Boondox – “So Much Blood” review

This is the 6th EP from Covington, Georgia emcee Boondox. Coming up as 1/3 of the trio Southern Hustlas Inc. under the moniker Turncoat Dirty, he would go on to sign with Psychopathic Records in 2005 following the release of his debut EP Dama Blanca & remained under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing for about a decade putting out his first 4 albums along with his 2nd EP PunkinHed through the infamous Detroit label that runs beneath the streets. Former label-mates Twiztid then brought the Killer Scarecrow on board over at Majik Ninja Entertainment in the winter of 2016, whom he’s still signed to today. Last time we heard from Boondox was last summer with the 7-produced Cryptodirt EP that Mobstyle Music backed with the help of MNE & is now ringing in the fall 4 days early in the form of So Much Blood after his Astronomicon appearance this past spring.

After the titular intro, the first song “Prey for Me” is a demented opener produced by Fritz the Cat with some rock undertones talking about being unable to pray for those who be hoping on his downfall whereas “A Beautiful Death” dives into trap territory thanks to MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 pondering how he ends up in the situations he gets himself into. “Re-Animator” works in some more rock undertones expressing that he wants something real while the song “Devil’s Due” returns to the trap talking about possession. The penultimate track “Open Vein” has a bit of a boom bap flare to it admitting that he feels alive committing murders & “Gravely Ill” ends the EP with a heinous trap banger about falling asleep in the cemetery.

In comparison to the heavy gangsta rap themes of Cryptodirt about 13 months ago now, So Much Blood finds Boondox returning to the wicked shit just in time for the Autumn Equinox next Thursday. Lyrically, the killer scarecrow sounds more vicious than ever with 7 & Fritz’ production excellently honing in on a darker sound to help bring these gruesome tales to life.

Score: 4/5

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H.A.R.D. – “Harbor City” review

This is the sophomore album from hardcore hip hop super-duo H.A.R.D. a.k.a. the Housing Authority Rap District. Consisting of Joell Ortiz & KXNG CROOKED, both these guys had notorious label issues at the start of their careers only to see success as members of the supergroup Slaughterhouse along with Royce da 5’9” & Joe Budden from the late 2000s up until the mid-2010s. The quartet had quietly disbanded in 2016 after Joe’s retirement from making music even though it wasn’t confirmed until 2 years later, but the other 3 members have been keeping themselves busy ever since. H.A.R.D. introduced themselves a couple months after the pandemic hit with an incredible eponymous debut EP followed by their full-length debut The Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse earlier this spring. But as the 3rd quarter of the year draws to a close in a couple weeks, Crook & Joell are taking the world through Harbor City.

After the “Rookie’s 1st Dead Body” intro, the first song “Heat Wave” kicks off the album with a gospel-tinged instrumental to get into their hardcore bag whereas “Welcome to Harbor City” takes a more airier route thanks to DJ Silk talking about the titular California location. “Energy” works in a deadpan beat to describe how they walked out of the projects, but then “Drip Club” fuses a piano & a hi-hat for a party anthem.

Meanwhile on “Holy Water”, we have H.A.R.D. officer a flute-heavy trap instrumental talking about having permission to take a higher road leading into AZ tagging along for “Vibrate Higher” over some crooning boom bap production provided by The Heatmakerz dodging all the bullshit. “Brooklyn” is a rock-flavored Joell solo cut paying tribute to one of the biggest cities in NY & after the “BK LB Blend” interlude, “Community Center” blends some strings & congo drums reflecting on the days where you used to find them.

“Long Beach Blvd.” is of course a rugged KXNG CROOKED solo joint talking about his neck of the woods while “Pawnshop Jewelry” shoots for a jazzier aesthetic bragging that they have a waterfall full of diamonds. After the “Officer Pirelli Schools the Rookie” interlude, “911” has a more chaotic vibe airing out the biggest gang in America while “1-800-Get-Hard” & “Stop Playin’ with Kim” are 2 skits going up back-to-back with each other.Continuing from there with “Don’t Forget About Her”, H.A.R.D. jumps on top of a high-pitched sample vividly describing a woman who’s unforgettable while “Dead Body” following the “Nahdeadassyo” interlude ghoulishly paints the image of a corpse floating besides themselves.

After the “Pirelli Doesn’t Like Us!” interlude, “Underground” is a soulful Yaowa solo cut talking about getting what you gotta get & staying clear while the track “Ocean Terminal” with Lin-Manuel Miranda dives into calmer yet melodic territory providing inspirational lyricism. And prior to the “Who Shot Ya?” outro, “Game Over” is a gully finisher calling for everyone to quit snitching on themselves.

Now if you loved H.A.R.D.’s self-titled EP & their full-length debut like I did as someone who was a big fan of Slaughterhouse back in my teen years, then you’re gonna wanna check Harbor City out because it’s their 3rd consecutive banger together. I think the production on here is a bit better than Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse, but I do admire that they took it back to the basics of self-titled as far as lyricism goes & I like how they bring in more features than they did on their earlier work. Also, I feel like the amount of “commercials” & “dialogues” were a bit excessive.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mo$tWanted – “L.A. Zoo” review

This is the 2nd EP from up-&-coming Los Angeles emcee Mo$tWanted. Emerging in the spring of 2020 off his full-length debut Flesh of West, he would go on to follow it up with his last EP Mentally iLL alongside his last 2 albums ‘Till Heaven Land & Divine Timing. But as he pr pares to open for Conway the Machine in November, it most certainly intrigued me enough to the point where I had to give L.A. Zoo over here a listen

“L.A. Zoo Troopn’” opens things up with a trap instrumental & Mo$tWanted rapping about the streets recruiting more soldiers at a young age whereas “Can I Hit It?” is a more melodic cut with heavy auto-tune & a bit of a skeletal beat getting romantic. “Step on ‘Em” however goes into hyphy turf talking about having his foot on their necks prior to “600 East” returning to the trap sound discussing never switching up.

Continuing with “Live Grenades”, we have Mo$tWanted sliding for his killers on top of a spacious instrumental with some hi-hats while the song “Way That They Made Me” is a piano-trap cut detailing the exact cloth that he was cut from. The penultimate track “Grateful” has a more personal tone to it lyrically expressing his gratitude with an instrumental that has a bit of a psychedelic flare to it & “Mob Talks in the Mirror” is an acoustic/trap closer with the title saying it all as far as subject matter goes.

If y’all not up on this guy by now, then L.A. Zoo would be an ideal place to start because this has gotta be the most well-crafted body of his so far. The trap/hyphy production is cold & I give him all the credit in the world for taking the listeners through his mind with vicious vernacular & witty wordplay touching on the highs & lows of this crazy thing that we call life.

Score: 3.5/5

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WRLD Tour Mafia – “Tourmania” review

These guys are a group from Detroit, Michigan consisting of DaeMoney, Rafa, WTM Miles, WTM Re & WTM Solid. They originally formed in 2019 & dropped their debut mixtape World Tour Mafia or Die last summer to positive reception. But with the Mafia’s popularity continuing to grow as well as Scoob departing the group not too long ago & even the 1-year anniversary of their collective debut passing by a few weeks back, they’re continuing to move forward by putting out a sophomore tape.

“Gang Gang Gang” is a suspenseful opener talking about taking over your city & “running through them thangs like Reggie Bush” whereas “This It Right Here” detailing the lifestyles that they live on top of some gnarly piano chords, snares & a hi-hat. “Final 4” works in some strings & bells talking about making money instead of chasing it prior to the formidable “Backdoor Open” produced by LulRose warning to extort anyone who even thinks about fucking with them.

Continuing from there with “Stamped on Me”, we have the Mafia over a horn-laced instrumental talking about how turnt they are leading into “Halloween” samples the main title theme of the iconic 1978 horror masterpiece of the same name spitting some vivid gangsta raps. GT comes into the picture for “Demon” blending some keys & hi-hats together to deliver braggodio for a couple minutes just before the thunderous “Or Die” talks about representing ‘til the casket drops.

“Good Game” has a more angelic tone to the beat explaining that not being afraid of taking risks is the reason why they’re loaded on paper while “Re Birthday” with Lucki weaves some synthesizers to declare themselves as the chosen ones. “Oink Girl (Tour Girl)” is basically a hoe anthem with a blaring instrumental, but then Veeze tags along for “Construction” returning to daunting territory talking about dropping $700 on a hoodie with paint on it.

Meanwhile on “Erotic City”, the Mafia & Babyface Ray manages to sample one of my all-time favorite Prince songs boasting that they “really doing it” with the ambitious “For the Kids” strives to be rich for their families over some pianos & the hi-hats here are just rattling off like machine guns. The hypnotizing vibes of “Money Power Respect” are a nice touch expressing the amount of all 3 of the titular things to be increased while “No Timeouts” brings a more fraughting tone talking about how everyone wants the style now.

“Welcome to the Vault” has a bit of a rickety quality to the drums fused with some piano chords promising to change bitches’ lives while the song “Get Influenced” confesses over a wavy Carlo Anthony beat that they don’t even sweat about those taking inspiration from them. The rubbery penultimate track “Lethal Weapon” finds the crew cautioning to lay out anyone who dares to step up to them & “Backend” is a gripping closer talking about being the fuckin’ mob.

Now if Tourmania proves anything to me, it’s that the WRLD Tour Mafia is amongst one of the best groups in the city right now. Their chemistry as a unit remains as strong as it’s ever been even with Scoob’s departure, the production compared to the last tape being more distinct & the performances from the very few features that they bring with them for the ride are more consistent.

Score: 4/5

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Black Soprano Family Records – “Long Live DJ Shay” review

This is the 2nd showcase compilation from Buffalo independent hip hop label Black Soprano Family Records. Founded in 2016 by Benny the Butcher of Griselda fame, the roster has significantly grown throughout the years with the likes of Duffel Bag Hottie to Rick Hyde & even battle rap icon RJ Payne. The label has maintained a distribution deal with MNRK Music Group since everything was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic a couple summers back & put out an eponymous debut EP hosted by DJ Drama not too long after, but is following it up in the form of Long Live DJ Shay.

The intro kicks it all off with a sinister boom bap instrumental from the late DJ Shay himself & Fuego Base popping in during the last minute or so after a spoken word piece from Westside Gunn going at B$F’s opposition whereas “Shay Face” by Benny & Rick Hyde works in some piano chords to remind everyone of their authenticity. “297 Parkside” by Elcamino, Rick & Stove God Cook$ brings a high-pitched sample to the fold thanks to Camoflauge Monk paying homage to the titular street in NY prior to “Danger Zone” by Heem, O.T. the Real & Ricky grimly talking about spending many nights in the titular space.

Meanwhile on “Pandemic Flow”, we have Conway the Machine & Cory Gunz accompanying Rick Hyde over some spooky Uncle Al production to brag how crazy they go leading into the Heem solo cut “Bastard Child” declaring himself as such over a flute-tinged boom bap beat. After the “Sit Down with Preemo” skit, Benny returns alongside Heem & Ricky for the dusty “Times is Rough” laced by none other than DJ Premier confessing they’re running out of reasons to sympathize just before “Mustachios” by Boldy James, Chase Fetti & Heem brings a guitar & hi-hats into the fold talking about the mafia lifestyles they live.

“Li-Lo” by Elcamino, Krayzie Bone & Loveboat Luciano comes through with a summery love anthem that Ill Tone helped put together & the song “Bigger B$F” by Armani Caesar, Benny, Heem & Rick following the “Respect to Shay” interlude sees the quartet ruggedly bragging about their increasing profile. The penultimate track “Brody” by Elcamino & Heem has a more soulful tone to it confessing that the streets made them who they are today with “Mr. Pyrex Man” by Benny ending the album with a glistening trap instrumental spitting that hustler shit.

If you enjoyed the self-titled EP that B$F put out a couple years ago, then you’re probably gonna like Long Live DJ Shay even more. The production has improved, everyone on the label roster sounds even hungrier than last time, the features are all well-picked out for a good majority of the album & I think it would all make Shay more than proud.

Score: 3.5/5

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Cappadonna – “3rd Chamber Grail Bars” review

Cappadonna is a 53 year old MC from New York City notable for being a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan since the mid/late 90s. His verse on “Winter Warz” is still regarded by many to this day to be one of the greatest verses in hip hop history & as much as I love his criminally underrated solo debut The Pillage, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say with all respect that his solo discography since has been nothing short of inconsistent ranging to be mediocre at best & complete trash at worst. But when it was announced that underground veteran Stu Bangas was going behind the boards for Cappa’s 15th album right here, my expectations for it were very high considering that Stu has been on a ROLL for the past few years now producing projects for the likes of Ill Bill & Recognize Ali only to name a couple.

After the intro, the first song “Bring It Out” sets it all off with some braggadocio on top of some suspenseful boom bap production whereas “Get Lost” takes a more solemn route talking about how the Wu’s the hardest team. After the “Discovery” interlude, Celph Titled tags along for the horn-laced “Toss the Blick” to get on their hardcore shit just before “How We Rolling” dives into more playful turf talking about a fun night out.

Meanwhile on “Continuous Threat”, we have Planet Asia accompanying Cappa over a keyboard-driven boom bap instrumental spitting some lethal battle raps leading into Sick Jacken coming into the picture for the dusty “Everything is Measured” talking about how fly both of them are. The track “No Fake Dreads” following the “Redemption” interlude works in some more horns to get that bread & prior to the outro, the final song “Tryna Survive” with Ill Bill ends the album on an uncanny note talking about life in the projects.

All 3 of the singles that Cappa has dropped throughout the summer had me anticipating 3rd Chamber Grail Bars to be amongst his best solo albums yet & not only did it achieve that status, but it’s also my favorite project to come out of the Wu-Tang Clan anthology this year. Stu Bangas’ production is a breath of fresh air compared to most of Cappa’s output post-The Pillage & lyrically, he reminds everyone exactly who the fuck he is.

Score: 4/5

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Madopelli – “No Bluffin’” review

Madopelli is a California City-based duo consisting of M.A.D & Ant Dog. The pair have gone on to drop a full-length debut as well as a couple of mixtapes & EPs ever since forming in 2016, with the last being Everybody’s Poison about a year & a half ago at this point. However after signing to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz this past spring, they’re returning with a sophomore effort backed by the Denver horrorcore powerhouse.

The title track is a trap-laced opener talking about buying themselves straps first thing in the morning with a raspy ass hook whereas “Shoot for the Stars” aggressively disses all of those who said they’ll never make it as far as they have with some great back & forth delivery. Lex the Hex Master tags along for the boom bap-laced “Perfect Chaos” talking about being on the roll, but then The Gorefather himself Scum comes into the picture for the haunting “Snuff Anthem” repping their crew.

Meanwhile on “Straight to the Underground”, we have Madopelli confessing the demons inside taking control of them over an atmospheric instrumental just before “Time is Lost” talking about that being the reason why they be looking up to a killa & the sample throughout is incredibly unique to me. “War is Coming” fuses trap with rock for a couple minutes ready for smoke leading into “Time to Ride” works in an organ talking about fucking the game up.

Insane Poetry accompanies the duo for the eldritch “A Killer’s Diary” getting in their wicked shit back prior to the song “Falling Off” has a more fiery flare to it talking about not taking any Ls anytime soon. The stripped back trap banger penultimate track “We Up Next” finds the duo celebrating the fact that it’s all from here & “Mission Complete” brings the organs back for 1 last hurrah talking about being known to rock stages time & time again.

If you haven’t heard these guys by now, then PLEASE give No Bluffin’ a listen because it’s another reminder of the amazing run that LSP’s been having this year. The production that M.A.D & Tilli Mack cook up together is some of their craziest thus with the lyricism from the duo rightfully sounding ready to take on the world lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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ΠΔV – “Demons Protected by Angels” review

ΠΔV is 32 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who came to my attention in 2016 after signing to The Weeknd’s very own Republic Records imprint X♥O Records & his verse/production on “beibs in the trap” off of Travis Scott’s sophomore effort Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. Even though the first brown boy to get it poppin’ has dropped a total of 3 full-lengths along with a 5 mixtapes & an EP since, I think that it’s been made pretty clear that I personally haven’t been the biggest fan of ΠΔV’s music up to this point. Primarily because of his robotic delivery, insipid lyrics & generic production choices (especially on Reckless & Bad Habits). However I did find the Wheezy-produced Emergency Tsunami to be ΠΔV’s best work to date, albeit not by much. I also think he’s always been a pretty solid producer so when I found out he was gonna return behind the boards for his 4th album over here, it definitely had me intrigued.

“Count on Me” is a psychedelic opener produced by Mike Dean talking about self-trust whereas “Baby” takes a more symphonic route thanks to Boi-1da telling his girl to relax & play her part. Lil Uzi Vert tags along for “Dead Shot” comparing themselves to that of the DC Comics villain of the same name over an uninteresting Pro Logic instrumental, but then Lil Baby & Travis Scott come into the picture for synth-trap hybrid “Never Sleep”laced by Tay Keith talking about building their respective legacies.

Continuing from there with “Last of the Mohicans”, we have ΠΔV over a cloudy beat asking God to protect him & asking why he took Lil Keed this past spring prior to the Future-assisted “1 Time” coming through with an intoxicating Wheezy instrumental talking about smashing bitches. BenjiCold brings a rage vibe to “Demons in My Cup” resolving his problems with lean just before “Playa” with Gunna has a more meditative flare to it boasting.

“Weirdo” shoots for a more woozier aesthetic talking about your favorite rapper winking at him whenever he speaks while “My Dawg” with Lil Durk has an aquatic vibe to the beat discussing loyalty. “Don’t Compare” dives into more heady turf talking about giving his girl the real him while “Interstellar” with Uzi weaves some wailing synths into the fold saying everything they do invasive.

Meanwhile on “Loaded”, ΠΔV jumps over a rich trap beat bragging that all of his pocket have exploded while RealestK gives us the weakest feature on the album on “Lost Me” despite the piano instrumental & themes of betraying one’s trust. “Reset” with Bryson Tiller is of course a decent trap/R&B fusion expressing their desires to start their relationships from scratch while “Mismatch” with the current King of Detroit himself Babyface Ray finds the 2 over dense Wheezy production asking not to be judged for their past.

The song “Wrong Decisions” was another solid choice for a single with it’s cloudy instrumental & it’s subject matter detailing the cons of fame while the penultimate track “Destiny” keeps the spacious beats coming talking about being who he was meant to become. “Ball in Peace” however is maybe the best closing track of a ΠΔV project yet, as it serves as a heart-wrenching tribute to his homie jayxxclusive3 that passed away earlier this year.

Although I’m a little disappointed that it’s not primarily self-produced like he originally said it was gonna be because ΠΔV’s always been a great producer in my eyes, Demons Protected by Angels is a surprisingly decent listen & quite possibly his most consistent body of work thus far. The songwriting is getting better, he sounds less robotic & more human than he did on a lot of his earlier work, the production’s more detailed & almost every feature comes correct also. Fingers-crossed that he’ll continue to improve from here.

Score: 2.5/5

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Yeat – “Lyfë” review

Yeat is a 22 year old rapper from Portland, Oregon who out in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips. This was followed up with 2 mixtapes & 3 more EPs, but he began dominating the mainstream in 2021 whether it be him dropping a total of 4 projects (2 mixtapes, an EP & a full-length debut) or cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He just dropped his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë under Geffen Records during the first quarter of 2022 & is commemorating the 1-year anniversary of Up 2 Më this weekend by dropping his 3rd mixtape following the huge success of “Rich Minion” earlier this summer.

“Flawlëss” is an otherworldly trap opener produced by BNYX of Working on Dying with Yeat on the hook & a sole Lil Uzi Vert verse boasting their lifestyles whereas “Up off X” dives into rage territory talking about being wide awake at night due to taking ecstasy. “Out thë Way” has a more calmer vibe to it declaring himself to be the baddest, but then “Wat it feel lykë” works in some wailing synths & hi-hats to diss rats.

Meanwhile on “Got it all”, we have Yeat over a bass-line & snares to flex his wealth leading into “Can’t stop it” brings some rock undertones to the beat surprisingly refusing to quit going hard. “Krank” almost has a cinematic quality to the instrumental talking about geekin’ just before “Talk” returns to the hypertrap sound to deliver some braggadocious lyrics.

“Comë on” shoots for a more electronic aesthetic to it thanks to BenjiCold going for the necks of his competition while the song “Systëm” has a more darker tone sonically talking about the drugs hitting right. The penultimate track “Holy 1” is a cloudier cut detailing his mob ties & “Killin’ ‘ëm” sends off the album on a wavy yet deadpan note talking about coming from that dirty.

Considering that Geëk Pack was just a decent collection of microwaved 2 Alivë leftovers, I had no doubt that Lyfë was gonna expand on what made the predecessor the fun major label debut it is. Lo & behold, that’s what happened here. It’s refreshing to hear Yeat dabbling with some new sounds than last time & his knack for catchy songwriting remains unmatched.

Score: 3.5/5

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Eva Lazarus – “Brandy Kisses” review

This is the sophomore effort from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter & rapper Eva Lazarus. Introducing herself in the summer of 2017 off a 3-track reggae/dub extended play called Amsterdam, she would follow this up with her full-length debut More Fyah& looks to take it’s solid reception even further by making Brandy Kisses the inaugural LP in the London imprint Melonskin Records’ catalog as well as having it’s co-founder producing it.

Dirty Dike of Contact Play blends some crooning vocals, finger snaps & pianos on the intro “Define Me By My Love” to get us started singing about feeling alive whereas “Empty Pockets” leans towards a soulful funk rock vibe instrumentally passionately letting this person know that they got plenty on her mind. “Mixed Messages” goes full neo-soul not to waste any of her valueable time just before “How Am I Looking?” embraces a moodier atmosphere confidently singing about feeling good.

“No Limits” makes a turn into a jazzier direction & even spits a quick rap verse at the backend of it always striving to aim higher prior to “I Prayed for You” stylistically stripping things back to address the very person she loves the most. “Lioness” someone has this g-funk quality to the beat ready to show everyone what she’s really been about while “I’m On My Way” ends the 1st leg of Brandy Kisses with an uplifting gospel-like ballad dedicated to loyalty.

The title track gets the 2nd half going singing about living the high life with no plans of slowing down instrumentally putting a tropical spin to things while “If You Ever Leave Your Girl” takes inspiration from neo-soul again, more specifically Erykah Badu in this case & hints of Zapp via Melonskin co-founder Pete Cannon using a talkbox. “Secrets” sings about a kind of love that’ll cause trouble over a synthesizer with some kicks & snares sprinkled in while “On God” much like “No Limits” explores her range as an MC a bit.

“Lessons” featuring Kofi Stone begins the 4th quarter with both of them teaming up for a marriage between R&B & hip hop expressing their desire to not fall down or go under while “Royalty” fiercely sings about all of her worries being cancelled & the sun shining on her got her feeling like a queen. “Flashing Lights” fuses elements of soul & jazz again professing that she’s been feeling happy in her skin while “The Party’s Over” cap off with this orchestrally soulful 5 minute outro singing that it’s too late for her.

It’s a great thing to me that Dirty Dike has started up his own label after being on High Focus Records for almost a decade, already signing Skuff & even Sleazy F Baby from the Cult of the Damned. That said: Brandy Kisses marks the beginning of a new era for both him & especially Eva Lazarus. The production’s more net-soul/contemporary R&B-inspired than anything Dirty Dike has done in the past, capturing his growth behind the boards whilst distilling Eva’s artistic versatility.

Score: 4.5/5

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