Young Chris – “Catch a Vibe” review

Young Chris is a 43 year old rapper from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania notable for being a member of the State Property crew & 1/2 of the Young Gunz subunit. He has since dropped a total of 16 solo mixtapes as well as a couple extended plays & 2 collaborative projects within nearly 2 decades, with the Cardiak-produced The Revival being my personal favorite of the bunch. Coming off the drumless Made in Philly with MadeinTYO this spring, he’s mainly holding down his 3rd EP by himself since The Network 3.

“Still Fine Dining” kicks things off with this 105 second intro hopping over a luxurious boom bap beat talking about being the one who weathers the storm whereas “Sativa on the Rooftop” goes for a drumless vibe instrumentally reminding us that he’s made it & some bitch on the verge of getting her boots knocked. “Disappointed” featuring Freeway & Icewear Vezzo finds the trio talking about not letting anyone get ahead of them while “Making Drops” balls on all these bluffin’ cornballs who stay cappin’.

Peezy appears for “The City Up” produced by Swaggyono of Working on Dying so they can talking about shaking up their respective hometowns of Philly & Detroit rollin’ with the pros in the club just before “Was It Ever Luv?” soulfully asks if what he had with this woman was legitimate or fraudulent. “This Life Get Crazy” spends the remaining minutes of Catch a Vibe treading the acoustic trap waters talking about the highs & lows of existing.

Hearing that Fine Dining collaborative EP he put out with Dave East the summer prior had me hoping Young Chris would go solo again sooner or later regardless of me still putting it above Made in Philly & despite it’s own flaws, Catch a Vibe attests to the former Roc-A-Fella Records signee’s longevity whether it be the 3 guest verses or the interesting production choices & Chris’ distinctive style drawing comparisons to the now defunct Def Jam Recordings imprint’s founder JAY-Z.

Score: 3.5/5

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Olēka – “Human Error” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Houston, Texas singer/songwriter, producer & audio engineer Olēka. Known for being a member of Quadeca’s touring band, she even made a couple guest appearances on the latter’s previous LP Vanisher, Horizon Scraper a year & a half ago until he signed her to his independent label X8 Music around that same time period. It’s almost been 3 weeks since Life 1 dropped & he’s taking it upon himself to handle the mastering process of Human Error.

“Meta Cognition” fuses alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, noise rock & math rock asking how she’s supposed to clean up this mess when she’s a fool at her greatest thrwhereas “Want to Find It” sings about deciding what matters most to ourselves. “Floating” moves on from there assuring this person she’ll always stay by their sides in every alternate reality one can think of just before the grungy “Heavy Handed” sings about occasionally being convinced she’s living in someone’s dreams.

The title track blends indie & art rock so she can explain that the world only knows what you tell along with God’s awareness of what we meant leading into “Somewhere Out of Reach” describing the ability this individual has of singing her to sleep regardless of whether or not they’re far apart from each other. We later have Olēka singing about always checking “Around the Corner” for someone although it’s not because she thought they were confused until “Who’s Watching the Kids?” clarifies the world’s cold but here.

“See the World” winds down the last few moments of Human Error embracing an electronic atmosphere to it wondering whether or not anyone would like to envision a place without her while the ambient outro “Peace” sings about nothing in this world offering her tranquility. “Sunshine When It Rains” still deserves a nod regardless of it being left off the final version because I consider it a touching remembrance of her grandmother who passed away.

Kevin Abstract & Sugar Cherry were already established by the time they signed to X8 Music whether it be the latter’s extended plays or Kevin’s former role as the de facto leader of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective, so there’s been a lot of hype around Olēka for the past year & Human Error makes up for the delays it’s suffered with a gorgeous debut album. Her addicting vocal performances compliments the singer/songwriter, indie folk, post-rock, chamber folk, slowcore, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, noise rock, math rock, indie rock & art rock production for the beginning of what I believe will be a promising career.

Score: 4.5/5

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Sleazy F Baby – “Northern Quarter Confidential” review

Northern Quarter, Manchester, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sleazy F Baby dropping off a new solo extended play of material. A member of the Cult of the Damned collective, he would sign to Blah Records in 2015 & make his full-length debut that year with All Blahk Tracksuit. He would also form the Super Sag Bros with Black Josh towards the end of 2017, coming off the Dirty Dike-produced sophomore effort Blaxploitation under Melonskin Records to drop Northern Quarter Confidential a week after Leon Slater became the youngest TNA World Champion.

“Cruise” gets the 4-pack going with a piano instrumental talking about the Cult always sending trends & being those muhfuckas prior to “Anti Hero” ending the 1st leg of the EP hooking up a woozier instrumental clarifying that he isn’t anything like the other weirdos he’s been compared to. “Whatever You Like” kicks off the 2nd half experimenting with plugg wanting to know the type of things the woman he’s addressing tends to enjoy & “STFU” finishes Northern Quarter Confidential on some cloudy, hardcore boom bap vibes.

So apparently Northern Quarter Confidential marks the beginning of a new series where Sleazy F Baby can keep building with 4 Limbs for as long as they like & it’s smooth introduction to where things will eventually go. The latter’s production doesn’t blow me away like All Blahk Tracksuit or Blaxploitation did although I appreciate the variety of styles ranging from drumless to boom bap to plugg despite primarily embracing a jazzier sound, suiting the more introspective approach Sleazy takes to his songwriting.

Score: 3.5/5

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Kid Rock – “Halfway 2 Jesus” review

This is the 13th studio LP from Romeo, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, DJ & WWE Hall of Famer Kid Rock. Coming up as a b-boy for The Beast Crew in the late 80’s, he wound up signing to Jive Records & RCA Records for his full-length debut Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast before they cut ties with him due to comparisons to Vanilla Ice. Bobby then dropped The Polyfuze Method & Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp on his independently owned Top Dog Records, but got Atlantic Records to help back Devil Without a Cause & the success of that rap rock classic lead to him shifting away from hip hop to teeter between classic rock & country for the last 2 decades even to this day. This foray has been either hit or miss with me personally, but I can’t deny the success of “Picture” & “All Summer Long” (the latter of which has been revealed in recent years even by the producer Mike E. Clark to have been originally made for the Insane Clown Posse) or how much I enjoyed the Rick Rubin-produced Born Free since it originally came out back when I was in middle school. Coming off the universally panned Bad Reputation in 2022, he’s claiming to have found God & went full gospel for Halfway 2 Jesus.

“James 1:7 (Jesus is King)” after the “Freedom” intro comes through with a below average Christian/southern rock single explaining the titular bible verse was the whole inspiration for this whereas “7 Sins” featuring Lil Wayne finds the pair combining those 2 sounds with hip hop admitting they’re guilty of committing the titular 7 deadly sins. “Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus?” poses the titular question since He has the answers leading into Eminem reuniting with Bob for the first time since “Fuck Off” almost 3 decades ago during “Heal My Faith” talking about remaining friends despite their political differences.

We have Kid Rock asking why Jesus would turn his “Water Into Wine” embracing a southern rock vibe altogether just before the title track featuring Gary LeVox & Jimmie Allen unites the trio singing about seeing the light. “I Don’t Drink the Whiskey Anymore” reaches the halfway point of the album making a public declaration of him quitting the distilled alcoholic beverage that I myself admittedly enjoy, but then “Me & Jesus” commences the 2nd leg singing about needing nobody else other than the son of God.

“God is Good” portrays himself as someone who was always doubted which I personally consider ironic because of his wealthy upbringings although I suppose it’s better he combined them into 1 track instead of splitting them while “Into the Setting Sun” pleads for Jesus Christ to guide him as he rides off in the sunset. “Broken Hearted People” sings about turning the page with a little bit of love when his authoritarian bootlicking speaks for itself while “‘Til You Can’t” pointlessly covers the Cody Johnson track of the same name.

The song “High Road” winds down Halfway 2 Jesus’ final act singing about life being too short to be bothered & heading down a dignified path while “Procession” embraces a more classical tone although him AI-generating it when he’s a self-taught musician’s certainly a choice. “God Bless the USA” concludes with this “patriotic” anthem when the rise of fascism in the land of the free & the home of the brave he kisses up to doesn’t make it great on top of his failed attempt at going up against this year’s Super Bowl halftime show performed by Bad Bunny, which was pre-taped.

Being someone who believes in God & in the afterlife, a huge reason Halfway 2 Jesus seemed humorous on paper is due to a line Kid Rock had when he made “Cool, Daddy Cool” for the Osmosis Jones soundtrack with his late hype man Joe C. saying “Young ladies, young ladies, I like ’em underage. See some say that’s statutory, but I say it’s mandatory”. Other than Wayne’s verse & the reunion with Em, this would be the LAST example of gospel music & he also confirmed usage of Suno for vocal choir/orchestral arrangements.

Score: 0.5/5

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DJ Scratch – “The Pivot” review

DJ Scratch is a 58 year old producer & DJ from Brooklyn, New York City who most remember for being the former DJ of both EPMD & Flipmode Squad. He also filled in for Ali Shaheed Muhammad when A Tribe Called Quest was working on their final album We got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your service a decade ago, coming off producing Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater & King’s Dominion for RZA & Planet Asia respectively to make a bold pivot for the Albany Park Records founder’s full-length solo debut.

“The Interview” opens up with this 4 & a half minute spoken word intro accompanied by a funky instrumental whereas “Electric Stew (We Can Get Down)” flips “Mystic Brew” by Ronnie Foster for a respectable house track. “Go” continues from there sampling “Inside My Love” by Minnie Riperton with some 4-on-the-floor kicks layered with claps or snares on beats 2 & 4 but after “What We Do is House” shows more love towards the titular EDM subgenre, “Baby Powder on the Floor” ends the 1st half on some electro house vibes.

As for “Wall to Wall”, we have Scratch kicking off the 2nd leg with a more soulful spin to the house sound while “Dance with Me” by Bobby Brown & Ramona Keller puts a bigger emphasis on what we was trying to do with the previous cut. “I Like More House” by Grand Puba & Jane Dough finds the pair linking up to talk about wanting to love each other more but after “The House is Yours” samples “I Love Music” by Ahmad Jamal for the longest composition here, “Gimme Some More House” ends with a house remix of the opening theme to the Alfred Hitchcock horror film Psycho.

Being a fan of house music since its early days, DJ Scratch began conceiving The Pivot when he noticed other DJs were playing their own records when performing at electronic dance music festivals & respect what he was trying to do here although it feels equally average as Daft Punk’s 3rd album Human After All except a huge difference being that Scratch puts more of a house spin on the samples that’re ingrained in classic hip hop singles than the previously mentioned LP’s predominant electroclash/post-industrial style.

Score: 3/5

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Mr. Green – “F.U. S.M.D. 3 (For U, Some Musical Distraction 3)” review

Here we have the 3rd solo extended play from Highland Park, New Jersey producer Mr. Green. For nearly 2 decades already, this guy has produced for some of the most prolific artists across the entire underground hip hop spectrum from the Army of the Pharaohs to R.A. the Rugged Man & Westside Gunn. He also has multiple beat tapes under his belt, coming off his previous EP F.U. S.M.D. (For U, Some Musical Distraction) & the sequel to deliver a trilogy chapter under Roc Nation Records.

“planets evolve” kicks things off rapping about getting shit confused if one think he came to take Ls even though the AI usage ruins it, but “ovomaltine” soulfully makes up for it talking about mixing shit up. “All My Life” featuring Macy Gray bridges the EP singing about war not being the answer & how love’s the key, but “Good Food” and “blessed” featuring Ab-Soul & KG both left me disappointed because of AI making it’s way back in the mix.

F.U. S.M.D. 2 (For U, Some Musical Distraction) 2 has been completely wiped from all streaming platforms & the original can still be found on Bandcamp, but I’m sad to say this could be my least favorite of the 3 entries in this 4 month saga. I can appreciate him being more serious as a performer & actually rapping instead of the original F.U. S.M.D. (For U, Some Musical Distraction) feeling like some karaoke shit, but it’s unnecessary he incorporated AI into 60% of the production when he doesn’t need to.

Score: 2/5

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Jerry – “ACCAPELLA” review

Trenton, New Jersey emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & music video director Jerry is back for his 5th extended play. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. Higashi Miyagi would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. Entitled was a solid comeback EP experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, coming off the singer/songwriter explorations of lovemesooner & No Receipt to go ACCAPELLA after his final rap offering Gayngsta.

After spending a bulk of the the 30 second “Hymns” intro vocally harmonizing, the opening track “Luck” sings about who one will trust when all of their fortune’s gone whereas “Firefly” pleads for his light to not be put out. “Racecar” continues from there clocking at almost a minute to sing about wanting to participate in auto racing & after the “Ayelive” interlude brings a gospel flare to the table for only a brief period of time, “Jose Meows” once again continues the harmonization we heard at the beginning.

“JoshuaTr##” kicks off the 2nd act singing for one of the iconic Mojave desert plants to be brought to him while “Missgrass” passionately find himself comfortable sitting in the bleachers & observing this person who desires of becoming a perfect leader. “Happyness” sings about keeping your worries right at the door & there being no fire to endure but after “Darling” asks if this person he loves knows he cares for them, the closer “TooEarly” ends the ACCAPELLA experience bridging a short verse in between the hook.

Gayngsta was still a bittersweet moment in Jerry’s career regardless of it not living up to my expectations & ACCAPELLA fully embraces this new chapter as a singer with an EP that I didn’t enjoy any more or less than the album he gave us only a month ago. Not that I don’t appreciate him trying to break his own artistic rules because his I find his a capella vocals more interesting than lovemesooner & No Receipt, but he needs to get with the right producer or producers that’ll elevate this new direction he’s going.

Score: 2.5/5

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Krispylife Kidd – “Where’s Krispylife?” review

This is the 5th extended play Flint, Michigan rapper Krispylife Kidd. Since 2019, his popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing going on to release a total of his previous 16 tapes & his last 4 EPs all in that span of time. Icewear Vezzo even signed him to Iced Up Records during the pandemic & Lil Yachty had him featured on Michigan Boy Boat. Now I’d start with Krispylife 2 & The Art of Spice Talk trilogy if you wanna dive into Krispylife’s music, although Juice & B.A.G. (Born A Goat) each had their own individual standouts a couple years ago. Coming off the Stunt Life EP as well as Why Me Worry? & Krisp Flair however, he’s responding to those asking Where’s Krispylife?.

“Drill Music” kicks off the EP with a sinister 2 minute intro talking about the gangsta lifestyle & being ready for whatever soon as he’s in the hood whether it’s firing guns in the club or asking how you wanna play it with him since he’s a real one prior to “Kaleidoscope” bridging it with a bouncier instrumental jokingly suggesting tying up & holding God for ransom if the price right along with being born into this shit. “I’m in Love” ends the 7 minute 3-pack asking this woman if she loves him the way he does.

Krispylife Kidd recently confirmed through his socials that his IUR deal’s almost up & he won’t be releasing a full-length studio LP until then, preluding this next era of his career with a 3-pack that I admittedly didn’t really care for unlike Juice or Krisp Flair. I’ve always considered him one of my favorite artists to break out of the Flint scene & wish him all the best going forward independently, but I didn’t get a whole lot out of the production.

Score: 2.5/5

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Gucci Mane – “Against All Odds” review

New surprise 18th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper, record executive & entrepreneur Gucci Mane. Notable for being one of the Big 3 pioneers in trap music alongside T.I. & Jeezy, of course you can’t forget to mention him having one of if not the largest discography throughout the entire subgenre that continues to grow today. Breath of Fresh Air a few years ago was a decent 2-disc offering & to coincide with his memoir a year earlier, the 1017 Global founder’s coming off Episodes to drop Against All Odds.

“Back Against the Wall” samples “Torn” by LeToya Luckett shouting out the late Young Dolph right out the gate whereas “Y’all Make Me Sick” talks about the same ones hatin’ will be the first ones to get pics with him over horns & hi-hats. “Fucc Errybody” produced by Zaytoven to me ranks amongst my personal favorite cuts here stacking millions of dollars & his response to those wondering how he’s feeling while “Last Night in ATL” featuring Summer Walker links up for a weak trap soul/pop rap crossover.

We have Wop telling those who’ve turned against him to simply “STFU” although I could care less for the instrumental, but Zaytoven runs it back with his longtime collaborator for “She’s So Fine” talking about a woman who might work at Magic City since she’s that beautiful. “Still Dat N***a” makes it clear he still doesn’t have a fuck to give & others not being able to keep up just before “She on Go” makes for an underwhelming midway point talking about a freak hoe.

“Rich Ass N***a” kicks off the 2nd half making it up with a Zaytoven beat containing this prominent organ making way for Gucci to boast his wealth while “Get the Fuck Out My Face” talks about celebrating daily since he doesn’t hang around any snakes. “Crazy Bih” describes a psychotic woman who goes through his phone every night when he’s sleeping & buggin’ out all night while “Priorities” hops over another Zaytoven instrumental to talk about fatherhood.

OJ da Juiceman appears for the “Vette Pass By” sequel “Lambo Pass By” that I could’ve honestly done without, but “Drunk” was more unimpressive talking about getting fucked up whenever the weekend rolls around. “All I Have” discusses his balls & his word being the only 2 things he has left in this world & after “Crash Dummy” disses Pooh Shiesty, the closer “1017” ends Against All Odds talking about him taking people out of the streets signing them & turning against him.

All Eyes on Shiest a couple months earlier proved Gucci Mane wasn’t kidding when he said Pooh Shiesty was still signed to 1017/Atlantic after throwing his life away when “Crash Dummy” came out, but I really don’t consider Against All Odds much of an improvement. In fact: I’d rank it amongst the weakest installments of his historic catalog & that’s largely because of the mostly uninteresting production other than all 5 cuts Zaytoven did.

Score: 2/5

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Lucki – “Last Laugh” review

Here we have the 8th mixtape from Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini as well as Daysb4bad* & dr*gs r bad having the Last Laugh.

“what it is” incorporates some 808s to open up the tape talking about no longer putting sad songs over thots leading into “all wock” going for a syrupy trap vibe instrumentally discussing his love for lean. My favorite track here easily goes to the Flawless Like Me outtake “60 mgs” talking about touring, his drug use & unpleasant relationship experiences just before the runner up “overseas” cloudily admits the fame hasn’t resolved his internal conflicts.

Moving on from there, “replica’s n capper’s” talks about how these muhfuckas be actors & that nobody can touch him as long as he feels like they don’t love him while the cloudy “high together” ends the 1st half detailing a relationship that’s being kept low-key. “psycho truck” kicks off the 2nd leg talking about spending money right when he gets up & raising his prices if his heart gets broken while “nun like y’all” flexes that he’s wealthier now than he’s ever been in his life.

“total” boasts that he has a bitch so bad, she’ll do a number on ya & the inability of sleeping because of a group of individuals waiting for him while “okay, copy!” energetically talks about putting his heart in this only to receive payback in return. “super brazy” includes a really great line in the middle of Tune’s verse where he says “Money ain’t rеaler than God but money’ll make n****s treat you like Him” until “knew what it was” finishes the Last Laugh talks about getting love & doing drugs everywhere he goes.

Now that he’s no longer signed to EMPIRE Distribution, the next phase of LUCKI’s career under Interscope Records gets preluded by digging up 12 grails that’ll simultaneously impress those who’ve never heard Tune’s music until now & the Day 1s who’ve stuck around from the beginning who’ll remember hearing these previously unreleased tracks being previewed regardless of some idiot in Interscope labelmate Playboi Carti’s entourage stabbing him at ComplexCon at the beginning of the month.

Score: 3.5/5

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