Eto – “The Beauty of It” review

This is the 4th full-length album from Rochester emcee Eto. I first caught wind of him in 2018 with his feature on Westside Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes VI mixtape, but his DJ Muggs-produced debut Hell’s Roof that dropped a few months later would catch my full attention. This was followed up with Long Story Short & Front Row later that same year but for The Beauty of It, he’s decided to switch it up by bringing a handful of well-known producers into the fold.

The album begins with the title track, where Eto delivers a short yet raw verse over a haunting instrumental. The next song “No” with Grafh sees the 2 getting ferocious over a boom bap beat from a piano loop while the track “Nothin’ Like You” a luscious instrumental. “The Pot” gets on the mob boss tip over a dark Alchemist instrumental & after the short yet vicious “Guilty” interlude produced by Daringer, the song “Rusty Stainless” with Rome Streetz sees the 2 showing off their sharp lyricism over an chilling Statik Selektah beat.

The track “Growing Pains” talks about feeling like shit over a gloomy boom bap beat while the song “Beloved” displays his storytelling abilities over a spooky Marco Polo instrumental. The track “Metal Lords” with the Heavy Metal Kings finds the 3 talking about how they’re taking over the game over a cinematic beat & after the flute-heavy “Innocence” interlude, the song “Lawless” with $ha Hef sees the 2 talking about how people are just that over a hypnotic vocal sample.

The track “Anybody” talks about death over a forlorn piano-loop whereas “No Reply” seems awkwardly out of place & I say that because Jai Black is taking up a good bulk of the song with very little Eto presence whatsoever. The track “Pissin’ in Bottles” talks about partying over a slow instrumental from DJ Green Lantern & then after the short yet emotional “Purpose” interlude, “Back to the BBQ” is an odd way of closing out the album especially since Eto is once again barely on it. However, Large Professor does show that he can still cook up some grimy beats in 2020.

I personally think Hell’s Roof is his magnum opus but if you wanna get into the guy, The Beauty of It really isn’t a bad place to start either. Some of the features were weak but outside of that, the production choices are mostly top notch & Eto’s manages to come through with some of his most personal material yet.

Score: 3.5/5

$crim – “A Man Rose from the Dead” review

$crim is a 31 year old rapper & producer New Orleans, Louisiana known for being 1/2 of the $uicideboy$. The duo has been impeccably consistent since their formation in 2013, but it seems like we’re finally getting solo efforts from them with the youngest of the 2 being the first at bat.

The album begins with “Delusions of Grandeur”, where $crim vents about how he can’t tell what’s real & fake over a cloudy trap beat. The next song “Scars” gets on the more melodic side of things opening up about his depression while the track “Jesus Wept” is a bombastic moshpit starter. The song “Naloxone” depressingly speaks on his drug use with some heavy auto-tune in his voice while the track “Feel It Too (It’s Too Much)” talks about how this woman left him hurt & I really love how hard the drums hit on here.

The song “Tell Me When I’m Good Enough” stays on the theme of being heartbroken over a weary beat while the track “He Got Game” finds $crim bragging over a psychedelic instrumental. The song “Portola (Blood Clot!)” robotically talks about feeling delirious over a solemn instrumental while the track “El Paseo” sings about getting rowdy over a surprisingly tropical instrumental.

The song “Nightmares from the Northside” is of course a nod to the iconic Juicy J cut “Soldiers from the Northside” down to the dynamic production while the track “Euphoria Euphoria” gets back on the drug use tip over a nightly instrumental. The song “Violent Secrets” is a lifeless love tune while the track “Side Effects” discusses how it’s lonely at the top over a bland instrumental. The song “Carcosa” talks about self-destructing over a dull instrumental while the track “Fight Club (Psychosis)” gets murderous over a bass-heavy beat.

The song “Percocets & Papers” talks about being high over a skeletal instrumental while the track “PTSD” talks about living lies over a trap beat with some decent guitar passages. The song “El Guerro” is another riot starter while the penultimate track “The Devil I Know” gets back on the lifeless heartbreak bullshit. The album finishes with “Lost Child”, where $crim talks about how he just wants to smile over a dreary beat.

Coming from someone who’s been following $uicideboy$ for quite a while now, what a disappointment. I don’t mind the overall sound, but $crim’s singing on a good bulk of this album is pretty bad & the auto-tune doesn’t help at all. Also I appreciate the fact that he wanted to it to be all him & all him only, but the lack of features really make it monotonously boring.

Score: 2/5

Fatt Father – “King Father” review

Fatt Father is an emcee from Detroit, Michigan who came up as a member of the world famous Fat Killahz. He eventually started building a solo discography in the mid/late 2000s with projects like Tales of the Childless Father, his eponymous full-length debut, You Are the Father!, Fatherly Advice (The Legend Of James Evans Sr.) & Fatherhood. Last we heard from him was in 2016 with Veteran’s Day but with his Middle Finger Music debut Soccer Dad on the way, he’s preluding it with his 4th full-length album.

After the “Defined” intro, we dive straight into the first song “King Talk”. Where Fatts reclaims the throne over a rowdy boom bap beat from Blizzard. The next track “We Go Hard” with DJ Oreeyo is a father/son cut about how no one can do it like them over an infectiously rhythmic instrumental while the song “Look At Me Now” talks about the person he has become over a wavy beat from Marv Won. The track “Growth” speaks on his evolution over a sorrowful instrumental while the song “When It Goes Down” with Sugarae & A-Minus sees the 3 talking about throwing hands over a rugged instrumental.

The track “Bundle Up” talks about being prepared for whatever over a melancholic instrumental while the song “Burn Sumthin'” comes through with some menacing battle bars over a settle yet bleak instrumental. The track “Ok Wit That” brushes off his haters over a moody instrumental while the song “Old Future” with Isaac Castor sees the 2 talking venting about their stresses over a despairing boom bap beat from Foul Mouth. The penultimate track “Dreamin'” with Finale & Quelle Chris finds the 3 getting on the conscious tip over a preachy instrumental that enhances the mood fantastically & then there’s the closer “Keep Living”, which talks about looking forward to better days over a calming instrumental.

Fathero made a pretty solid comeback on here if you ask me. Could’ve been a little bit longer as it only runs at about 34 minutes but it’s mature, he sounds refreshed & really does manage to remind us all of his rightful place in the Detroit hip hop scene as one of the city’s most skilled MCs. Can’t wait to see where he & Foul Mouth take it next on Soccer Dad.

Score: 3.5/5

Ramirez – “Tha Playa$ Manual” review

Ramirez is a 22 year old MC from San Francisco, California who you may recognize for being the very 1st artist that the $uicideboy$ ever signed to G*59 Record$. Joining his mentors for the G.R.E.Y.G.O.D.S. collab EP & it’s sequel, he would make his full-length debut at the beginning of 2016 off Meet Me Where the River Turns Greyfollowed by The Grey Gorilla & Son of Serpentine. For his 4th studio album however, he’s recruiting Virginia producer Rocci to produce the whole entire thing top to bottom.

After the intro, the first song “Lane Switching”opens with a cloudy yet funky ode to the playas giving middle fingers to the perpetrators whereas “Hunnids” kinda has a Memphis influence to the beat talking about having all the shit that everyone else doesn’t have. “Gold Thangs & Pinky Rangs (Da Hooptie)” featuring Pouya & Shakewell takes the g-funk route for the trio offering fine wine & necklaces instead of money until the moody “Brown Eyes” featuring Rocci finds the pair looking to steal hoes.

“Lavender Lust” after the “Radio” skit is pretty much Rocci singing over a funky instrumental for a minute asking if his romantic interest loves him back just before “Glitter & Gold” gets back on the g-funk vibes to include a dope ass 士セーラームーン reference early during the first verse. “The Fo 5” radiates a bit of a cavernous feel to the beat making way for Ramirez to talk about murder just before “Lead Sled” keeps his head up in the rain with an instrumental harking back to the west coast sound of the 90s.

Moving on from there, “Out da Way” homages the Memphis scene again talking about feeling some type of way as of late while “Tales from da Guttah fuses gangsta rap with trap & dirty south repping G*59 until his body turns grey. After the “Ebony Wood Stock” interlude with a 35 second verse during the backend of it, “Red Dot” featuring Night Lovell ahead of the outro sends off Tha Playa$ Manual with both of them leavin’ people in critical condition by putting bullets through their domes.

The most sonically expansive project that we’ve ever gotten from Ramirez to this day will arguably become the greatest musical opus in the history of the G*59 Record$ discography. Rocci’s production is heavily driven by the g-funk sound that shaped Death Row Records approximately 3 decades ago further drawing inspiration from Memphis rap, trap, hip hop soul, pop rap, phonk, contemporary R&B & the dirty south combined in a smoothly manner with the west coast artist’s gangsta themes.

Score: 4.5/5

Ouija Macc – “Resistance II: Hell’s Holotape” review

This is the 3rd mixtape from Las Vegas, Nevada rapper Ouija Macc. After the Insane Clown Posse took Ouija under their wing & signed him to their label Psychopathic Records in 2017, Ouija’s full-length debut Gutterwater that came out the following year saw him putting his own spin on the SoundCloud aesthetics & has consistently been grinding since with videos as well as mixtapes like Waterdamage & Resistance: The Walk to Wasteland. But with his sophomore album Wasteland on the way, Ouija is preluding it with a sequel to Resistance & is enlisting longtime collaborator Devereaux to produce it in it’s entirety once again.

The tape kicks off with “Wake Up!”, where Ouija Macc talks his shit over some creepy yet vibrant production. The next song “Fall Thru da Floor” is a bombastic crowd mover while the track “Skin” pretty much gets suicidal over a cavernous trap beat. The song “Platinum Skeletons” talks about having a lot over a ghostly beat while the track “All Blue” of course shows off his racks over an unsettling instrumental.

The song “Poison” gets back on the suicide tip over a misanthropic instrumental while the track “Open Wide” finds Ouija bragging so charmingly on top of a perilous beat. The song “Do the Math” once again talks about his wealth over a nocturnal beat while the track “Princess Ouija” talks about being a demon as well as “the biggest piece of shit of them all” over a gruesome instrumental.

The song “Therapist” is a psychotic trap metal fusion that actually works a lot better than “Dead Diary” off the first Resistance did while “Da Plague” gets apocalyptic over a lethargic beat. The song “Stain” is an absolutely flawless moshpit starter while the track “Sorted” talks about how he had suffered in the past & that he had to figure it out paranormal-sounding instrumental.

The song “Put It Down” talks about how he can’t stop now over an instrumental with a hypnotically dismal atmosphere to it while the track “Discuss Me (Disgust Me)” is him saying he wouldn’t be here today if he cared what others say about him over a trap beat with a prominently somber piano loop. The penultimate track “Die Alone” talks about how he doesn’t want leave Earth with no one by his side over a demented yet roomy beat & then the tape ends with “Where I Belong”, where Ouija talks about being happy with the place he’s at currently over a mystical trap beat.

To me, Resistance II is just as great as it’s predecessor. Ouija Macc’s songwriting has gotten more catchier with each new project he puts out & the sound palates that Devereaux brings to the table continue to fit his lyrics like a glove. Really looking forward to see what both of these guys do next on Wasteland.

Score: 4/5

Drake – “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” review

Drake is a 33 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & entrepreneur from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who blew up in 2009 with his breakout mixtape So Far Gone. The success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records, who put out the man’s full-length debut Thank Me Later the following year. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic & then his Young Money/Cash Money swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop & R&B sides of his music respectively. He managed to put out a decent collection of loosies last summer called Care Package & with his 6th full-length album coming this summer, we’re getting a prelude mixtape outta nowhere.

Things start off with “Deep Pockets”, where Drake talks about how his crew is rollin’ now over a trippy instrumental from 40 & Plain Pat. The next song “When to Say When” charismatically brags over a Bobby Glenn sample while the “Chicago Freestyle” asks a woman to meet him by The Bean over an ethereal beat. The track “Not You Too” with Chris Brown talks about being backstabbed over a cavernous instrumental that later switches into something more synth-heavy about halfway through while the song “Toosie Slide” is a trite & annoying TikTok anthem.

The track “Desires” with Future sees the 2 talking about women over a generically cloudy beat & even though the lyrics on “Time Flies” don’t sit well with me personally, the instrumental is just impeccably alluring. “Landed” finds Drizzy flexing as Cardo backs him up with what could possibly be my favorite instrumental on the entire project while the song “D4L” with Future & Young Thug is pretty much a dedication to all 3 of the artists’ respectively self-owned record labels OVO Sound, Freebandz Entertainment & YSL Records backed with an aggressive Southside beat.

The track “Pain 1993” with Playboi Carti sees the 2 getting materialistic over some signature Pi’erre Bourne production while the song “Losses” talks about losing this woman to the game over a more smooth instrumental. “From Florida with Love” asks this chick if she really has love for him over an intoxicating MexikoDro beat while the song “Demons” gets with Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek for some surface level shit-talking, but I love the angelic vocals in the background. The closer “War” then goes full-on UK Drill & it’s just unbelievably awful.

Pretty boring overall & that really shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point. Granted it’s a lot shorter than More Life & Scorpion as it only runs at 50 minutes but the instrumentals are mediocre, the songwriting is & the guest are either hit or miss. The album can’t be worse though.

Score: 2/5