following but have received criticism for their turbo-tempoed 'lyrical miracle, subliminal criminal' style of spittin'. You either love or hate it. Me personally, I f'd with both of their verses and the impression at the end was hilarious.

I often see Logic's name in social media. Very often for the wrong reasons. However this is his fifth consecutive Top 5 album and his second number 1 album so he's clearly doing something right, hence, the loyal following.
One of the main reasons he comes under criticism is because, according to many, he constantly refers to the fact that he's biracial. His verse on Royce Da 5'9's Caterpillar is just one of many examples. You can just check the comments to see how people feel about that.
Sir Robert Bryson continues this trend on Keanu Reeves where, in a shocking revelation, he declares for the trillionth time 'Do you know I was mixed like Obama?'.

Jokes aside, is that enough of a reason to justify the flak he gets? Or is he in the unfortunate category of people like Ramz and Michelle Williams who endure unreasonable levels of trolling?

I'm not gonna tell Logic how to be because 1. It's not my business and 2. What he is has earned him a lot of success. Having gold and platinum plaques as a new-school rapper is a remarkable achivement in this era.

In regards to this album however what I will say is that COADM does have it's moments. This includes the opening and closing tracks (Lost In Translation) that were great. Will Smith dusting off his mic and dropping a decent verse on the otherwise cringey Don't Be Afraid To Be Different. Logic calling out radio personality Charlemagne aka the self-styled architect of aggravation on Clickbait. Also the production, handled predominantly by 6ix, for the most part was pretty dope. Standouts for me were Out Of Sight and the second part of Lost In Translation. Them beats were fire.

These moments I mentioned however do feel few and far between. It's very clear Logic has the potential to be up there. The content on COADM and the straight spittin on Still Ballin shows this but some of the tracks just seemed quite lazy and lacklustre. One standout example for me was the Gucci Mane-featured Icy. The chorus alone was mad cringe and no offence to the re-invented social media life coach but Logic shouldn't be getting outspat by Gucci.

Logic previously said that Under Pressure was his Illmatic. If that's the case, COADM could well be his Nastradamus. The overall production is good enough for this to get a 6 but to me, this album lacks replay value. I'll give this a 6.

FAVES
Beat- Lost In Translation (2nd part)
Verse- COADM verse 1
Feature- Eminem
Track- COADM

STYLES P- S.P. THE GOAT: GHOST OF ALL TIME REVIEW

2019-05-25T23:07:00.000+01:00

The Yonkers legend is over 20 years deep in the rap game. At this stage in a person's career, you may see some lose their appetite for spittin and take extended/permanent breaks and/or move on to other ventures. The ghost on the other hand has been as productive as ever. Last year he dropped 2 LP's plus a collab project with Harlem's Dave East and this year on May 3rd, he dropped his latest album titled S.P. The GOAT: Ghost Of All Time.

Here's a couple excerpts from the LP:-

'I don't wear a nose ring, but I let the nose ring.' Push The Line

'But I bet you I'ma change/
'Cause they tryna write my story,
And I don't like the frame/
Plus, I made my own lane,
And I'ma tryna spread the joy 'cause I feel my own pain.' Change

'You tryna go straight, who you curve first?/
Fuckin' right I'm a gangster, homie
But I'm a nerd first/
Smart enough to read up on the art of war/
Time is valuable
It's deeper than the Audemdar.' Out In The Jungle

The above bars gives you an insight of Pinero's 'gangster and the gentleman' brand of rap. His knack for being 'hood with a heart', 'street and smart' has seen him listed as a favourite by many hip-hop heads including myself. Along with still having his technical skills intact, Styles has always been consistent with his sound and this continues on SP the GOAT.
The ghost has a fair amount of features (9) for his 11th solo LP including his LOX brothers-in-rhyme Jada and Sheek. The former maintains his no-wack-verses streak while the latter's bulletproof verse makes Push The Line a solid opener. His UK family D-Block Europe provide the hook for Filthy. Even though I'm all for supporting UK artists, I'd be lying if I said I was feelin' it. The best features actually came from the lesser known Nino Boy. His tag-team with Styles on What's Up Boy was dope and there was an unnamed rapper on Really Us who dropped a fire verse. Styles P himself didn't disappoint with any of his verses. Good wordplay and a couple nice punchlines throughout although the LP is predominantly 'hood talk' which could get tedious if you're new to Styles P.
The production wasn't bad overall. The hype beats like So Much To Say and What's Up Boy were way better than the mellow ones on this album although Raw Dreams was kinda dope too.

While SP THE GOAT is not better than either The Gangster And The Gentleman or Time Is Money, I'm sure his fans won't be disappointed. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Verse- Out In The Jungle verse 2
Beat- So Much To Say
Feature- Unnamed rapper on Really Us
Track- Out In The Jungle

PROMO CKOOLKEYS ft TOSUM- GOTTA BE

2019-05-12T21:31:00.001+01:00

Gotta Be is a single by up-and-coming New Orleans rapper CKoolKeys and features Tosum.
The rapper on the first verse spits about his preferences when it comes to cars, smoking and the ladies. Dude on verse 2 speaks on his swag, gets his 'Mr Steal Yo' Girl' on and declares he's 'onto other thangs'.
When I think of New Orleans, stereotypically I expect to hear that Mannie Fresh 'dirty south' type of sound. So I was surprised to hear that this tune has more of that 'boom bap', 'East Coast', Styles P/Cormega kinda feel. I liked it still. Beat was nice. My head was nodding from start to finish and blends well with CKoolKeys and Tosum's southern style. Check that out if you want something different to the mumble rappers and trap artists of today.

Instagram

CKoolKeys
Tosum

SCHOOLBOY Q- CRASH TALK REVIEW

2019-05-06T19:06:00.000+01:00

When you think of the TDE (Top Dawg Ent) label and the West Coast supergoup Black Hippy, the first name you'd think of would undoubtedly be Kendrick Lamar. The second you'd think of would most likely be that of ScHoolboy Q who, after three years, returns with his fifth studio album titled CrasH Talk.

On April 26th (the day of the album's release), ScHoolboy Q posted on insta-

groovyq
Verified

THis tHe Happiest I eva been wit a album dropping... tHank y’all soo mucH #CRASHTALK OUT NOW... positive vibes today... literally smiling ear 2 ear... until tHe next cHapter... ✌🏾

which is in stark contrast to the album cover. It's an animation of a man (presumably Q) with a paper bag covering his head who, judging by the eyes, looks extremely depressed. Also a fair chunk of the tracks cover topics which wouldn't evoke emotions that you'd equate with being ecstatic. Sonically, tunes such as the 6lack-assisted Drunk; Dangerous (featuring Kid Cudi) and Black Folk certainly give off an 'emo' vibe with the lyrics to match. I'm guessing Schoolboy Q wrote that post like this.

Critically speaking, this is a tale of two sides. So let's cover the first portion of the album first... which, to me, is the 'bad' part...

If this is the 'happiest' Groovy Q's ever been with an album droppin' then this quite possibly came at the expense of the quality of his musical output. This is unfortunately not on the same level of his previous release(s). From looking at Metacritic, I'm not alone in thinking this as this is his lowest rated album to date.
Maybe my expectations were too high. His previous album Blank Face LP was one of the best-produced albums of 2016. So when I saw that the likes of DJ Dahi; Sounwave and Boi-1da were on production for this album, I was expecting more of the same. To my disappointment though, the album was predominantly trap beats and tbh I've never been a fan of trap. If you're a trap fan, you might like it way more than I did.
Still covering the first portion (from tracks 1-9), I would say Drunk was kinda dope although 6lack was severely underused. My dude didn't even get an 8-bar! This was a shame as this tune sounds more East Atlanta Love Letter than CrasH Talk. I gave Lies a couple wheel-ups as Ty Dolla $ign delivered a customary dope hook. I don't know how in-fashion trap music is now but I can imagine 5200 doing a madness in hip hop raves. The transition from track one to two was clean AF as well. Other than that, I wasn't too fussed about the rest of the tracks. CHopstix with Travis Scott could be a potential hit though.

Now for the other side (tracks 10 to 14) aka the 'good' part...

I was more or less ready to give up on this album until I heard Track 10, the DJ Dahi-produced Dangerous. Lemme talk about DJ Dahi real quick. On numerous occasions he has produced either the best or one of the best tracks on an artist's project. Case in point: GKMC- Money Trees; NWTS- Worst Behaviour; DAMN- Loyalty; BFLP- Neva CHange and he may have done it again on CrasH Talk with Dangerous. What starts off with quite an eerie guitar riff, the tune intensifies by the second with additional layers as Q gives a first-hand account of what sounds like a hallucinogen trip. Kid Cudi's (who's no stranger to drug abuse) vocals was made for this track and although this is only 150 seconds long, it's imo better than the first 9 tracks of this project.
The momentum continues as even though I'm not a fan of trap, I do f with Die Wit Em and Water. Them beats were tough.
One of the common criticisms of trap music is often the lack of emphasis on lyricism. While Q is far from a mumble rapper in terms of technical skills, his verbal ability definitely took a backseat for the majority of CrasH Talk. Luckily for the traditional hip hop fan (like myself), the Boi-1da produced CrasH (which samples Royce Da 5'9's trademark classic Boom) and the album's closer Attention shows he hasn't forgotten how to bar. A good level of multi-syllabic and internal rhyming on both tunes as he highlights past memories, present achievements as well as his future plans. Both of those tunes had that Blank Face LP feel that I was hoping to hear on this bumpy 39 minute ride.

Overall CrasH Talk had it's moments but if it weren't for the 2nd part of this album, this could've been a write-off. I'll give it a 6.

*2020 UPDATE*- The more trap I hear, the more I appreciate this album. I'm upgrading the score to a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Water
Verse-CrasH Verse 2
Feature- Kid Cudi (Dangerous)
Track- Dangerous

CONWAY- EVERYBODY IS F.O.O.D. 3 REVIEW

2019-04-29T21:19:00.000+01:00

Having lived a turbulent past; the present and future is looking good for Conway The Machine. Representing Griselda, the hardest group in the game right now, he signed a deal with Shady Records along with his labelmate and brother Westside Gunn. They made history becoming the first rappers from Buffalo, NY to sign a major deal. Not only does he have a Griselda (Conway, Westside and Benny The Butcher) album lined up, he also has a Hall N Nash album coming with Westside Gunn and they're both set to be released this year.
Living up to the 'machine' part of his name, Conway served us a quick 8-track audio snack titled Everybody Is F.O.O.D. 3 as we wait for the main courses.

March 31st, Conway posts on insta- 'i was bored so I said fuck it and i recorded this tape in 2 days to show niggas that im the illest and it came out effortlessly INCREDIBLE!'

Conway expresses the same amount of confidence and bragging, if not more, on the EP's opener E.I.F. Coming straight out the gate with 'Hard work instead of talent/ but I work harder than niggas and I got better talent'. Giving he's dropped four solo projects since 2018 plus two more coming this year, there's no denying his grafting. The first verse is straight fire so he definitely has the talent. The way this EP started with Conway putting both verses in herses assisted with that gutter 'real hip hop' production, I really did think this was gonna be 'effortlessly incredible'...

... Is this that though? I wouldn't go that far. It is solid however and from what I've heard, the whole Griselda gang are in pole position when it comes to making that thugged out brand of hip hop. Conway knows this himself as he says on Egyptian Cloth

'How I ain't in your niggas Top 5?
When it comes to this grimy shit, I'm the top guy'

I've said in the past that Westside Gunn has the best ad-libs in the game but Conway's up there as well.
The beats were cool. It was that 'gutter' sound for the most part although London Pound and the closer Don't Judge Me gave off a different vibe compared to the earlier tracks.
The bars are dope as far as wordplay goes although the content doesn't really go beyond the topics that you'd typically expect to hear from an artist like Conway. So yeah the hood talk, the trapper talk, the balla talk is all there and of course the boasting in abundance.

Conway does however briefly let his guard down on one of the standout tracks Don't Judge Me where he lyrically laments over past regrets in his life.

'When I shot that nigga and I ain't wanna do it
But where I'm from if you pull your gun then you better use it'

Conway really might be 'the grimiest of all time'!

He closes out the album with 'I'm only human... I ain't perfect... I'm close though' LOL gotta love it.

Overall as previously said, it's a solid offering and I doubt Conway/Griselda fans will be disappointed. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- E.I.F.
Track- Don't Judge Me
Feature- Berner (good verse on London Pound)
Verse- Don't Judge Me verse 2