Sonnyjim – “White Girl Wasted” review

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sonnyjim enlisting The Purist to produce 75% of his 14th EP. Making his debut in the summer of 2011 with The Psychonaut, he would go on to drop 4 more albums as well as his last 13 EPs & a mixtape, most notably the No Vi$ible Means of Incomeduology produced by Giallo Point or the Buckwild-produced Coke Le Roc & the Illinformed produced The Chemistry Must Be Respected. Looking at some of the names involved with White Girl Wasted however, it’s not hard to see why it’s been getting a lot of attention.

“Paris Hilton” is a slickly luxurious intro clocking in at 64 seconds spitting a quick verse off the top referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion The Iron Sheik but after “Barz Simpson” featuring Jay Electronica & the late MF DOOM finds the trio spitting 1 head-spinning verse after another over a woodwind instrumental, “Doc Ellis” produced by one of my top 5 producers of all-time DJ Premier references 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock.

Reaching the halfway point of the EP, “No Case No Face” works in some sampling to talk about life being a bitch that he’s fucking while “Does Mushrooms Once” returns to the boom bap Thais to another one of my top 10 producers Madlib boasting how nice Sonny is when he rocks the mic. “Lemon 714” brings the flutes back so he can talk about the holy grail of quaaludes while the final song “999” featuring the Mcabre Brothers preceding the “Buy Cocaine Not Art” outro finds the trio sending us off with them dropping hardcore verses on top of a blissful boom bap beat.

Almost 15 years since Trading Standards & this dude has already given us what might go down as the greatest extended play of his entire career, surpassing the Camoflauge Monk-produced Money Green Leather Sofa or the Leaf Dog-produced How to Tame Lions & the rest of those previous standouts I mentioned earlier. Joined by only a couple of elite lyricists, Sonnyjim’s abstract lyrics of braggadocio & using drugs over jazzy boom bap production makes for some of the most important songs he’s ever written.

Score: 4.5/5

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Pi’erre Bourne – “Good Movie” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from South Carolina producer, rapper & engineer Pi’erre Bourne. Becoming one of the most in demand beatsmiths in hip hop today off Playboi Carti’’s “Magnolia”, he’s also made a name for himself on the mic by dropping 9 mixtapes along with a couple EPs & LPs within the last dozen years or so. He just dropped the 5th & final installment of The Life of Pi’erre series last summer & then the TM88-produced Yo88! in the winter, but is coming fresh off the Space Age Pimpin’ collab album with Juicy J by dropping Good Movie.

The first song “Shorty Diary” following the “Opening Scene” intro kicks off the album with some synths & a rattling bass-line detailing a relationship that’s beyond repair & after the “Logline” interlude, “Ex Factor” takes a more calmer route talking about not wanting sloppy seconds. After the “Intro to Love” interlude, “Love Drill” comes through with a catchy yet atmospheric banger confessing that he wants something real whereas “Hop in My Bed” goes into peppier territory talking about a bitch that wants to fall in love with him a little.

“Superstar” works in these incredible string harmonies to tell his girl who she fucking with even though the hook’s trash leading into “Where You Going?” shooting for a moodier aesthetic talking about the love he has with this woman being priceless. “What I Gotta Do” vigorously asks his girl why she likes him to begin with, but then “DJ in the Car” dives into futuristic territory calling his girl a DJ in the Uber.

Don Toliver tags along for the cloudy “Psane” to get raunchy & after the “Kingdom Hall” skit, the actual “Kingdom Hall” song itself has a more sensual vibe to it comparing to his girl popping up at his place to that of a Jehovah’s Witness believer. Also, the guitar near the end was unexpected yet interesting. After the “Witty” skit, “Kevin Heart” brings some delicate synths into the fold talking about putting all his problems in a blunt just before “SossHouse Party” dives into bop turf to rep SossHouse Records.

Meanwhile on “Safe Haven”, we have Pi’erre talking about chilling in his hideout with some rage undertones while “Rounds” jumps on top of an airy backdrop & some finger-snaps to describe a bitch wanting to get fucked up off the alcohol & dropping a corny Star Wars reference during the first verse. “System” weaves some synths along with hi-hats more finger-snaps explaining to his lover that she got a real one with her while Young Nudy comes into the picture for the heavenly-produced “Moving Too Fast” to talk about sex. The title track however was a great choice of a single with it’s up-tempo instrumental referencing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk with the closer “Heart Say” bringing some unexpected rock undertones to the beat telling his girl to speak from the heart.

As much as I respect Pi’erre for both his talents behind the boards & on the mic, I’m pretty indifferent on Good Movie to be quite honest & would personally prefer Yo88! over this. The production is dope don’t get me wrong on that whatsoever & I’m not against romantic subject matter in hip hop songs in any way shape or form, but it’s so excessive to the point where it gets annoying & at some moments cringey for me personally.

Score: 2.5/5

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LMD – “Flying High” review

LMD is a supergroup from California consisting of LMNO, M.E.D. & Declaime. One of whom initially saw success as a member of the Visionaries & the other 2 being childhood friends/longtime collaborators with Oxnard DJ/producer/emcee Madlib. The trio initially formed in the fall of 2010 but now a little over a decade later, they’re finally coming together for a full-length debut with The Beat Konducta behind the boards from top to bottom.

After the intro, the title track with some upbeat synthesizers & the trio delivering that feel good shit lyrically whereas “Advice” takes a dreamier route instrumentally as they send a heartfelt message about the fucked up music industry. “Pop Fly” is a rugged boom bap infused battle rap cut for all the battle rap heads out there, but then Fly Anakin tags along for the jazzy yet soulful “Kool” boasting how fly they all are.

“The Cypher” has a bit of a Bollywood influence to the beat as LMD giving us a fitting jam for weed smokers like myself & after the first skit, “Super” returns to a more dreamier aesthetic to spit some braggadocio just before the 80-second “Steppers” delivers a groovy dance anthem with some phenomenal back & forth delivery from the trio. The song “Birthday” has a funkier flare to it vividly describing having shitty born days & after the final skit, the penultimate track “High Skates” embraces a more electronic sound encouraging to get the bread. “Duwop” though is a grand closer to the album expressing their passion for music.

Even though the album got pushed back a handful of delays throughout the summer, Flying High was much worth it as a fan of all 3 members of LMD & someone who ranks Madlib as one their top 10 producers of all-time. The Bad Kid himself sticks to his uniquely signature sound behind the boards with LMNO, M.E.D. & Declaime coming through with an interesting chemistry.

Score: 4/5

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