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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Pradabagshawty – “B45P” review

Here is the 6th EP from Columbia, South Carolina born albeit Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Pradabagshawty. Introducing himself in the spring of 2023 off Bloxk Addiktion, his popularity within the plugg subgenre of trap continued to grow last year by putting out 3 more EPs in 1 Love as well as his Cegular Records/Sony Music debut 10 Freak Ho’s & of course and Forever & After. His most recent extended play B What You B & the  Home Invasions tape have both become his most popular musical statements so far, coming off Red Flags & Roses to drop B45P.

“Bih Get Nasty” begins with a rage instrumental talking about getting nasty when he pulls up to the spot whereas “Ain’t Matter” works in a cloudy backdrop & some 808s so he can get on his gangsta rap shit lyrically. “Quick Trip” talks about doin’ them bad being the only thing he & his squad knows leading into a favorite of mine “MF” produced by Whyceg taking a couple minutes to discuss being a slimy muhfucka hence the name of this halfway point.

Ealuhri appears on “Whaddhaname” to get the 2nd leg of the EP going with a decent gangsta rap song although I do like the overall vibe of the beat while “Winter Soldier” references WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson over a plugg beat from Whyceg. The track “That Road” boisterously talks about the way he loves when the fully loaded Drac’ hits & “He Flexin’” featuring z6tony sends off the prelude to 5 Problems with both of them dropping verses without the need of a hook over 1 last Whyceg instrumental.

It was widely reported that he & Babystaydown had fallen out with each other a few months ago, but I have to assume that it’s been squashed considering the latter confessed that I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) past Christmas & now Pradabagshawty’s gearing up to drop another project after dropping an average warm up extended play to it all under the same label they’ve been since to for 2 & a half years. Both guest i were alright & the production doesn’t stick out to me like Red Flags & Roses this past October.

Score: 3/5

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Sk8star – “Designer Junkie” review

Brand new debut album from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Getting his footing in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up last year with both the B4NWØ EP & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. Following his 3rd EP Mogul along with rebel at the beginning of 2023 & whole new meaning that same spring, Sk8 addressed the Rebel in the Room & has since come off the Rebelution & Pale Fever signing with Island Records for the long-awaited Designer Junkie

“Incognito” strips the drums to get the us started thanks to Richie Souf talking about him taking Ls & playing his part whereas “Brazy Brazy Hoe” goes for an energetic trap vibe instrumentally speaking of him getting it out the mud. The 2nd & final single “ForMyFolks” produced by Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group gives off a futuristic trap atmosphere talking about being all the way over representing all of loved ones leading into “Muse” dabbling with regalia yearning to make a bad bitch his inspiration.

The title track hooks up some synthesizers & hi-hats talking about finally making it to the racks although not many people know what it took for him to get the cash steadily flowing while “No Compadre” hops over a rage beat so he can flex that everything he does is the greatest. “Yeannn” feels more like a Tezzus song since he’s handling the sole verse & Sk8’s doing the hook despite him admitting to loving bank deposits more than sex itself like any other person just before the lively single “Beret turns the hypertrap influences back up talking about staying on people’s heads.

“BleedLike Me” heads for a luxurious cloud rap direction talking about his competition not shedding blood the way he does while “PlayYaPart” reaches the halfway point with a psychedelic trap instrumental from Cade reflecting on going from droppin’ out of school to counting blue $100 bills regularly. The lead single “2 Sexy” interpolates Right Said Fred’s biggest hit “I’m Too Sexy” talking about the shooter sitting in the backseat of his whip being ready to get down to business while the synth-driven “Slatt Slatt” boasts of him being fresher than a peppermint.

Tezzus returns on the cloudy trap fusion “N.S.D. (N****s Start Dyin’)” telling all the losers to worry about themselves rather than spending all day constantly thinking of both artists’ hoes & finances while “Macon” treads the exuberant trap waters once again asking how this person he’s addressing ended up making out of the titular city. “Upper Echelon” bodies an exuberant trap beat from Taurus talking about reaching higher levels of quality within the past 3 & half years while “Roxy Paparazzi” goes full pluggnb admiring his girl’s beauty.

“All In” kicks off the final quarter of Sk8’s full-length debut blending cloud rap, trap & pop rap telling a stripper to work that pole while “Black Sheep” continues to pull inspiration from the regalia subgenre talking about his own personal experiences of feeling like an outcast. “R.I.P. Scooter” dedicates itself to the late Young Scooter who was killed in broad daylight on his birthday late last March & the closer “Nameless” cloudily talks about not changing shit if he had the chance to rewind time.

It’s been over a couple years since Sk8star initially announced Designer Junkie the end of 2023 & his major label debut culminates the long road he took to stardom surpassing every single extended play he’s made within the past 5 years. He’s evolved from the boy we met looking to reach Superstar Status in the midst of his own struggles to the man he’s become today, honing in on his chemistry with Richie Souf handling a great deal of the production & refining Sk8’s sound.

Score: 4/5

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J. Cole – “The Fall-Off” review

Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper, singer/songwriter & producer J. Cole finishing his career with his 7th & final album. At this point, I’m pretty sure everyone & their mom knows who dude is. Especially given the universal acclaim of projects like The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, Born Sinner & my personal favorite: 2014 Forest Hills Drive. 4 Your Eyez Only & K.O.D. however were both released to mixed reception. Matter of fact: my review for K.O.D. is amongst my most controversial. I don’t get shit for it anymore but at the time when I gave it a 6/10, Cole stans were on my ass for the next 2-3 weeks. Almost a decade later: my opinions on that & 4YEO haven’t changed at all but that’s not the point. The Off-Season was the most I’ve enjoyed a Cole project since FHD & Might Delete Later was the worst tape he ever made, dropping The Fall-Off after a decade in the making.

After the “29” intro, the first song “2 6” gets the victory lap going with a boisterous trap beat produced by Omen & T-Minus talking about Cumberland County residents usually wylin’ out whereas “Safety” takes the boom bap route instrumentally thanks to Powers Pleasant & Wu10 telling all of his homies what’s changed with him since he left. “Run a Train” keeps the kicks & snares in the fold asking what anyone knows about him although the Future hook sounds like a bad  impression of himself leading into the self-produced “Poor Thang” working in a sample & some hi-hats to speak of young pups playing war games.

“Legacy” has to be one of the weaker tracks here because the topic of commitment issues doesn’t do a whole lot for me personally, but “Bunce Road Blues” featuring Future & Tems makes up for it whether it be the nocturnally dusty beat from The Alchemist to Cole’s verse written in the form of a suicide note being countered by both guests’ melodic performances. “Who TF Iz U?” finds Vinylz sampling “Drop a Gem on ‘Em” by Mobb Deep talking about a real one coming through while “Drum n Bass” advises to stay inside because it ain’t safe out around his parts over a piano-inflicted trap instrumental.

We get some cheap guitars in the midst of Cole asking himself whether he’ll survive “The Let Out” or not prior to Boi-1da playing a role in the 2-parter “Bombs in the Ville / Hit the Gas” talking about life being a film that can’t be rewinded & staying violent at all times. “Lonely at the Top” returns to the boom bap admitting that he didn’t understand the meaning of that phrase in his late 20s until FNZ divides “39” in 2 halves providing some insight to his mindset making a similar trip back home except he’s a little closer to finding the peace he’s been seeking.

“The Fall-Off is Inevitable” continues Disc 2 telling the story of his life in reverse over this funky beat while “The Villest” flips “The Realest” by Mobb Deep & Kool G Rap wanting you to know dreams do come true. “Old Dog” talks about learning new tricks over an energetic trap instrumental while the summery “Life Sentence” declares itself to be the realest shit Cole has ever written in his whole entire career dedicating itself to anyone who knows what it’s like to do life with someone in a time where it could be easy to give up. 

Pop rap & pop reggae get fused on “Only You” featuring Burna Boy for an ode to Cole’s wife Melissa Heholt while “Man Up Above” samples “Never Would’ve Made It” by Marvin Sapp giving all his praises to God. One of my all-time favorite Common tracks “The Light” gets flipped on “I Love Her Again” courtesy of Jake One talking about the renewed passion he had for hip hop after apologizing for “7 Minute Drill” a lot like “I Used to Love H.E.R.” & addressing Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake.

2 of the most iconic hip hop artists of all-time 2Pac & The Notorious B.I.G. fictitiously apologize to each other for the 90s east coast/west coast beef over the course of Beat Butcha & Tae Beast dustily producing “What If” preceding the drumless “Quik Stop” talking about changing our ways based on the differences we make. “& the Whole World is the Ville” samples “Love Put Me in the Corner” by The Isley Brothers with the help of BoogzDaBeast representing Dreamville & the closer “Ocean Way” uses the same Sekou sample Kevin Abstract did for “Text Me” comparing love to a candle wick in the rain.

The Fall-Off has been said for the past decade to be the greatest achievement in J. Cole’s discography & I wouldn’t be mad if anyone puts it above 2014 Forest Hills Drive even if I’d put this behind the latter for right now. The concept of Cole World: The Sideline Story gets bridged full circle regardless of myself leaning more towards Disc 2 than Disc 1 in terms of consistency, depicting himself traveling back to his hometown when he had accomplished the impossible in New York & when he had backed out of the Kendrick/Drake feud once it started escalating.

Score: 4/5

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Joji – “Piss in the Wind” review

Joji is a 32 year old rapper, producer, singer/songwriter & internet personality from Osaka, Japan making his full-length debut in 2017 with Pink Season. He would go on to follow it up with the sophomore effort Ballads & then Nectar, signing to Warner Records for his previous full-length Smithereens. Forming his own label distributed by Virgin Music called Palace Creek following his departure from the 88rising collective, he’s ready to begin this new era of his career declaring his independence in the form of his 5th studio album.

The self-produced “Pixelated Kisses” featuring Yeat on the remix blends alternative R&B, rage, witch house, trap soul & wave music talking about online relationships just before “Cigarettes” moodily uses the tobacco product as a metaphor for being burnt out. “Last of Dying Breed” combines alt-pop, alternative R&B, outsider house, neo-psychedelia & chillwave to grieve the rarity of an ex-girlfriend leading into “Love You Less” experimenting with dream pop, indie rock, shoegaze & jangle pop to sing about a toxic relationship.

“If It Only Gets Better” explores alt-pop, alternative R&B, indie folk, folktronica, wonky, trip hop & bedroom pop tackling the forever relevant subject of change just before “Love Me Better” sings about how he could’ve stayed with this woman he’s no longer seeing if she cherished him a lot more than she did. “Piece of You” feels more like a GIVĒON track since he handles a great deal of the performances despite the Kenny Beats instrumental while “Hotel California” heads for a lo-fi direction singing about a woman who makes his heart beat fast.

As for “Tarmac”, we have Joji finding himself emotionally stuck & looking for a way to something that felt authentic over some unsettling guitar passages while “Forehead Touch the Ground” spaciously sings about the inability of him trying to get this person out of his head. “Past Won’t Leave My Bed” ends the 1st half combining piano rock, adult contemporary, singer/songwriter & space rock revival for a personification of sleep while “Fade to Black” feels like a 75 second interlude performed by 4Batz.

“Can’t See Shit in the Club” brings some trap soul undertones in the mix for a spiritual successor to the 2020 loosie “F.T.C. (Fuck the Club)” until Dylan Brady joins Kenny Beats behind the boards during “Sojourn”, singing about a kind of love that’s in the middle of being eternal & unremembered. “D.Y.K.I.L.Y. (Don’t You Know I Love You?)” digs up an outtake from the Balladssessions to make a finished version of it while “Rose Colored” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying makes room for Yeat to spit 1 last verse so Filthy Frank can handle the hook.

Nearing the LP’s final moments, “Silhouette Man” slows down Joji’s vocals over this cloudy beat portraying himself as a shadow while “Fragments” mostly performed by Don Toliver sings about desiring pieces of his partner Kali Uchis since he can’t promise her eternity. “Horses to Water” hooks up a bassline & some pianos responding to people claiming the water’s different that it all tastes the same but after the repetitively written “Strange Home” sings about losing a part of him, the industrial outro “Dior” concludes with a chorus asking the woman he’s in love with if he’ll ever get the chance of seeing her again.

The teasers building up to Piss in the Wind gave me the impression that Joji would make the most enjoyable body of work in his career since a great deal of his output until this point has been average at best & it very much succeeds at capturing his artistic evolution since his YouTube days. Parts of wave music, lo-fi hip hop, trap soul, art pop, rage, witch house, trap soul, indie folk, folktronica, wonky, trip hop, bedroom pop, outsider house, neo-psychedelia, chillwave, dream pop, indie rock, shoegaze, jangle pop, piano rock, adult contemporary, singer/songwriter & space rock revival all get incorporated into his alt-pop/alternative R&B sound in a versatile manner to compliment his melancholic songwriting & it feels like more of a complete product than Smithereens did.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mayhem – “Liturgy of Death” review

Mayhem is a black metal band from Oslo, Norway currently comprised of bassist Necrobutcher, drummer Hellhammer, guitarist Teloch, secondary guitarist Charles Hedger & frontman Attila Csihar. Considered pioneers in the most extreme metal subgenre imaginable, their 1994 debut De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is considered to be some of the greatest black metal ever recorded & the sophomore effort Grand Declaration of War would go for a more avant-garde direction. Can’t forget to mention one of their original frontmen Dead taking his own life only for the photo of the aftermath to be used as the coverart for a live bootleg or original guitarist Euronymous being murdered by the most notorious black metal musician of all-time Varg Vikernes a.k.a. Burzum. Chimera & Ordo ad Chao were both great even though Esoteric Warfare near the end of my junior year of high school holds a special place in my heart today, returning for their 7th album almost 7 years since Daemon.

“Ephemeral Eternity” infernally starts us off singing about death ruling everything without any exceptions whereas the 2nd single “Despair” combines elements of their signature black metal style & progressive metal suggesting the reaper’s already here & has supremacy over us all. “Weep for Nothing” takes a more dissonant black metal approach stylistically singing about the world around us falling apart & leaving no remains leading into “Aeon’s End” making a statement regarding every civilization meeting their demise.

To begin the Liturgy of Death’s other half, “Funeral of Existence” describes the point in life where everything decays & loses all meaning while the 3rd & final single “Realm of Endless Misery” goes for a more traditional black metal vibe singing about existence functioning as part of suffering. “Propitious Death” looks at dying from the perspective of being freed from life’s repetitions & “The Sentence of Absolution” finishes with the realization that greatest deception has been the idea of human life the whole entire time.

Determined to push the boundaries of extremity itself even further over 4 decades later, Mayhem reaffirms their status as the most uncompromising force in all of Norwegian black metal reaching an entirely different apex of darkness by making Liturgy of Death yet another testament to their longevity. It’s easily the most progressive & dissonant the band has sounded since Esoteric Warfare & I commend Attila for deepening his research on the idea of every living being inevitably passing away since it’s been such a prominent theme within the dark arts.

Score: 4/5

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Ella Mai – “Do You Still Love Me?” review

Ella Mai is a 31 year old singer/songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom signing to DJ Mustard’s very own Interscope Records imprint 10 Summers Records over a decade ago. Her first few EPs Time as well as Change & Ready were all solid preludes ahead of her acclaimed eponymous full length debut, following up her sophomore effort Heart on My Sleeve & the most recent extended play 3 coinciding the end of her 20s with her 3rd studio album asking Do You Still Love Me?.

“There Goes My Heart” was a lavish R&B intro with some finger snaps advising Jayson Tatum to not look or touch because that’s the last thing she wants whereas “100” goes for a more atmospheric vibe instrumentally singing about love never being 50/50 & wanting to give this guy the best love imaginable. “My Mind” describes all the ways her man continues to impress her & things not being too risky with him while “Somebody’s Son” sings about being weak for an individual who gets anything he wants from her.

3’s trap soul outro “Little Things” reappears towards the end of the 1st half describing her willingness to do the simplest activities with Jayson by her side just before “Outside” exuberantly sings about the comfort of her own home being her favorite place to be since there isn’t shit out there for her the way she sees it. After the “Audio Message” interlude, “Luckiest Man” soothingly kicks off the 3rd quarter bragging that they don’t make women like her anymore leading into “Might Just” singing about burning the whole roof down.

“Tell Her” cavernously advises her ex-boyfriend to let his new girl know that he still has feelings towards Ella while “Bonus” moodily goes back to the trap soul vibes singing about Jayson keeping her focused. “1st Day” has a more laidback sound to it telling her boyfriend that she’s fucking with him every day of the year & after “Chasing Circles” explains how she’d rather stay true to herself instead of faking the funk, “No Angels” blends R&B & gospel for the outro singing that we should be grateful until the time she & her partner have is up.

Do You Still Love Me? takes a more intentional approach than any of Ella Mai’s previous material in the past decade has done & it makes for the most intimate statement of her whole career. Using a myriad of perspectives for an intimate look at her life & a soulful journey through love, she delves into love’s complexities with a new outlook on that & life in general since she conceived a great deal of the album during after her pregnancy & postpartum with her mentor’s detailed production making big improvements above Heart on My Sleeve’s.

Score: 4/5

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Juice Crew – Self-Titled review

The Juice Crew is one of the original hip hop collectives formed in Queensbridge, New York by the late Mr. Magic & Marley Marl. Other members would include Roxanne Shanté, MC Shan, the late Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, the late Mr. C, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Craig G, Tragedy Khadafi, the late Grand Daddy I.U., the late DJ Polo, the late TJ Swan, DJ Cool V, MC Debbie D, DJ Fatal, DJ Chilly Q & MC Glamorous. We’ve never gotten anything from them collectively aside from “The Symphony” single, so to hear that some of the most notable names were reuniting for an eponymous reunion EP & having one of my top 10 producers of all-time RZA of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan producing the entire thing sounded too good to be true on paper.

After a compositional intro, “Open Ya Eyes” by Big Daddy Kane was an exciting lead single working in some pianos & dropping the knowledge the world needs whereas “Makin’ It Home” by Craig G, the late Grand Daddy I.U. Kool G Rap gets in Bobby’s sampling bag dropping 3 hardcore verses without a hook. “Lolita” by Craig G tells the story of Roxanne Shanté, who eventually gets a reflective song of her own with “Roxanne the Truth”.

“Single Mothers” by Masta Ace gets the final moments of the Juice Crew’s self-titled return sending a consciously bright love letter to all the women in the world raising children all by themselves & “Game Over” finishes the EP squashing MC Shan’s issues of previously having no involvement in this project 4 months ago by letting him perform the outro talking about being street smart, which I believe’s a win-win decision for everyone.

These guys would pave the way for so many hip hop collectives for decades to come from the Hieroglyphics to the Army of the Pharaohs, the Soulquarians & Odd Future to name a few plus I know some have complained regarding RZA fully producing this extended play for the Juice Crew instead of Marley Marl, but I don’t mind because The Abbott’s boom bap production suits each of the seasoned veterans who were able to make the late Mr. Magic, Mr. C & Biz Markie proud for still repping this culture we love over 40 years after it’s foundation.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Black Sheep” review

Detroit, Michigan lyricist & one of the finest in the underground currently Mickey Diamond is back with his 18th studio LP. Emerging at the beginning of this decade off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 17 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. Since 2022 however, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost series produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album, the outstanding Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder & Gucci Gambinos. We recently got Diamond Cutter as well as Dolla $ign Diaries & Wolf Tickets, coming off the latter almost 2 months ago for the 2nd installment of this new trilogy days after Killer Kross was crowned the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion & the morning of former TNA World Champion Joe Hendry becoming the new NXT Champion.

“Shepherd’s Pie” begins with a drumless soul sample talking about him learning how to save money rather than chase it whereas “Big Bad Wolf” takes the boom bap route instrumentally so he can fuck up anyone who steps in his way. “Murda He Wrote” strips the drums once again talking about pulling up to shows with 10 of homies while “B22” soulfully talks about him shaking up the block consistently unlike those no one wants to collaborate with.

As for “Silence of the Lambs”, we have Diamond over some pianos mixed with kicks & snares letting the fear breathe again leaving the feds asking what happened to him during his break leading into “Rabbit Hole” bringing back the crooning sampling chops talking about his style being too flashy for the poor. “Matthew 7:15” eerily boasts of slitting throats using a Liquid Sword while “Business as Usual” continues the 2nd half talking about seeming cool up until everything comes down to the money.

“Cry Wolf” starts the 4th quarter bringing us more hardcore boom bap cautioning the whole community would take his side if anyone’s beefing with one of his while “When It Rains” soulfully talks about feeling the pain of his homie who’s been down bad. “False Profits” rawly makes it clear his purpose here is to challenge the greatest to ever do it & “Want You Back” ends by chopping up soul samples 1 last time talking about not being mad at a woman he was once in a relationship with.

It hasn’t even been a couple months since Wolf Tickets began The Wolf, The Sheep & The Goat trilogy shooting a buzzer beater in terms of how 2025 was musically & Black Sheep isn’t what many who’ve caught up with Mickey Diamond over the years would expect it to be topically. His lyricism is more focused towards his capability to tell stories centered around friendships, relationships, spirituality, conspiracy theories & politics accommodated in the way Big Ghost’s signature production style always has.

Score: 4.5/5

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9 Vicious – “B4EM” review

Brand new EP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper 9 Vicious preluding his upcoming 4th album Emotions. Breaking out in 2024 off his debut single “U Fancy”, he would go on to further introduce himself on B4SA & the full-length debut Studio Addict helped him gain more exposure to the point where Young Thug signed him to YSL Records after B4TM dropped & Tumblr Music wasn’t that bad of a debut for the label other than “Clout Demons”. B4FN & For Nothing have both become the best things he’s made since the YSL deal, dropping off B4EM to end January.

“Raging Love” produced by 406ahmad begins telling all these pussies to stop faking shit leading into Patrick Garza sampling “Work” by Rihanna featuring Drake on “RiRi” referencing the greatest QB of all-time Tom Brady. I respect him trying to a 2-parter with “More Painting” although the overly sexual themes doesn’t cut it for me but after “4Real” talks about loving money more than hoes immediately after, the highly anticipated “Racks Blue” interpolates the Future joint of the same name on top of an R8 instrumental.

Kicking off the 3rd quarter, “Listen Up Jews” ranks amongst the most awkward songs this guy’s ever made talking about becoming Jewish because his girl’s Jewish using more beat switches & “Fuck O.G.s” splits itself in halves again continuing the tiring themes of sex. “24hrs” samples “Straight from the Heart” by Con Funk Shun talking about his life never being the same he gives “Free Smoke” to his opps with Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group behind the boards, “Anal” ends with 1 last 2-parter comparing himself to the late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious.

Squashing his beef with Tezzus & diamond* last month after when Thug made them the newest additions to the YSL roster this previous holiday season, 9 Vicious as always warms the modern trap underground up for Emotions within the next month or so except I didn’t enjoy B4EM as much as I did B4FN & B4TM or even B4SA. I’d still say the production is still the strongest focal point this guy’s music has going for it feeling more dynamic than usual, I just feel like he isn’t saying anything I haven’t heard already.

Score: 2.5/5

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