Action Figure 973 – “What Would Harley Race Do?” review

Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973 has returned with his 3rd studio LP. For a while at this point, his first couple mixtapes followed by his last 10 EPs & the full-length debut DOOM Was Right almost a year ago giving flowers to one of my all-time personal favorite albums Madvillainy have each established himself as a promisingly skilled luchador who so happens to rap. The Most Interesting Man in the World got with Machacha for his sophomore effort in October, coming off the Lucha Libre for the Soul sequel Lucha Libra for Christmas & airing out some Luchador Body Odor to ask What Would Harley Race Do? a couple days after Darby Allin became the new AEW World Champion.

“Harley & Nash Driving Through the Hood” after the “Harley’s Credo” intro sets it all off with a grittily drumless loop referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE world champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Hardcore Champion & current Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) booker The Undertaker whereas “Puerto Rican Pyramids” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally to talk about there being a difference between him & us.

The title track references none other than the late 8-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer & the inaugural WWE United States Champion Harley Race himself while “Harley Warned Bruiser About Puerto Rico” includes a bar about former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson’s son Raja infamously beating Syko Stu to death damn near at KnoX Pro-Wrestling founded by WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rikishi.

“Blame Game” nocturnally references WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley alongside WWE Hall of Famer & former 3-time WCW Hardcore Champion Eric Bischoff and WCW founder Ted Turner while the drumless “WWE Ice Creams” featuring Brother Tom Sos makes a nod to the late WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Yokozuna.

The song “Harley Pulling a Gun on Hogan” embraces a jazzier sound whilst continuing to strip the drums talking about having dinner with former 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, WWE Hall of Famers & 10-time WWE tag team champions The Steiner Brothers while “Bred 11’s” preceding the “Don’t Matter Who It Is” outro dustily spends the last couple minutes of What Would Harley Race Do? boasting that nobody can walk a mile inside of his shoes.

Both of Act-Lo’s previous full-lengths were already released under the ECW of underground hip hop a.k.a. Bars Over B.S. Records a year earlier & that was how I discovered his music last spring, so it’s not really that much of a surprise that they exclusively dropped What Would Harley Race Do? on their site at the beginning of the month & would agree with the sentiment of it being amongst his most refined material. I liked that he toned down the number of guest appearances to simply 1 so the east coast luchador can rip up some of Artifcer’s finest beats by himself 99% of the time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mike Shabb – “Hood Olympics 2” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb still applying pressure with his 10th EP & the 4th within the last month. Emerging in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out his last 9 EPs & a few mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery along with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses from top to bottom. He would follow these up with Hood Olympics, Sewaside III, Shabb Van Gogh, Fight the Power!, Vrai Rap Keb!, the Drega33-produced Lost Tapes & Maple Flavored. The latter of which was alright compared to the others I named, but Hood Olympics 2 has finally arrived nevertheless.

The self-produced “Don’t Know” asks himself why would he fuck with all of these raggedy hoes when he already has a fine bitch by his side whereas “Dilla” euphorically talks about his desire being like one of my top 5 producers of all-time: The late, great J Dilla himself. “Scrubb”aggressively issues a warning of pulling up on blocks for the purpose of wiping ‘em up while “Smack!” talks about doing real damage if he has to send messages.

“Smile” gives off a more sensual vibe altogether telling his girl that nobody can ever make him hate her since she’s family to him at this point leading into Spook making Hood Olympics 2’s sole guest appearance on “Unc Rob”, finishing up the 1st half by letting his partner hold the blick. “I Like It” kicks off the 2nd half experimenting with sample drill flipping “That’s the Way” by KC & The Sunshineband just before “Muffinz” talks about being fresh as fuck every time he pops out, baking anyone who messes with his girl.

The song “Moune Bizz” has this experimental trap flare to it addressing the kind of people who think people wouldn’t want to get flicks with him or the women while “Grandma” talks about his inability of trusting his Day 1 homie because he doesn’t know any better. “Jackie Chan” winds down the last few minutes of Hood Olympics 2 looking to crack anybody who fucks around too much & “Juxtapose” ends by promising that he’ll keep moving the way he’s supposed to.

Of the 4 extended plays Mike Shabb has given us only a quarter away through the year, Maple Flavored was the only one that I didn’t really care for that much but for him to drop Hood Olympics 2 in preparation for Sewaside IV somewhere between the next 8 months makes up for the averageness of the EP that came out last weekend. I love hearing the finest in Montréal today testing out new sounds beyond the drumless/boom bap styles he’s become known for even if he has the stronger half of the production & his pen’s a lot sharper than Hood Olympics 2’s predecessor.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tony Yayo – “The 4:20 Tape” review

Tony Yayo is a 48 year old rapper from Queens, New York who would go on to form a group called G-Unit with his childhood friends 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks up until his incarceration when they started to blow up. He eventually dropped his solo debut Thoughts of a Predicate Felon in the summer of 2005 under G-Unit Records & Interscope Records to mixed reception, which was followed up with 21 mixtapes. However, he’s looking to celebrate 4/20 a few days early by dropping his 22nd tape.

“Boxes” annoyingly start off with this messy beat boasting of him moving pounds of kush on Instagram whereas “So High” featuring Berner & Wiz Khalifa combines an acoustic guitar & some hi-hats so they can talk about getting stoned together. “Smoking Gas” continues to ramble on regarding the weed he smokes being the most potent over an cloudily underwhelming instrumental while “Block Work” featuring Uncle Murda unites G-Unit Records’ only remaining artists for a melodic gangsta rap track.

J.Sos’ verse on “Where’s the Blunt?” was the only feature of the 4 that I didn’t care for at all even if things sonically make a turn for atmospheric boom bap territory leading into “She Wanna Get High” swapping out the kicks & snares in favor of hi-hats again talking about going on a cannabis tour with his bitch for the rest of their lives. “Smalls & Depths” continues to emphasize the cloudier elements talking about getting on planes high & being worldwide than local.

“Kill ‘Em with Success” might have the absolute worst hook throughout The 4:20 Tape, weakly singing about the inability of getting people to stop hating on him & using his prosperity as a way of revenge until “I Woke Up Today” returns to the boom bap talking about getting blazed wherever he goes no matter of it’s overseas or on the west coast. “30¢ a Bag” however takes up the last couple of minutes talking about being zooted in the red light district.

There are only a small handful of songs I like off Thoughts of a Predicate Felon & would consider Tony Yayo to be G-Unit’s weakest link much like how Silkk the Shocker was when TRU was during No Limit Records’ heyday 3 decades earlier, but I certainly would’ve enjoyed The 4:20 Tape a lot more than I did in actuality if this was 2012 & I was still in my freshman year of high school. The production’s subpar & all the features outrap Yayo like I would’ve expected them to do.

Score: 2/5

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Cult of the Damned – “Simony” review

England, United Kingdom collective the Cult of the Damned comprised of Blah Records founder Lee Scott, BeTheGun, Sly Moon, Salar, Bill Shakes, King Grubb, Tony Broke, Black Josh, Stinkin’ Slumrok, Bisk, Sleazy F Baby, Col. Mustard, Dr. Zygote, Sam Zircon & Reklews reuniting for their 4th studio LP. Introducing themselves as a unit over a decade ago off an eponymous debut EP, a sequel would come in the form of their full-length debut Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate & the sophomore effort The Church Of mostly produced by Nobodies Home was more rawer sonically. Almost 4 years since Cultgangrapsh!t however, they’re reforming to release Simony.

“Ext. Car Park – Night” was the perfect lead single to mark the Cult’s comeback having everyone spitting hardcore verses over a boom bap instrumental for 5 minutes whereas “Deet” by the B-Movie Millionaires alongside King Grubb & Stinkin’ Slumrok angrily talking about having chaos in their arteries. Tony Broke gets his own solo track with “Medicine Man” hopefully teasing a follow-up to Broke as F$£k leading into “Capital £” by Sly Moon, Sniff & the Super Sag Bros talking about needing more money.

To end the 1st half, “Creekin’” ominously reunites the B-Movie Millionaires alongside Sly Moon so they can admit that something doesn’t feel right to either of them while “Covenant” goes for a more somber boom bap vibe suggesting that people might actually learn a thing or 2 from them if they lean to shut the fuck up. “Sapnin” continues the 2nd leg of the album on some luxuriously dusty shit talking about liking their money, women & beats dirty.

“& Then Some” takes the jazzier route instrumentally reminding everyone of the reputation they’ve had for the past 11 years & cautioning any competitor who wants to step up to them in a battle to fall back but “The Next Move” grittily talks about looking outside of the window plotting the succeeding phase of their plan, “Slum Lawds” takes up the last few moments expressing views that come straight outta the back book than the bible.

I’m not totally sure if we’re still getting Cultgangrapsh!t 2 at some point down the road but either way, the Cult of the Damned are finally back 4 years after Milkavelli got ousted for scamming fans with an album that I’d say rivals Cult of the Damned 2: Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate & The Church Of respectively. The production Spectacular Diagnostics cooks up is heavier on the boom bap side of things stylistically compared to their last one with some jazzy undertones & they sound overjoyed for this new era of their career.

Score: 4/5

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The R.O.C. – “No Direction” review

Detroit horrorcore veteran The R.O.C. finally back with his 4th LP. Getting his start as a member of the House of Krazees with Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, he later hooked up with Skrapz to put out 1 last album under the HOK name before starting a duo of their own called HaLFBrEEd when the Insane Clown Posse signed Twiztid to Psychopathic Records. Although they would only release 1 official full-length under the HaLFBrEEd name titled Kontamination, it would go on to become a horrorcore classic. Welcome to the Darkside came out under Psychopathic’s now defunct Hatchet House sub-label & dropped Digital Voodoo under Majik Ninja Entertainment almost a decade later. Last we heard from him was Monsters Ain’t Real in late 2019 & returns with No Direction.

After the “Space” intro, the self-produced “It Ain’t My Business” explosively marks his return advising that your lips will follow suit if one swallows their tongue whereas “My Fantasy” asks if he’s the only one this woman prefers & her reoccurring when he runs. “Best Decision” featuring Jamie Madrox finds the 2 linking up so they can voice what they consider to be the greatest choices they’ve never made over a groovy beat leading into “Around We Go” talking about getting up outta here right now.

Monoxide appears on “Superpower” so they can energetically discuss how being themselves is their extraordinary ability just before “I’m In Love With You” tries to put the right together to express his affection towards this person knowing exactly the way he feels. “Broadcast System” goes for a futuristic boom bap vibe talking about this being nowhere close to the end of his story prior to “2084” by Zodiac MPrint consciously issues the reminder that Big Brother’s watching us all.

“Finish Strong” nears the conclusion of No Direction hopping over a grim instrumental so he can talk about ending things on as great of a note as possible while “Bridges” leads towards a gospel influenced sound & taking a spiritual approach to his songwriting. The closing track “New You” finishes things up charismatically bringing nothing but good vibes to the table celebrating improved versions of themselves on top of a funky boom bap beat.

This guy is amongst the most underappreciated artists in all of Detroit & one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, so I had to pull up to the listening party last Friday afternoon at the Astronomicon 9 pre-party prior to meeting the current MLW World Heavyweight Champion Killer Kross & would put No Direction right behind Digital Voodoo as The R.O.C.’s 2nd best album since Welcome to the Darkside & Monsters Ain’t Real were both extended plays. All 3 of his Samhein Witch Killaz brethren body their verses & it’s amazing to hear how far he’s come Rollin’ with Strength.

Score: 4/5

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A.G. – “$ € £ ₣ ¥” review

The Bronx, New York veteran A.G. enlisting Boston, Massachusetts producer Stu Bangas to produce his 7th solo LP. Known for being 1/2 of Showbiz & A.G. as well as a member of the D.I.T.C. collective, he would make his solo debut in 1998 with The Dirty Version & came back 8 years later for the sophomore Get Dirty Radio. He has since followed these up with Everything’s Berri, The Taste of AMBrosia, Always Protect the King, NYLUV & Giant in the Mental which I personally prefer some more than others. However, I already knew $ € £ ₣ ¥ had great chances of being some hit best material individually when Stu’s involvement was announced.

“Borderline” featuring D-Flow & Diamond D angrily opens up shop talking about nobody being above them lyrically & Diamond D having my favorite guest appearance of the 2 whereas “Get It Going” continues from there providing words of wisdom. “Creatures” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally so he can spew unapologetically hardcore lyricism prior to Cory Gunz appearing on the hypnotic “Replicant” talking about being the naked truth with clothes.

To end the 1st half, “Skywalker” experiments with an unsetting trap atmosphere using the clouds as his stepping stone while “She Like to Dress Up So I Modeled Her” calling back to when his original moniker was reminiscent of the late WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant. “Suspense” featuring Prince Julius was a more laidback cut making people disappear by merely uttering 1 sentence.

“All These Things All These People” heinously talks about coming from an era when you couldn’t rap if you didn’t write it & going to all sorts of different places while “Really Rapping” encourages people to ask his crew if he’s capping or being serious in his rhymes. “Real Hip Hop” lastly sends off the album with a boom bap outro where the hook ironically samples “Ova Here” by KRS-One on what would’ve been Afrika Bambaataa’s 68th birthday but I digress.

A great bulk of A.G.’s solo material for the past 16 years has been average at best, so $ € £ ₣ ¥ on paper seemed like it would reach the same level of quality The Dirty Version & Get Dirty Radio had reached decades earlier. Thankfully, my expectations were met because a great deal of this was enjoyable to me anyway. His pen & Stu Bangas’ production combined make for the strongest he’s sounded since all of those earlier full-lengths putting aside a couple guests sticking out personally.

Score: 4/5

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Red Café – “Once in a Red Moon” review

Red Café is a 49 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York who broke out 2 decades ago off his debut mixtape The Supplier. He has since dropped 10 more tapes & a full-length debut, signing to multiple labels such as Desert Storm Records as well as Hoo-Bangin’ Records & Bad Boy Entertainment without releasing anything during his tenures there. However, learning that his 12th mixtape was gonna be fully produced by Cartune Beatz made me more optimistic than I usually get for his recent output.

The title track works in a cloudy boom bap instrumental talking about having expensive taste & the beans keeping him safe whereas “TSA Pre-Check” featuring Benny the Butcher finds the 2 proclaiming themselves to be the realest ones in the room. “Wish Me Well” featuring Max B has a cloudier trap vibe to the beat advising to not hate against the bigger man leading into “Water & Flour” featuring So Rich, which is my least favorite track outside of the soul sample.

“Red Rum” featuring Elcamino hops over some pianos so they can talk about their experiences growing up in Buffalo & what Gang Starr referred to as “The Planet” respectively just before “Private Room @ 2AM” admits to being fed up with all the Ls, snitching & going to funerals in addition to his twin admiring the beauty of his scars. “You Lucky” featuring Boldy James on the contrary leans towards a soulfully drumless direction talking about bitches who’re fortunate.

The song “Pray for Me” hooks up a soul sample & some hi-hats hoping for God to protect him from catching another case & making it home safely while “Payne Café” strips the drums again so both him & RJ Payne can talk about having more cocaine on their tables than the late Rick James ever did when he was still alive. “A.C.G. (Anybody Can Getit)” sends off Once in a Red Moon with a soulful outro motivationally encouraging people to achieve their goals.

A great deal of this guy’s output has been average at best, but I have enjoyed some of his features in the past & all the singles building up towards Once in a Red Moon lives up to the expectations I had set for it. Maybe even the best thing Red Café’s done in his entire career if I’m being frank. Cartune Beatz’ production is a huge upgrade from some of the Shakedown Entertainment founder’s latest material & he gives these instrumentals his all alongside the guests.

Score: 4/5

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Uy Scuti Bøyz – Self-Titled review

The Uy Scuti Bøyz are a duo consisting of Mechanicsville, Virginia rapper diamond* & Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus. Both of whom have collaborated with one another a handful of times including songs like “Bada Bing Bada Boom” or “Pisces” & “Slime”. They’ve also achieved quite some success as solo artists, resulting in Young Thug signing them to YSL Records & resulted in 9 Vicious departing the label due to his feud with them. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time until they made their eponymous full-length debut as a pairing.

“Uy Scuti” featuring Thug finds the trio over a triumphant London on da Track instrumental to get things going reporting live from the biggest star in the universe whereas “Ew” featuring EA TJ talks about not charging prices when they’re running through all the stores. “Trashcan” bombastically represents the ØWay collective both members are apart of for a couple minutes while “Baby” by Tezzus featuring southsidesilhouette & Yung Fazotalks about getting head over a Hariroc beat.

Biggs Money appears on “Slime for Years” so they can proclaim that both of them have been YSL long before they were officially signed just before “Stepchild” featuring HittMan talks about shit getting ridiculous to them out here, giving middle fingers to all of their opps & dismissing their attention-seeking. “Guess What” by Tezzus featuring skaiwater joins forces to brag that each of them knowing they would make it until “Da Fuck” also by Tezzus featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Young Thug talks about upping the score.

“Chill Øut” featuring Shawtyrokk reaches the halfway point advising to watch out for your hoes around them over a Goxan instrumental or else it’s case closed while “Ice Øn” embraces a heavy pop rap vibe to talk about love. “Head Øver Heels” feels a lot like a Pz’ track since neither of the Uy Scuti Bøyz have verses of their own despite him explaining that he’s in love with money while “J.Ø.T.P. (Jump Out the Plane)” featuring EA TJ, Lil Righteous & Sk8star details their luxuries over a Richie Souf beat.

southsidesilhouette returns for “Møtherfuckers” to talk about flexin’ racks because they used to struggle in addition to pullin’ up on their bitches so they can fuck since they don’t do any of that cuddling shit & after “St. Claire’s” gives diamond* a chance to shine by himself talking about rockin’ his ice during the evening as well as likening the way he sees things clearly to light itself, “Løve Løst” expresses their disappointment in the way this person moves.

“I’m an Artist” winds down the last few moments of the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ self-titled debut talking about upgrading their ranks within the streets & baiting women with blue $100 bills while “Hell Yeah” featuring BSlime decently makes it clear that they’re talking business, hence why they don’t fuck around whenever either of them open their mouths. The only single “Duality” ends the tape with a rage-inducing trap outro taking risks to live the lavish lives that have now.

Becoming a fan of these guys early last year, I was excited to hear that diamond* & Tezzus had signed to YSL considering the high praise projects like Nø Idøls or Backrooms received last summer. However, I felt like the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ introductory tape was more average than I had expected although I firmly believe they can top this if they ever make a full-length debut (which I’m confident they will). Their chemistry isn’t the issue in any capacity, but some of the production & features kinda weigh it down.

Score: 3/5

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M.I.A. – “M.I.7.” review

London, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer, producer & activist M.I.A. going independent with her 7th LP. Blowing up off her full-length debut Arular that XL Recordings & Interscope Records jointly put out 2 decades earlier, her popularity would begin to increase following the sophomore effort Kala & was even granted her own vanity label N.E.E.T. Recordings by the time ΛΛ Λ Y Λ became her most-left field body of work to date inspiring future acts like Death Grips & PC Music. She eventually fulfilled her Interscope contract by dropping Matangi & AIM, coming off the Island Records-backed MATA to bring M.I.7. towards a new direction.

“Prayer 777” after the “Trumpet” intro technically begins with a remix of the cloudy & experimental Christian hip hop single “Armour” with secondary influences of neo-psychedelia, tribal ambient, ambient pop, ambient dub & dub whereas “Jesus” after another “Trumpet” intermission goes for a hip house vibe asking for the son of God to set her free. “Sacred Heart” reworks “Un Nenju” from the Bells Collection tape talking about what we feel makes us the same while “Money” after the 3rd “Trumpet” interlude annoyingly demanding some bread.

After the 4th “Trumpet” interlude, “Circle” starts the 2nd half asking God to lead her prior to “Calling” after the 5th “Trumpet” interlude talks about following the waves. After the penultimate “Trumpet” interlude, “Ride the Sky” makes an odd Fortnite reference although I understand the concept of good defeating evil while the final song “Everything” after the last “Trumpet” interlude excluding the “30 Minutes of Silence” outro ends M.I.7. talking about chasing bags than looking for them.

We’ve only gotten 3 full-lengths from M.I.A. within the past decade & MATA had me hoping she would continue to take the right path going forward musically, but it pains me to say that M.I.7. could be the weakest entry of her entire discography. It has nothing to do with the predominant Christian hip hop themes because I’ll put it over Will Smith’s comeback Based on a True Story any day, except the overabundance of interludes & the half hour outro make it feel like a glorified EP.

Score: 2/5

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James Joyce the Squatch – “Discomfort Inn” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee James Joyce the Squatch. A member of the Nitebreed collective alongside Donnie Menace & White Cheddar, he would make his solo debut in 2016 with Pawn Your Heart of Gold & follow it up with the sophomore effort The King James Version: The Pre-Quill as well as Dapper Scumbags: Reality Check Cashing. However, he recently signed to Stray’s newly formed Rogue Hollow imprint & having the label’s in-house producer Charlie Beans soundtrack James trip to Discomfort Inn.

“Butterflies & Bile” produced by Charlie Beans opens up with a sinister boom bap instrumental talking about the inability to trust your gut when it’s filled with those 2 things whereas “Chef’s Kiss” gives off a heavy g-funk/trap vibe boasting his lyrical proficiency. “Chaise Lounging” leans further towards a trap sound with chopped & screwed and g-funk undertones talking about not fucking with drama because he doesn’t see any importance in doing so while “Cat n’ Mouse” explains that the depths get darker the further we descent.

Stray makes Discomfort Inn’s only guest appearance on “Little People” dismantling the kind of individuals who don’t have anything to live for just before “Know Your Worth(less)” stylistically reminds me a bit of Heltah Skeltah from the boom bap beat to the unapologetic hardcore lyricism. “Molting Truth (I Was Happy)” experiments with a cloudier sound repeating what his inner-child said to him while “Pick Your Poison” ends the 1st leg talking about choosing between disappointed or getting ignorant.

“Blunt as Fuck” gets the 2nd half going taking some inspiration from the dirty south forever keeping it to the point leading into the title track profoundly talking about this home he built being more perfect than life itself. “Phoenix Down” combines cloud rap & boom bap confessing this long ride he’s been on simply following the way he’s been feeling while “Shampaign” walks a razor’s edge without even knowing where it’s bound to go.

Nearing the album’s final moments, “Ghost10” hops over some pianos to talk about seeing everyone in Hell toasting with the squad while “Plottin’ & Schemin’” kinda has this shimmery trap quality to it detailing that the man in the mirror’s trying to kill him. “Leave Behind” continues the cloudy boom bap crossovers talking about building himself up to heaven to scrap the golden gates while “Dirty Water Baptism” expressing thankfulness for the people he was starving with.

Having previously heard his verses on both Chainsaws & Boomsticks albums when Donnie Menace was signed to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz, it was interesting to hear Charlie Beans was producing all but 2 tracks on Discomfort Inn & I’d have to argue that it’s the most cohesive entry of James Joyce the Squatch’s entire solo catalog. Charlie’s production is a huge upgrade from James’ previous full-lengths & I commend him for getting a lot off his chest with this one lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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