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.

“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

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

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

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Wordsworth – “Chemistry” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Wordsworth has returned for his 7th studio LP. A member of the duo Punch n Words & the trio eMC, he officially made his solo debut 2 decades ago already with Mirror Music followed by The Photo Album & the Donel Smokes-produced New Beginning. After JSOUL went on to produce his debut EP Blame It on Music & later Sam Brown doing Our World Today respectively, the next EP Undivided Attention would be an improvement over Blame It on Music & The Fragility of Life was overloaded with too many features. Stu Bangas produced 2 Kings & the Chemistry was enough for them to a sequel.

“The Realtor” sets up shop with a boom bap instrumental using a gospel sample comparing himself to a real estate agent whereas “Strangers” featuring Sage Francis & Wreckonize ruggedly talks about their distrust towards that crowd of people. “It Took a Village” featuring Pearl Gates instrumentally keeps things in the basement explaining the cost of raising & keeping them safer just before “It Ain’t Over” eerily details the demise of a character who’ll get their vengeance.

As for the title track, we have Wordsworth over a soulful boom bap beat talking about his & Stu’s talents balancing each other chemically leading into “The Only Sin” featuring Ruste Juxx talking about one not trying being their biggest misdeed. “Don’t Get in the Way” has this apocalyptically raw approach to the instrumental sending advice to everyone listening after having friends become foes while “Username” uses a melodically pitched vocal sample talking about being overwhelmed as of late.

“People in My Neighborhood Too” featuring Masta Ace finds both eMC members linking up to tell stories of their home borough out in Breukelen while the luxuriously dusty “Nominated” celebrates the year he spent elevating himself. “I Was Raised” by Punch n Words featuring Apathy angrily brings the trio together so they can discuss their printings & after the motivational “1 Chance”, we have MidaZ the BEAST & NapsNdreds joining Words for the decent rap rock outro “Get Ya Boy”.

Nearly 26 months since 2 Kings became my 2nd favorite entry in Wordsworth’s solo discography right behind The Photo Album, he & Stu Bangas have done it again leveling up their Chemistry in the process of making another late career highlight for the New York veteran. It has a tighter guest list & Stu’s production continues to rejuvenate Words’ passion enough where the latter lyrically gets more brutal than he was a couple years earlier.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Zukenee – “Zuminati” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper/producer Zukenee is back with his 7th extended play. Starting in the spring of 2021 off his debut EP Undiscovered, he would continue to make a name for himself in the underground by putting out a couple more EPs in Castle & Playful alongside the debut mixtape Stop Playing last summer. Subsequent exclusive singles like “OJAYS” & “Chest” would later become amongst his best singles since both of them were released in the span of a year & a half preceding Player Slayer. Guillotine, Birth of St. Slay, Slaytanic, Knight Shift & Eye Love U have all continued to elevate his profile & he’s ending the 1st month of 2026 to drop Zuminati.

“Bait” produced by Cade starts with a fun trap intro talking about not going on Twitter because of incels on there trying to get a rise out of him whereas “Glock Backshots” featuring Sk8star finds the 2 teaming up for a cloudy gangsta rap crossover. “Rich Nigga” goes for a dirty south vibe talking about sleeping with a woman who’s already in a relationship with someone wealthy leading into the rage-inducing “ATL” representing the city that made him who he is today.

The 75 second “Ear Bleed” assures he’ll smoke anyone who makes a bad first impression over some 808s while “Lokey” brings some synths & bells in the fold telling this hoe he’s been seeing to keep their relationship low profile. “Up My Geek” dismisses those waving white flags when there’s smoke when they’re yelling of fires but after the synth-trap crossover “Pyramid” talks about his intents of scheming, “Suicide Note” finishes up by boasting of the exoticness of the weed he’s smoking & the whip he pulls up to the spot driving in.

We only have to wait & see how many more projects Zukenee plans on giving us within these next 11 months because I do remember him confirming that he has something in the works called Zudo fully produced by Cardo, but Zuminat might be the weakest thing he’s done so far although I’d call it average with more highs than lows as opposed to falsely dismissing it as trash. Although his performances may not be the issue, the production sounds a bit samey compared to his earlier output disappointingly.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Chino XL – “Prelude to The Mantis” review

Here we have the 8th studio LP albeit 3rd posthumous offering from East Orange, New Jersey emcee Chino XL. Breaking out in the mid-90s after signing to American Recordings & releasing his classic debut Here to Save You All, he eventually went on to beef with 2Pac & I genuinely feel sorry for anyone who writes him off because of that. Especially since that I Told You So, Poison Pen & the Viper Records-backed RICANstruction: The Black Rosary all contain some of the best songs in his whole discography. Stu Bangas was brought in to produce God’s Carpenter a few summers ago & that became a near-flawless comeback, with Darkness & Other Colors recorded back in 2020 foreshadowing his own death from beyond the grave. Map of Bones recorded between 2008-2012 commemorated what would’ve been Chino’s birthday last April, dropping a Prelude to The Mantis in preparation for his upcoming collaborative effort with Dheezy & of course God’s Carpenter 2.

“The Mantis” produced by Johnny Slash was a great intro from the flute-heavy boom bap beat to the hardcore chopper flows whereas “Blue Bird” takes a more luxuriously dustier route instrumentally although hearing him tackling depression hits differently considering the circumstances of his passing. “I Know” works in some horns thanks to Nick Wiz talking about what every region wants leading into “Steezy” experimenting with cloud rap & trap continuing the mental health themes.

Rittz, Statik KXNG & Tech N9ne all join Chino XL on “Terminally Ill” having all 4 lyricists bodying a Statik Selektah beat for nearly 7 minutes just before Apathy flips some strings during “Blood, Sweat & Tears” making way for Chino to spend 109 seconds speeding up his flow. “Guillotine” has a smoother instrumental flexing his raw glow while the radio friendly “Loving You” featuring Holy Toledo Productions founder M-80 links up for a tacky look at themes of heartbreak.

“Shots Through Ya Vehicle” blends a flute with more kicks & snares spitting intricate wordplay whilst maintaining a chopper-like delivery while “Chi Chops” swaps out the woodwind in favor of some keys talking about his only goal being him wiping out humanity entirely. “A Capella” seems like a moment here that feels completely unfinished since it could’ve easily been used as a guest appearance while “Basquiat” pretty much feels the same except the apocalyptic beat’s alright.

Copywrite & KXNG CROOKED both appear for a “Triple Seize” tearing apart their opponents over a rap rock instrumental while the piano-driven “Paradigms” displays what crazy breath control he had talking about being more than flesh & bones, hence he won’t ever be dead & gone when he has been. “The Rapture” featuring Cappadonna, KXNG CROOKED & Planet Asia brings the 4 together for a raw east coast/west coast crossover while “Chemistry” takes another jab at trap talking about being the type who was smart enough to listen when others didn’t.

“We Just Spit Bars” featuring Canibus could be an outtake from the S.L.I.C.C. (Self Licking Ice Cream Cone) sessions & that to me was one of Bis’ better opuses in recent memory while “Cruel World” keeps it hardcore for almost a minute & a half. “Champion” featuring Killah Priest as well as Kurupt & Ras Kass talks about either being victorious or a victim but after “On My Grind” gruesomely dismisses artists who’s pen isn’t alive, the outro “Grand Finale” concludes with another disjointed verse.

Putting the M-80/Chino XL estate controversy aside, Darkness & Other Colors remains my personal favorite of the 3 posthumous albums we’ve gotten so far & Prelude to The Mantis would have to go right behind it since I enjoy it more than Map of Bones although that’s not to say this warmup for what Chino & Dheezy have coming next doesn’t have flaws of it’s own. As opposed to the last couple full-lengths actually being presented as completed statements, there is some filler that could’ve been utilized more properly although the confrontation of mental health would certainly help those struggling.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

By Storm – “My Ghosts Go Ghost” review

By Storm is an experimental hip hop duo from Phoenix, Arizona consisting of producer Parker Corey & emcee Ritchie with a T. Both of whom were 2/3 of Injury Reserve with Stepa J. Groggs, disbanding out of respect of the latter following his death. They’ve been teasing their full-length studio debut since Injury Reserve’s 2nd & final album By the Time I Get to Phoenix, having my favorite Single of the Year back-to-back years & signing to deadAir Records for this new era of both Ritchie & Parker’s careers that’s been a minute in the making.

“Can I Have You for Myself?” poses the question to Ritchie’s lover a guitar instrumental singing & rapping that they’ve been moving at the same pace & being ready to grow whereas “Dead Weight” goes for a more experimental hip hop vibe explaining he doesn’t need more hands because he has his foot in. “Zig Zag” blends experimental hip hop, ambient pop, neo-psychedelia, folktronica, post-rock, glitch hop, abstract hip hop, slowcore, glitch & neo-soul advising one can’t make unexpected moves to the moon just before “Grapefruit” talks about anything going because everyone has no shame.

Folktronica, experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, cloud rap, conscious hip hop, post-rock, downtempo, alternative R&B & ambient pop all collide during “In My Town” capturing where Ritchie’s at currently while “Best Interest” featuring billy woods talks about benefiting them if they’re by their homies. “Double Trio 2” eclectically fuses experimental hip hop, abstract hip hop, avant-garde jazz, jazz rap, nu jazz, IDM, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, spiritual jazz & art pop continuing to heal from Stepa’s passing.

“& I Dance” takes further elements of experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, cloud rap, glitch, pop rap, illbient & art pop talking about there being nothing to run from while the acoustic title track asks if this was all a show. “Double Trio” still deserves a nod for it’s dosages of experimental hip hop, abstract hip hop, jazz rap, glitch hop, juke, glitch, ambient, neo-soul, avant-garde jazz, wonky & art pop suggesting now’s the time to burn things in addition to shit always repeating because of delays.

Teasing this since the summer of 2023 by dropping 5 incredible singles in a row, Ritchie with a T & Parker Corey at last begin this new era of their careers moving on from Injury Reserve permanently evolving into By Storm with deadAir Records being the most appropriate label for them to do it on. Ritchie’s lyrically telling us where he’s at in his life complimenting Parker’s production masterfully experimenting with electronic, folktronica, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, illbient, ambient pop, post-rock, slowcore, glitch, neo-soul, cloud rap, downtempo, avant-garde jazz, jazz rap, nu jazz, IDM, spiritual jazz, pop rap, juke, ambient & wonky.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jordan Ward – “Backward” review

Jordan Ward is a 29 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from St. Louis, Missouri introducing himself in 2017 off his debut EP A Peak at the Summit, signing to ARTium Recordings & Interscope Records for his debut mixtape Valley Hopefuls as well as another extended play called Remain Calm. His debut album Forward elevated himself beyond his earlier material capturing his potential in the styles of contemporary & alternative R&B, ending the 1st month of 2026 with a sophomore effort.

“Stranger” singing about feeling like a newcomer in his own life with a rush of strings behind him whereas “Smokin’ Potna” featuring SAILORR finds the 2 linking up over a groovier instrumental for a soothing weed smoker’s ode. “High Functioning” sings about how robust he’s coming across being high at the function taking a funkier approach to the beat & after the “BWD” interlude, “Ross Fit” keeps the groovy vibes rolling confessing he has way too much motion.

Things go for more stripped back approach instrumentally during “Noisy Neighbors” praying that his landlord does him right & all of us having our own internal struggles while “Change of Scenery” sings about feeling inspired again over more acoustics suggesting a landscape switch up would mean everything to him. “Juicy” reaches the halfway point advising this woman to forget him since he doesn’t have to be her favorite while “Themselves” sings about turning your passion into your hustle.

“Take-Out” feels like 97 second interlude yearning in the midst of ordering food to go that he’ll return home to his lover some day when he’s touring but after “Til Then” takes a more significantly personal approach to his songwriting singing about saving it all & breaking the cycle, the final single “Champion Sound” dedicates itself to Jordan’s mother calling her a warrior & asking if she’s been cheering him on already after all the success he’s been seeing.

The piano-driven “Y” tells his partner who seeks reassurance that she’ll come with him for the next run of shows praying he’ll find her again if there’s more to this life we all live while “Cutti” featuring Smino finds the pair coming together for a 2-parter combining elements of trap as well as R&B & pop rap. “Carsex” featuring TiaCorine finishes Backward with another track stylistically similar to the previous one advising his lover impatiently desiring to sleep with him in his ride to slow things down due to him touring.

Tyler, The Creator co-signing Jordan Ward prior to Forward coming was what made me a fan of his music Backward continues where the predecessor left off exploring the darker sides of his fame whilst channeling some of music’s most celebrated greats from the late Donny Hathaway to Bob Marley & Joni Mitchell throughout his songwriting. The production’s a bit funkier than Jordan’s debut was a few years earlier assuringly tackling subjects like growth, nostalgia & self-discovery.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Joel Ross – “Gospel Music” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Chicago, Illinois vibraphonist Joel Ross. Signing to Blue Note Records in 2019, he would go on to make his debut for the greatest jazz label of all-time a couple months later with Kingmaker followed by the sophomore effort Who’re You? as well as The Parable of the Poet & most recently Nublues almost a couple years earlier. He would also form The Blue Note Quintet a.k.a. Out Of/Into, coming off the latter’s sophomore effort Motion II to finish January offering some Gospel Music.

“Wisdom is Eternal” brings along alto saxophonist Josh Johnson, tenor saxophonist Maria Grand, bassist Kanoa Mendenhall, drummer Jeremy Dutton & pianist Jeremy Corren for this meditative 4 & a half minute intro dedicated to Barry Harris whereas “Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)” goes for a heavy post-bop vibe thematically building itself around religion. “Protoevangelium (The 1st Gospel)” sticks out being the longest composition here dedicating itself to the Gospel of James leading into “Hostile” taking it back to the post-bop sound with intense vibraphone playing midway through.

Meanwhile on “The Shadowlands”, we have Joel & company continuing to take the hard bop subgenre of jazz & throwing the unconventional elements it’s preceding style’s successor has become known for in the mix while “Nevertheless” lets the saxophonists shine for the opening 51 seconds until properly letting the bandleader shine throughout the rest of the track’s duration. “Word for Word” reserves the spotlight for the vibraphonist & drummer for a vast majority of the instrumental aside from the saxophones at the earliest & latest parts of it just before “Repentance” compositionally soundtracks the familiar feeling of remorse.

“The Sacred Place” gets the 2nd half of Gospel Music going mostly relying on the piano, vibraphone & drums for roughly 180 seconds or so conceptually taking inspiration from shrines while “A Little Love Goes a Long Way” gives me the impression the sextet freely improvised it although I don’t consider it’s brevity to be an issue with me whatsoever. “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ” heads for a prominently spiritual jazz direction worshipping our Savior who died for our since while “Calvary” celebrates Black excellence in the form of this Juneteenth single.

Andy Louis takes the microphone all over “The Giver” singing with Joel’s piano backing him that God’s role as a provider of all things while “To the Throne (The Mercy Seat)” instrumentally takes a more subdued approach than a lot of the earlier cuts. The final single “Be Patient” earlier this month continues Gospel Music’s last leg taking a few moments to convey the virtue of forbearance in sonic form but after “The New Man” reveals itself to have some of the most lively performances over the course of the album, “Now & Forevermore” appropriately sends off the full-length with this heavenly grandiose outro.

For his newest offering on the Blue Note imprint, Joel Ross ends January with the most religious musical statement of his entire career composing post-bop’s answer to the biblical story in addition to simultaneously exploring his own faith & the fulfilment of his musical upbringing in the church. His deepened study & exploration into the theological & historical depths of his religious beliefs has really paid off considering he furthermore uses the opportunity of Gospel Music to fuse the intricacy of his earlier output with the accessibility of his recent material.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Alla Xul Elu – “No Masters” review

Portsmouth, Ohio horrorcore trio & Long Live Evil founders Alla Xul Elu ending the 1st month of 2026 with their 7th LP. Consisting of Billy Obey as well as Joey Black & Lee Carver, they broke out a decade ago as a duo by releasing their first 2 albums Head of Horns & Sci-Co that same year. This was followed up with their 4/20-themed debut EP Necronomichron in 2017 & adding Carver into the fold shortly after, but it wasn’t until Twiztid signed them to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2018 when the Xul Boys’ music got increasingly better. Their MNE debut The Almighty is unquestionably the greatest horrorcore album of the 2010s, their 2019 sophomore EP Church of Xul took a much darker approach, Mauxuleum made it in the top 10 of my Best Releases of 2020 list despite them ditching their signature boom bap sound for a more industrial, trap metal direction & Necronomichron 2: Dead by Bong was a superior sequel to their 4/20 EP. The Magic Xul Bus preluded their final MNE offering Gods of Evil Rise produced by Mike E. Clark, opening for Psychopathic Records & Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) founders the Insane Clown Posse this past Hallowicked. A couple weeks after JCW Lunacy head writer Vince Russo crowned Facade of The Neon Blondes & Ken Anderson the new JCW American Champion & JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion respectively, A.X.E. are dropping No Masters.

After the “SINTRO”, the title track begins jumping over this horror-sounding trap instrumental talking about them bowing down to no one whereas “BRINGTHEVIOLENCE” goes for a boom bap vibe & getting gorier with their pens for the Xuligans’ sake. “ONEXONE” blends industrial hip hop & trap talking about converting people at the Church of Xul leading into the 33 second Billy Obey solo cut “FROMAXE” advising to cop a shotty if anybody got a problem with someone.

“INLOVEWITHAGHOST” has a funkier vibe to the beat showing a more lustful side of Xul regarding the horror movie queens from their darkest dreams & an outro reminiscent of “Rigor Erectus” but after the “BUCKYFUCKNERS” skit, “Black” takes a darker boom bap route instrumentally talking about blackening out the sun. “FUCKLIFE” gives a middle finger to all the bullshit they’ve been fed up with & no longer looking at things on the brighter side while “CHURCHBURNER” infernally talks about being fire breathing shell blazers.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “DIEONEDAY” goes for a vintage boom bap approach stylistically reminding us that every living being will soon meet it’s demise while “REALFAKEAI” talks about the rise of AI these past couple years getting to the point where people don’t know what’s real anymore. After the “WORKOUTPLAN” skit, “UNDERNEATHTHEFLOORBOARDS” gives flowers to the horrorcore subgenre they’ve been representing for a decade while “OPPOSITEOFCHRIST” talks about there being nothing like what the Church provides.

After the minute long “CANTSAVETHEMALL” intermission from Billy Obey kinda like what “FROMAXE” was, “NOREASONWHY” featuring S.O.N. & the Super Famous Fun Time Guys brings the modern day Dark Lotus together for an LLE posse cut while “TIMEBOMB” comes across as another interlude using the same structuring “CANTSAVETHEMALL” & “FROMAXE” did. “MASKMAKER” ends No Masters talking about the Forever Faces got their name because they’re eternal, although “IGETITTWIZTID (DEALWITHTHEDEVIL)” was a nasty Twiztid diss.

Warming up for this new chapter in Alla Xul Elu’s prolific career where they have No Masters doing their own thing under Long Live Evil for all of eternity by having Billy Obey & Lee Carver going solo with both Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased & Meathead: Satanic Steakhouse this past fall, the production’s like a mix of all the sounds they’ve explored from boom bap to industrial hip hop & trap with Billy, Lee & Joey Black lyrically declaring their independence.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Don Toliver – “Octane” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Houston, Texas rapper & singer/songwriter Don Toliver. Catching my attention in 2018 off his debut mixtape Donny Womack along with being featured on “Can’t Say” off the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott’s 3rd album ASTROWORLD signing to Cactus Jack Records literally the very next day, his full-length debut Heaven or Hell is a bit underappreciated since it came out when the pandemic started in my opinion & the sophomore effort Life of a Don was solid yet not as good. Lovesick received mixed feedback a few years ago although I appreciated that it was more conceptual, ready to push himself further than his Hardstone Records debut Hardstone Psycho did with Octane a day prior to Tommaso Ciampa ending Mark Briscoe’s reign as AEW TNT Champion.

“E85” begins with Travis Scott sampling “Chest Pain (I Love)” by Malcolm Todd so Don can sing about being on the highway with the love of his life & the mother of his child Kali Uchis whereas “Body” decently flips one of my favorite Justin Timberlake singles “Rock Your Body” thanks to BNYX of Working on Dying admitting to Kali that he goes out of control crushing over her. “Rendezvous” featuring Yeat might be my least favorite collab of theirs & it has more to do with the structuring despite the Rio Leyva instrumental while the atmospherically melodic “2ndhand” sings about Kali being all he wanted in life.

Trap, pluggnb & Memphis rap all collide during the lead single “Tiramisu” produced by Cardo speaking of wanting to spend some quality alone time with Kali Uchis leading into the infectious 2nd & final trap single “ATM” that Honorable C.N.O.T.E. cooked up spitting braggadocio. After the “Long Way to Calabasas” interlude, Wheezy goes for an acoustic trap sound for “Rosary” featuring Travis Scott continuing the themes of love while “All the Signs” featuring Teezo Touchdown ends the 1st half with an alternative R&B duet.

“Call Back” kicks off the 3rd quarter with this futuristic trap heater asking his partner when she’ll return his phone calls while the psychedelically repetitive “Tuition” talks about kinda getting fucked up at the strip club. SahBabii’s appearance on “K9” might be the weakest feature so far although I don’t mind futuristic trap approach Vendr takes instrumentally. “Excavator” combines synths, bells & hi-hats talking about being the type to go & bring her home to take her on vacation while the horn-heavy “Gemstone” courtesy of 30 Roc & FNZ asking why he’d ask a DJ to play his music when he knows it slaps.

Reaching the 4th & final act of Octane, the song “Opposite” confidently assures us he’ll still be making money when he’s no longer here with us physically while “T.M.U. (Turn Me Up)” shifts towards sample-driven cloud rap territory with the help of Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic continuing to tackle the subject of romance. “Pleasure’s Mine” brings the synths back in full effect singing about never picking his feet up from using it to crush the necks of his opps & “Sweet Home” sends it all off finding himself stuck in an cycle.

Hardstone Psycho has already topped Heaven or Hell because I feel like that’s where Don Toliver came into his own, but I’d have to put this new full-length behind his debut although I’d much prefer it over Life of a Don & Lovesick. The production’s more trap-oriented similarly to Octane’s predecessor exploring further elements of pop rap, cloud rap, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, rage, experimental hip hop & neo-soul trading 2 wheels for 4.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!