Protect – “slimedude2003” review

This is the debut extended play from Buffalo, New York rapper Protect. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me followed by the sophomore effort albeit major label debut Ball Hog of Life under Atlantic Records a couple years earlier, his previous LP 500 Days of Summer last August was my introduction to him & remains his strongest collection of material today. 10 months later, he’s dropping off slimedude2003.

“RAF Trench” starts us off with a plugg instrumental talking about shooting as if he’s Cade Cunningham whereas “Firearm” cloudily admits to constantly pouring lean like he’s awaiting his own death. “0s” could be a weaker moment here since he’s pretty much sandwiching an unacceptably underwritten verse in the middle of a chorus, but then “Makatussin” continues to express the love he has for consuming cough syrup over a bubbly beat.

As for “Whole Crowd”, we have Protect talking about getting concertgoers turnt soon as he he hits the stage prior to the plugg-influenced “RE4 referencing one of my all-time favorite video games Resident Evil 4 & dissing N3on for seeking attention online. “What Doesn’t Kill U” begins the 2nd half talking about sending out convoys over a synth-driven trap beat just before “Reset” confesses to feeling overwhelmed by a handful of things.

“AC130” gets slimedude2003’s last let going talking about making opps bleed soon as he catches them while “Sk8r” samples “believe me” alyorra discussing the importance of finding yourself & getting it together. The highlight “Last of Us” produced by Cade makes a nod to another all-time favorite video game of mine & the outro “U da 1” finishes the EP with 1 last motivational anthem about the audience making an impact too by doing it.

500 Days of Summer stands tall as the most refined musical statement of Protect’s career & although I do acknowledge that slimedude2003 was meant to be a collection of “grails”, I felt that the final production turned out to be pretty average compared to his previous LP. You can definitely tell these were recorded sometime before or after All on Me & Ball Hog for Life when he was getting his footing in even if I wouldn’t call it some of my favorite material he’s done outside a couple joints.

Score: 3/5

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Vince Staples – “Cry Baby” review

Here we have the 6th studio LP & Loma Vista Recordings debut from Compton, California rapper, singer/songwriter & actor Vince Staples Emerging as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future collective, he would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Records & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna & the dude’s sophomore effort Big Fish Theory was easily his most experimental work yet. He later teamed up with Kenny Beats for his 3rd EP FM! & his eponymous 3rd album but coming off Ramona Park Broke My Heart & some Dark Times, he’s ready to air out a Cry Baby.

The lead single “Blackberry Marmalade” blends conscious hip hop, post-punk, political hip hop, post-punk revival, rap rock, hardcore hip hop & experimental hip hop to talk about racism in the United States whereas “Go! Go! Gorilla” takes a funkier approach instrumentally explaining that the police have always been the strongest enemy African Americans have always had & having nobody to trust because of crooked cops abusing their power.

“White Flag” combines political hip hop, conscious hip hop, neo-soul, blues rock, rap rock, dub & post-punk for the 2nd single declaring his surrender of patience towards putting up with white supremacy just before “The Running Man” embraces more of a punk rap vibe talking about missing the days he used to aspire along with leaving his baggage behind since he didn’t feel like there was anything worthy of bringing & nobody being safe from the war that’s occurring outside.

Reaching the halfway point, “TV Guide” discusses the way television has been controlling the masses & them assuming everything they see on the news to be true prior to “The Big Bad Wolf” kicking off the 2nd half embracing a funk rock sound talking about a police officer shooting at an innocent bystander based on the color of his skin. “Only in America” once more takes a jab at the systematic racism & admits he’s been in search of a breakthrough after being hurt since last spring.

“Do You Know the Devil?” winds down the last moments of Cry Baby asking if one will find God or fall from grace life when gets hard & death gets way too close for one to be comfortable while the 3rd & final single “Cotton” crosses over elements of funk rock, psychedelic rock & conscious hip hop talking about black people’s stories of survival being exploited for money. “7 in the Morning” finishes the album channeling a more militant mindset pondering why some view the death of his people as entertainment.

It should go without saying that Vince Staples’ independent debut Cry Baby will easily become the most politically charged entry of his discography since the Hell Can Wait EP back when I was senior in high school, joining the likes of Summertime ‘06 & Big Fish Theory for a top 3 spot in his discography. The production is a rebellious melting pot of rap rock, funk rock, conscious hip hop, post-punk, post-punk revival, rap rock, hardcore hip hop, experimental hip hop, psychedelic rock, neo-soul, blues rock & dub music expressing the frustration of the rise of fascism.

Score: 4.5/5

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Navy Blue – “Sir Render” review

This is the 9th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York skateboarder, MC, producer, songwriter, visual artist & model Navy Blue. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut EP According to the Waterbearer, he would go on to drop 9 more EPs & 6 full-lengths preceding the Def Jam Recordings-backed Ways of Knowing produced by Budgie to critical acclaim. Coming off the Memoirs in Armour EP along with The Sword & The Soaring however, he’s refusing to slow down giving us Sir Render almost 7 months later.

“Commencement” opens up with this drumless intro talking about capsizing & turning his life over to God afterwards whereas “Baron” produced by The Alchemist embraces a boom bap vibe instrumentally hitting us with more poetically abstract penmanship. The title track strips the drums once again talking about there being lessons in every move made while “Over” featuring Mike Shabb finds the pair bringing their A-game over a heavenly drumless loop from Shabbo himself, who kicks off that song with his verse.

We get some bare pianos explaining that his “Reflections” are the evidence of God he chose to revel in & talking about how he used to be suicidal while the self-produced “Residuum” featuring Armand Hammer joins forces for a symphonic boom bap heater filled with abstract lyricism that’ve defined each of them firing off 3 deadly verses. “Crux Ansata” drumlessly talks about his broken wings needing to heal while “Belladonna” featuring Earl Sweatshirt boasts of their successes over a somberly dusty Uncle Al beat.

“Aegis” continues the 2nd half of Sir Render remembering when he was 5 looking at his older brother’s casket asking himself whether he’ll wither or ride above it & be what fills the void in his dad’s eyes over a subdued instrumental & after “Circa” featuring the late Ka talks about being healed when we no longer hear from them despite still being here spiritually, “If God Had Legs” brings the keys back in effect describing him overcoming Ka’s sudden death a year & a half ago.

To get the album’s final act going, “Next Life” hops over yet another drumless loops talking about letting the tree falling & his exposing his roots while “The Birth of Medicine” discusses him praying for the transpiration of his grief along with the assurance of who he is isn’t who he’s perceived to be. “Bleeding Scarlet” offers a calmer atmosphere with a powerful verse to begin & the other half serving as more of an outro while “F.E.A.R. (Forgetting Everything And Running)” explains what fear is to him.

Sir Render makes for a satisfying conclusion to the knighthood trilogy in which Memoirs in Armour began and The Sword & The Soaring bridged, picking up where both it’s predecessors left off & landing right behind the latter to become my 2nd favorite installment of this entire arc. Maybe surpassing it even. The production’s mostly drumless & jazzy like its counterparts other than a couple occasional moments, enlisting some of abstract hip hop’s finest past & present to make people grapple with their previous selves.

Score: 4.5/5

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730atMorning – “1 Man Band” review

Minneapolis, Minnesota rapper 730atMorning preluding Context with his 2nd mixtape. Someone who would drop 3 extended plays in 2022 including Pots*, untitled & Hi, I’m Alive. He would later follow it up with the Creeper EP, the 7:30* EP, the full-length debut Asphalt, the Guarded EP, the sophomore effort Under the Bridge, the Rotten Fruit EP, his previous full-length Save Your Grievance, the almost inside EP & the Insiders tape. Last we heard from him was the I Can’t STFU EP last Halloween & 1 Man Band’s offering a preview of the new era over a month after Tiffany Stratton ended ジュリア’s record-tying 2nd reign as WWE Women’s United States Champion.

After the compositional “Withered” intro, the opener “Graye” featuring Lerado Khalil begins with them talking about the fuck shaping them to the people they are presently whereas “Clouds n Rain” channels a pluggier vibe instrumentally pleading not to tempt him. “40MGs” produced by LulRose might be my favorite track here talks about trying to get back with a woman who kept putting up a fight while “My Favorite Part” splits itself into halves detailing a woman who doesn’t miss him back.

“Sequence of Events” embraces a cloudier sound altogether talking about being in charge & making the rules since he doesn’t have any corny bullshit in his life but after “God Still Take Me” talks about paying for all his sins as well as him praying for the Higher Power to take him to the afterlife, “Lost the Plot” incorporates some icy synths to talk about finding love in Los Angeles with his homies & being here today because of his hard headedness.

The track “Interesting Character” nears further towards the conclusion of 1 Man Band explaining that he doesn’t need shit from this individual since they told him to die & him reasonably taking that to heart while the final song “Body” preceding the “Repulsive” outro expresses the desire he has of giving this individual what they need even if they gotta go how he wants them to & not keeping up with his own flexes.

1 Man Band warms us up for Context with the most densest entry in 730atMorning’s entire discography & gives me confidence of this next project coming down the pipe maintaining this momentous run he’s been on since last fall. The tape’s trap production takes its secondary influences more from cloud rap, plugg, witch house & wave rather than capitalizing on I Can’t STFU’s rage, free car music, jerk & new jazz undertones & I found the inclusion of guests to be a refreshing move compared to the predecessor’s lack of features.

Score: 4/5

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Converge – “Hum of Heart” review

This is the 12th studio LP from Salem, Massachusetts metalcore band Converge consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 full-length debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, nearly everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind when I was a sophomore in high school, The Dusk in Us & Love Is Not Enough have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & are back with Hum of Heart.

“Slip the Noose” begins with a metalcore intro reminiscent of the Jane Doe era directly tackling generational trauma whereas “Doom in Bloom”combines post-hardcore & sludge metal exploring how Jacob’s middle-aged introspection doesn’t always bring a brighter light. “It Only Gets Worse” spends a couple minutes angrily realizing the world’s indifference towards him & after the intimidating “Detonator” encourages one not to be blown apart by their mistakes, “I Won’t Let You Go” ends the 1st leg with the official Cyberpunk 2077theme.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “It’s Not Up to Us” made for another aggressive moment explaining there’s no end in sight without a will to fight while the doomy “Dream Debris” starts with a simple bass note that builds to a booming crescendo detailing the deception of being led to believe we could be anything we wanted to be. The post-hardcore, metalcore, neocrust & post-metal title track after the “It Used to Matter” composition emotionally examines the price of the lives we pursue & the outro “Nothing’s Over” ends on a sludgier note saying we must rage for the dying light.

Love Is Not Enough made for a great comeback for the greatest metalcore band & following a sense of urgency, Converge have outdone themselves by delivering a raw counterpart retaining the unpredictable potency of their last album. Their signature sound’s still being fused with elements of mathcore & sludge metal similarly to it’s predecessor aside from the hardcore punk undertones being swapped out for post-hardcore for another bleak yet empathetic assessment of the human condition & it’s ongoing deterioration.

Score: 4.5/5

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Slift – “Fantasia” review

Slift is a heavy psych trio from Toulouse, Occitanie, France consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jean Fossat, bassist/vocalist Rémi Fossat & drummer Canek Flores. Emerging in 2017 off the band’s debut extended play Space is the Key as well as their 2018 full-length debut La Planète Inexplorée & the widely praised 2020 sophomore effort Ummon, they returned 4 years later by dropping an equally celebrated Sub Pop Records debut Ilion & are looking to outdo both of those with their 4th studio LP.

The title track opens up with an epic 9 minute intro taking some inspiration from doom metal signing about rising above our pain & finding a fire for our souls whereas “Corrupted Sky” describes a fictional town plagued by a sense of xenophobic unknowing. “The Village” continues the story finding this bigoted city welcoming an outsider like poison over progressive instrumentation just before the lead single “A Storm of Wings” blends stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych so our protagonist can depict the town’s downfall.

“Orbius Tertius” kicks off the 2nd half taking heavy inspiration from the late Jorge Louis Borges’ short story of the same name using idealism to ask a multitude of questions while “Waiting Man” feels like a mix of Pink Floyd & Masters of Reality-era Black Sabbath, realizing the world our hero was committed to was a lie. The 2nd & final single “The Day of Execution” again bases itself in the styles of stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych singing about time passing all of us prior to “Secret Mirror” sending off Fantasia with a space rock outro.

Ditching the sci-fi narrative of their Sub Pop debut a couple years earlier, Slift’s follow-up ironically bares it’s name after a description of the band’s previous output for their leanest statement yet improving above Ilion & dethroning Ummon for their magnum opus. The production captures their versatility eclectically varying between space rock, stoner rock, stoner metal, heavy psych, post-metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, post-rock, doom metal & post-hardcore for a tale of overcoming international upheaval.

Score: 4.5/5

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Imani Imani – “Papercut” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Suriname-born albeit Amsterdam-raised singer/songwriter Imani Imani. Being introduced through her feature on the unreleased Kendrick Lamar track “I Feel Something” that was previewed at the beginning of 2024 in promotion of Chanel’s Spring-Summer Haute Couture Show a few months afterwards, she’s returning after almost 2 & a half years signing to pgLang & Interscope Records to surprise-drop Papercut in celebration of her new major label deal.

“Bet on Me” kicks things off with this passionate R&B intro singing about knowing what’s on her lover’s mind & feeling what he says without even knowing his name whereas “Come Together” peppily suggests that she & her lover need to make some improvements within their relationship. “Snatch” sings about a man who gets her high since she gives her dreams & lifestyle over pianos leading into “On Demand” leans towards a synth-funk direction assuring her partner she’ll be here waiting for him.

Moving on from there, “You’re Mine” delicately finishes the 1st leg of Imani’s debut singing about her preference of having men obsessed with her while the stripped-back “Mindgames” admits that she can’t lay her head down for too long when her romantic interest isn’t with her. “Slideee” gives off more of a dance-pop vibe yearning to put her waist on her soulmate’s body while “Chasing” incorporates more acoustics singing about trying to find peace regardless of rain never ceasing.

“1 of 1” nears closer towards the end of Imani’s debut embracing a more alternative R&B direction wanting to feel her muse’s love & pillow talk until the sunrise while the final song “Let Go (Wishes)” preceding the compositional “My Mistakes” outro croons about needing some time away from her own mind & asking if this individual would stay with her for a bit or run over an instrumental that had a bit of a minimalistic quality to it.

Considering that Baby Keem & Tanna Leone are both primarily rappers, I fully support the idea of Kendrick giving Imani Imani the right to call herself First Lady of pgLang & depart from the hip hop sound all 3 of the label’s other artists are primarily known for. The comparisons I’ve already seen made by Drake fans on social media to OVO Sound’s First Lady Naomi Sharon is stupid considering OVO’s been signing R&B acts in addition to Naomi being more rooted in the smooth soul side of things rather than Imani’s own style varying between contemporary & alternative R&B to dance-pop.

Score: 3.5/5

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Babystaydown – “Lil Yae” review

Here is the 3rd & potentially final studio LP from Athens, Georgia recording artist Babystaydown. Somebody who already has 16 EPs under his belt including PL Top Recruits, 1,350, Drugz Sex & Money and it’s sequel, 17, Genesis, his Cegular Records/Sony Music debut Hate da Way Um Livin, Saint, Pain Before Pleasure, Chief 13, Aimai, I.L.M.F. (I Love My Friends), ##Kool ##Kat & the Lost Files duology. Coming off his full-length debut album Born Anew as well as his sophomore effort Art of War & his most recent EP I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) to drop the introspective Lil Yae.

“Mob Boss” opens up with this stunning plugg intro produced by Whyceg depicting imagery of the gangsta life whereas “Dirty Diana” works in this lovely woodwind from Traiqo talking about refusing to take his time because he’s gotta get it. “Free4nixkk” hops over another Whyceg instrumental admitting that he’s been doing everything he can lately leading into “Hate” talking about getting outside of the ghetto on top of a predominantly bare piano.

Whyceg sticks around behind the boards for “Magnolia” so Babystaydown can discuss being ready for his demise since he lives like a soldier while the atmospheric “That’s Just Life” talks about responding to those asking of his wellbeing that he’s been merely alright. “Van Cleef” concludes the 1st half expressing his confusion of being compared to other artists over more delightful Whyceg beats prior to “Energy” spaciously beginning the 2nd leg understanding his bitch not standing him because he’s fucked inside the head.

“Monogamy” finds Cade helping Whyceg carry over the cloudy elements detailing a relationship where an ex-girlfriend of staydown’s claimed to love no one else but him while “Baby Haitian” exuberantly talks about him schemin’ throughout the course of an entire night. “Strange” leans back towards the cloudier side of things stating they hate him now he’s rich while “2 Feet” talks about looking around & seeing a bunch of rich people in the same room he’s in.

The song “Bygones” winds down Lil Yae’s final moments with combining this dreamy backdrop & skittering hi-hats looking to bust shots at anyone who tries to jump him while “Fake Love” hits us with 1 last Whyceg instrumental talking about the Draco turning his opps into angel dust. The closing track “White Keys” officially sends off the album him spending $10K on made him realize how serious his career’s been starting to become.

Almost a couple weeks earlier, Babystaydown took to social media to say that 2026 will be his final year making music because of people spewing fuck shit out their mouths & I hope that isn’t the case considering Lil Yae would be placed on the same pedestal Art of War was 7 months earlier. He rocks the mic by himself similarly to I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) & the production’s less rage-inducing than the last full-length although the 46% of it Whyceg handles provides the half hour’s most enjoyable collection of pop rap, plugg, cloud rap & trap.

Score: 4/5

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Jon Connor – “The Artist Yahn Freeman V” review

Flint, Michigan emcee/producer Jon Connor switching things up for this month’s entry in The Artist Yahn Freeman series. Someone who’s steadily been holding it down for the last 2 decades including The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. trilogies along with the Best in the World series paying homage to some of Jon’s influences, Salvation, While You Were Sleeping & Unconscious State. He was even signed to Aftermath Entertainment for 6 years before departing after Vehicle City wound up being shelved, coming off Food for the Soul & 24 produced by KLC of the No Limit Records in-house production team Beats by the Pound to have iRockSays produce this guest-heavy installment.

“High Key” begins with a trap intro talking about hoes needing a streamer to tell them exactly what their mother & grandfather have been saying since their youth whereas “I Get’s Down” discusses being born in a system where they’re trying to fuck everyone over. Courtney Bell appears so he & Jon can take things back to “The Essence” over a soulful beat leading into Freeway joining to talk about both of them only having their balls & “My Word”.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “Stay Up” has a more motivational tone to the lyrics explaining that you’re always gonna lose pretending to be someone you’re not while “Glory” talks about everything being ok as long as he never quits. “Held High” featuring X-Raided unites both artist over another boom bap instrumental refusing to lose focus & fearing nobody while “At the Top” ends V encouraging everyone listening to enjoy the journey.

This whole saga has been divisively received by fans in general although I personally would tell you that last month’s chapter still has the strongest engineering compared to the rest, but I didn’t get the same enjoyment out of The Artist Yahn Freeman V compared to it’s predecessors produced by Smitti Boi. I commend him for bringing a new producer & more features on board, even if the amount of features are too many.

Score: 3/5

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Peysoh – “BastardChild” review

Brand new LP & the 4th overall from Maywood, California recording artist Peysoh. Introducing himself 4 years ago already with the debut single “6 Block”, he would later sign to EMPIRE Distribution for his full-length debut Ghetto Journal at the beginning of 2022 in addition to a sophomore effort Get Rich or Life Sliding the next summer. Peysoh Did It following an appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX was great although FinallyFed proved to be disappointingly mediocre, returning for a description of his experiences as a BastardChild only 24 hours away from Rey Fénix ending the Laredo Kid’s 2nd reign as AAA Mundial Crucero Campeon to become a 2-time champion himself as well as El Hijo Del Vikingo ending El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.’s reign as AAA Latinamericano Campeon & former 3-time WWE tag team champions The War Raiders becoming the new AAA Mundial Parejas Campeons at Noches de Los Grandes.

“EvilEastSide” opens with this 97 second intro spittin’ gangsta raps over a g-funk instrumental whereas the title track talks about his self-awareness of living wrong in a previous life. “Star” featuring Lefty Gunplay finds the 2 linking up to discuss having to be in court the next morning, but then “GangTats” featuring Blueface made for one of the weaker collaborations on here despite it’s bouncy beat although Peysoh had the better performances.

The Game makes up for it by appearing on “Don’t Play At All” talking about how neither of them fuck around & embracing a more nervous vibe instrumentally leading into “GunSmoke” tapping back into the gangsta rap side of things lyrically & bringing back the g-funk elements. “Retail” kicks off the 2nd half of the full-length speaks of mixing the peach smell with smoking dead opps while “Conejos” talks about the gangsta lifestyle once more.

“I Ain’t Trippen” featuring Young Aktive decently brings both artists together not sweatin’ over the envious trying to kill them while “I’m Worse” incorporates elements of nervous music to once more talking about being quick to bust shots unlike these other rappers. “- 1 Opp” featuring MemoTheMafioso joins forces to each drop verses over a nervous piano beat & the main artist coming out on top but after “HatedBeinBroke” reflects on his hardships, the outro “Hairs Gettin’ White” featuring Mozzy ends on a pleasantly atmospheric note.

A huge reason that I felt like FinallyFed was a letdown mainly boiled down to the excessive guest appearances & I give Peysoh his props for diminishing the amount of them during the BastardChild sessions even if only half stood out. Not to say I don’t believe this was an improvement over it’s predecessor last summer because it very much is whether it’s the nervous/g-funk production or the Maywood allowing more room for himself to grow.

Score: 3.5/5

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