Chetta – “highatus” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta celebrating Valentine’s Day with his 23rd EP. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a few summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch. $crim of the $uicideboy$ produced the overlooked Sacrifice & Sabotage a couple years ago, following that with Can’t Replace Me & Mix with Poison to say highatus.

“Plaza Drive” was a self-produced trap intro with a Memphis twist talking about grabbing the yellow tape after dropping bodies leading into “Messy Hoes” continuing to depict another day in the life of a gangsta. “Burn This City” combines a vocal sample & some 808s so he can talk about abusing drugs while “Downbad” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of partying inside a hearse. “Desert Storm” cloudily talks about many artists moving in circles these days & “Too Rich to Rot” concludes with him advising everyone to move aside when war breaks out.

If you’re like me & celebrating another year of being single this Valentine’s Day weekend, you’re probably gonna find yourself enjoying highatus a lot more than the divisive reception Mix with Poison got last summer although I’m in the minority of liking that previous extended play a lot more than most. His emo-tinged gangsta rap lyricism over his own production taking elements of Memphis rap, cloud rap & trap are still enough to satisfy who know what they’re getting themselves into.

Score:3.5/5

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RJ Payne – “Cinematic Payne” review

New surprise EP & the 20th overall from New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 2 dozen mixtapes as well as well as his last 19 EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilounder Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, reuniting with Drega33 for a sequel to Triangle D’or called Cinematic Payne.

“Cinematic” starts with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about sending those who crash out on him straight to the hospital & killing everyone’s favorite rappers while “Bambino” swaps out the vocal sample in favor of some strings bringing a clip beside him to clear the whole block. “Effuse” talks about mastering the game of Russian roulette because he was born to play leading into “State of Mind” explains how great it is to make money even if his job isn’t the best.

The song “Jealous Pride” winds down Cinematic Payne’s final moments by talking about how sad it is muhfuckas will do anything for fame these days & that not changing anytime soon the way he sees it while the drumlessly crooning “Iran” looks to break whole crews apart since all these cornball artists have been teaming up. “Flying End” concludes the EP with 1 last boom bap beat talking about taking those who get way too close to him within seconds almost like a mini-date.

Granted I didn’t cover Leatherface 4 or It Feels Good 2 Win & Winning Ain’t Enough, I was fairly certain Cinematic Payne would become the most I’ve enjoyed RJ Payne’s music since Sinnerz produced by Cartune Beatz considering all those projects were received mixed-to-positively & it did live up to those expectations thankfully. If you’re a fan of the Beautiful Payne series in particular, RJ’s distinctly complex penmanship paired with Drega33’s production minimizing the drumless influences of Triangle D’Or will potentially satisfy you.

Score: 4/5

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RMC Mike – “Lover Boy Mike” review

Brand new EP & the 5th overall from Flint, Michigan recording artist RMC Mike. Signing a joint deal with Rio da Yung O.G. & Peezy’s own labels M.I.N.E. Entertainment & #Boyz Entertainment alongside EMPIRE Distribution, his first couple EPs Rookie Season & Sophomore Season established himself as in the Detroit trap scene until his full-length studio debut Junior Season elevated it further. Ghetto Season was a good debut & the sophomore effort Senior Season left me on the fence, boasting after a trip to The 6 that nobody can do it Like Mike & now introducing us to Lover Boy Mike.

“Clap Back” sets up shop with a lowend beat talking about smashing from behind & that he acts fat despite not being all that big whereas “Fine Shit” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. embraces the Flint sound fully so they can big up how beautiful the women beside them are. “S.T.A.B. (Shake That Ass Bitch)” comes through with a quirky Flint trap anthem catered towards the strip clubs while “Lil Booties Matter” talks about his appreciation for females who’s asses aren’t the biggest.

To get the 2nd half going, “Is We” featuring Louie Ray confronts the ladies in mind to ask if they’re officially in relationships or if they’re being played just before “Slow” featuring Jiggs Ent & Tiera Santoya cloudily finds the trio getting raunchy. “Where They At” instrumentally takes a more boisterous approach talking about him looking for hoes & after “Punch In” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. improves above “Fine Shit” to let their back-&-forth chemistry shine, “Kensington” combines pianos & 808s to end the EP so he can boast that he’s the one.

I don’t see myself coming back to Lover Boy Mike as much as The 6 or Like Mike considering both of those have quickly become amongst his most celebrated material as of late, but I have to give it up to RMC Mike for making an entire extended play themed around his sensual side in preparation for Valentine’s Day weekend. Even if a couple of the guests punched under their weight, Mike keeps his wild sense of humor in tact & the Flint/Detroit trap production’s more luscious than usual.

Score: 3/5

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Jon Connor – “II” review

Celebrating the Valentine’s Day weekend with the 2nd installment of a 12-part EP saga from Flint, Michigan emcee/producer Jon Connor. Someone who’s steadily been holding it down for the last 2 decades including The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. trilogies along with the Best in the World series paying homage to some of Jon’s influences, Salvation, While You Were Sleeping & Unconscious State. He was even signed to Aftermath Entertainment for 6 years before departing after Vehicle City wound up being shelved, coming off Food for the Soul & 24 produced by KLC of the No Limit Records in-house production team Beats by the Pound to drop II almost a month after I.

Smitti Boi cooks up a victorious trap instrumental in the intro “Don’t Cry” talking about the shit God had prepared him for whereas “Random Thoughts” references current 8-time WWE world champion CM Punk claiming the Best in the World’s nickname for himself. “The Acknowledgment” jazzily confesses there’s no easier way to reach a higher version of ourselves unless admitting the bullshit won’t stop us just before “For Life For Real” featuring Mickey Factz finds the 2 talking about never letting anyone discredit you.

“Get It” starts the 2nd half of II suggesting for everyone he’s been watching on the grind to go out & take what’s theirs while “Completion” optimistically talks about it being proud of yourself for coming this far so we can remember who we are during any hard times. “The Party” takes a couple minutes to vent regarding all the kinds of people he’s been fed up with for a minute already while “Be Free” wraps things up talking about making peace from within & shit not changing 5 decades later.

Now I couldn’t tell you whether or not Smitti Boi intends to produce the other 10 extended plays Jon Connor has lined up for the rest of the year, but I did enjoy II almost as much as I even if the general reception towards the predecessor was divided. The production isn’t any different than last month’s EP regarding stylistic variety & Jon’s still using his God given talents to counter the negative energy our world experiences daily with positivity.

Score: 3.5/5

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Crimeapple – “War Cash” review

Pretty sure this is the 19th extended play from Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his nearly a decade ago with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that next spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko, the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not That produced by Apollo Brown, Rose Gold & more recently the V Don produced Bulletproof Chicken. Last we heard from him was Hanzai this past Black Friday & he’s back with the Evidence-produced War Cash.

“Last Day” hooks up a drumless piano loop to get us started talking about no diamond district having the capability of cooling him off now that the fire’s been lit leading into “Dr. Scholl’s” taking a slicker approach to the beat spraying the foot care product as if he’s graffiti writing. “Ventilation” goes for a wavier vibe assuring he retained his soul after updating his mind leading into “Karachi” embracing a boom bap direction to capture the aura of those who wound up falling flat.

Blu makes my favorite guest appearance of the 2 on “Pinto” likening their pens to pistols over a funky beat while “Roy” strips the drums again talking about God & the agencies being the only things he fears. “2 Left Feet” returns to the boom bap speaking of poppin’ in the jungle on a weekly basis while “Rio” featuring Monday Night talks about the possibility of showin’ up to the capital of Brazil at some point before 2026 ends. “Green Room” ends the War Cash exchange bodying 1 last instrumental recalling a time where he was chillin’ backstage killin’ time until his set.

Hanzai wasn’t my favorite album Crimeapple dropped last year per se & I definitely wouldn’t place it in the hierarchy of his lengthy discography by any means, but War Cash comes merely less than 24 hours since it was announced with the most I’ve enjoyed a new project from him since Bulletproof Chicken last fall. Evidence’s production is a huge step-up from Hanzai’s varying between boom bap or drumless, suiting Crime’s mafiosi tales a lot more consistently.

Score: 4.5/5

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Sam R I – “Stained Glass” review

This is the 6th EP from San Diego, California emcee/producer Sam R I. Someone who emerged within the west coast underground off his first 4 EPs Purple Cashmere, Rush Hour, Nickz & Stax Payne. He would later have William Bostick fully produce his debut album 12 Monkeys towards backend of 2024 after Bostick heard Sam’s verse on “Rise in Winter Crime (Brrrrr)” & a couple months succeeding an eponymous EP, he’s enlisting Truelove to handle all of Stained Glass’ beats.

We get 93 seconds of drumless rap rock vibes talking about him walking down a “Cold Path” just before things lean towards a boom bap vibe instrumentally explaining that he can’t deal with “Tha Pressure” of setting for less. “Dice Kream Man” shifts into more soulful territory showing a sensual side to Sam topically leading into “Paint the Picture” ominously pointing out the observation of kids these days inhibiting our feet with clips in a piece instead of sitting on beaches.

“Turf War Kids” after the “Stained Side” interlude chops up a vocal sample to represent his turf now while “Words from an O.G.” ruggedly suggests to take off before he breaks off. Willie Marshall appears on “Fly Away” soulfully talking about seeing death at a young age in the slums & after “Cloud City” featuring Apoc Krysis finds the 2 teaming up for another hardcore boom bap joint, “What If?” soulfully ends the EP telling the love of his life that all he wants is her.

12 Monkeys was an excellent gateway for anyone who hadn’t heard of Sam R I since it still embodies who he is today & those who were impressed by that LP as much as I was will certainly have to give Stained Glass a spin whenever the chance comes this weekend. It’s more conceptual than Sam’s inaugural full-length, cohesively describing 3 journeys coming out of 3 different cities & the production is still boom bap-oriented although there are secondary influences of drumless, rap rock & chipmunk soul.

Score: 4/5

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Ricky Hil – “10,000 Grams” review

Ricky Hil is a 35 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Manhattan, New York who happens to be the son of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. He also has 27 mixtapes & 2 collaborative efforts with Psychopathic Records subsidiary Chapter 17 Records CEO Ouija Macc in addition to forming his own label Limosa Nostra Records, recently signing to Atlantic Records for a distribution deal & had SosMula formerly of the City Morgue make his debut for the imprint Kamp Krystl Lake last Halloween. 808 Mafia co-founder Lex Luger has been said to be returning to fully produce a sequel to 500 Grams for about a year or so & it’s finally dropping ahead of Valentine’s Day weekend.

“Hell Valley” begins by hopping over a minimal trap beat talking about giving a fuck less if he dies because he’s dead already & nobody caring when his day comes whereas “Slut” works in some strings & hi-hats so he can continue detailing the gangsta lifestyle. Things go for a cloudier trap vibe talking about people selling “Pipe Dreams” near him & involving themselves with the drug scene than the club scene just before “U Like Me Dead” pulls from trap metal instrumentally talking about riding a foreign stoned

SosMula makes the first of 3 appearances on the 2nd & final single “Blow” aggressively depicting imagery of gangsta lifestyle together including drug use while “Amerie” blends cloud rap, trap & pop rap to tell the titular character he’s more interested in her friends than her herself. “Sephora” boisterously talks about living life his way giving a fuck he offends anyone just before “1,000 Poundz” featuring Omertà continues the 2nd half of the tape moderately makes it known they ain’t here to play with hoes.

“In God We Trust” featuring SosMula kicks off the 4th quarter demanding to have the the racks through the money machine handed over to them while “Turkey Bagz” featuring Niko G4 finds the 2 talking about having their own set of problems that won’t be resolved. “Oxycontin” featuring SosMula reunited the pair 1 last time making bodies drop with his posse beside him & after “13” featuring Clowny talks about trying to catch a buzz in the middle of the woods out of boredom, the title track atmospherically ends representing all the stoners & the next generation of shooters.

Next month will mark an entire decade since 500 Grams became my favorite Ricky Hil solo tape & I’d still consider 10,000 Grams to be the most I’ve enjoyed his individual output in quite some time even if my expectations weren’t fully met necessarily. The evolved chemistry between Lex Luger’s production & the Limosa Nostra founder’s distinct approach to songwriting can’t be ignored, but it does start to lose steam towards the backend of it partly due to the increase of guests than the predecessor.

Score: 3/5

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Jill Scott – “To Whom It May Concern” review

Jill Scott is a 53 year old singer/songwriter, actress, model & poet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for her classic 2000 full-length studio debut Words & Sounds: Who’s Jill Scott? under Epic Records. Her sophomore effort Words & Sounds 2: Beautiful Human and Words & Sounds 3: The Real Thing would both go on to become well received too, starting up her own Blues Babe Records to drop the Warner Records-distributed The Light of Sun & the Atlantic Records-backed Woman after I had graduated high school. Over a decade later, she’s returning for her 6th album.

After the “Dope Shit” intro, “Be Great” kicks it all off with a vibrantly soulful opener singing over some horns about the only thing she wanted to do was make history whereas “Beautiful People” produced by Om’Mas Keith expresses her love for African Americans fusing neo-soul, smooth soul, boogie & funk. “Offdaback” blends jazz, neo-soul & spoken word dedicating itself to all the pioneers who took the backdoor while “Norf Side” featuring Tierra Whack finds the 2 telling their city over a boom bap instrumental from none other than DJ Premier.

“Pay U on Tuesday” after the “Disclaimer” skit fuses soul & jazz telling a man she doesn’t want anymore when he’s trying to be something he isn’t leading into “Pressha” combines elements of neo-soul, psychedelic soul contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia to sing about her finding it pathetic this guy stays chasing her. “B.P.O.T.Y. (Biggest Pimp of the Year)” featuring Too $hort teams up over a funky beat throwing it back to the days of 70s blaxploitation movies while “Me 4” spends 95 seconds singing about learning from her mistakes.

DJ Camper jumps behind the boards during “The Math” advising to subtract the disingenuous from the authentic ones for the sole purpose of seeing how it makes you feel while the soulfully jazzy “A Universe” sings about the very thing she comes across when looking in her man’s eyes. “Liftin’ Me Up” reincorporates more influences of jazz & soul music expressing a kind of love that uplifts her while the hip hop-driven “Ode to Nikki” featuring Ab-Soul honors the legacy of the late Nikki Giovanni over a Young RJ instrumental.

“Don’t Play” rounds out 3rd smoothly yearning for full mental & mattress satisfaction instead of a mere fraction of it while “To B Honest” featuring J.I.D portrays themselves as 2 lovers singing & rapping about their needs of getting to know one another other. “Right Here Right Now” experiments with house a little providing all the answers to questions like if affection still exists or if we’ll ever be loved & after “Àṣẹ” passionately alludes to the Yoruba religion concept for a few minutes, “Sincerely Do” ends the LP seeking clarity over an S1 beat.

The Light of the Sun & Woman both have their share of great songs although I wouldn’t necessarily put them in the same ranks as the Words & Sounds trilogy, but To Whom It May Concern marks Jill Scott’s comeback reinforcing why she’s been such a prominent figure in neo-soul for over a quarter of a century. The production additionally explores the styles of smooth soul, boogie, funk, hip hop, boom bap, psychedelic soul, contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia with Jill reflecting the personal growth she’s experienced since leaving a major label to go independent.

Score: 4/5

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Brent Faiyaz – “Icon” review

Brent Faiyaz is a 29 year old singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from Columbia, Maryland starting off in the DMV hip hop until shifting towards R&B & more specifically alternative R&B. He’s put out a couple full-lengths along with 6 EPs until forming his own label ISO Supremacy, releasing his debut mixtape Larger Than Life under his imprint & signing Tommy Richman. It’s been almost a couple years since the latter’s debut Coyote & Icon looks to recapture the magic of his debut for his 3rd album.

After the compositional “white noise.” intro, the first song “wrong faces.” begins with an acoustic instrumental telling this woman he’ll become the reason she’s not alone whereas “have to.” produced by Tommy Richman takes a much smoother approach singing about being in a race with time to get where he belongs. “butterflies.” splits itself in 2 halves thanks to benny blanco asking his partner if she feels the way he does leading into “other side.” explores a dance pop vibe singing about a woman he saw in his dreams.

“strangers.” starts the other half of the album taking the alternative R&B route describing a relationship that has completely fallen apart just before “world is yours.” throws it back to the 90s with a synth-woven beat from Chad Hugo & singing about wanting his woman to have him her way. “4 seasons.” exuberantly describes a female who’s either hotter than a day in July or cold as the winter while “pure fantasy.” atmospherically sings about his lover being all he needs. “vanilla sky.” wraps up Icon posing the question of whether one’s happiness lasts forever or if it’s short term.

Initially set to come out on his birthday last fall until pushing it back, the extra 5 months Brent Faiyaz would spent ensuring Icon would outdo both it’s predecessors really paid off despite initially letting down many who were looking forward to it including myself & I’m thankful we got the most expansive entry in his discography out of it. The intimately cinematic production merges the foundations of classic soul music with elements of modern R&B depicting themes of growth, loss, renewal & his evolution from both an artistic & a personal standpoint.

Score: 4/5

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Boldy James & Ransom – “Salvation for the Wicked” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada producer Nicholas Craven masterminding a new collaborative EP between one of Detroit, Michigan’s all-time greats at this point Boldy James & Jersey City’s finest Ransom. Both of whom have crossed paths with each other on that “Live from the Roxy” single, but have worked with Craven on several instances from Fair Exchange No Robbery to Penalty of Leadership or the Director’s Cut series & Deleted Scenes duology. However as a fan of both MCs since high school, Salvation for the Wicked had me thinking we’d be in for the greatest extended play of 2026 so far.

“Sinners” begins with a crossover between gangsta rap & drumless talking about how some people don’t have integrity these days whereas “Forgiveness” embraces a heavier rap rock vibe instrumentally asking for their shawties to forgive them before the liquor attacks their kidneys. “Collection Plates” featuring Young Chris finds the trio soulfully talking about their preference of catching plays than cases while “Offerings” shifts towards a jazzy boom bap direction to speak of making money.

O.T. the Real joins Boldy & Ran on “Field of Nightmares” stripping the drums again to talk about letting people run their mouths so they can run the streets of their respective hometowns & making elusive moves just before the celebratory “Leather Sandals” suggesting those who have wreaks stomachs should stay the fuck away from their kitchens. The final song “16 Tithes” ends Salvation for the Wicked with a blend of crooning chipmunk soul & jazz rap spitting intricate 16s each continuing to detail the life of a gangsta.

Only a month & a half into this new year & Nicholas Craven has brought 2 of his most notable collaborators together for what could possibly be the greatest collab EP of 2026 depending if anything comes close within the next 10 months. Boldy James & Ransom have already proven for over 2 decades that they’re master lyricists of their own, but combining both of their respective styles over Craven’s production comprised of a melting pot of sounds he’s become known for from boom bap & drumless to chipmunk soul & jazz rap.

Score: 4.5/5

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