Nvy Jonez LKR – “A.L.T.D. (Angels Loyal to Demons)” review

This is the 3rd EP from Brooklyn emcee Nvy Jonez LKR. Coming up in the summer of 2019 off an eponymous debut EP, he would go on to expand his profile in the underground within the last few years by follow it up in the form of Black Popeye & even a tetralogy of collab EPs with D-Rell called the Chicken Spot series, coming fresh off the latest installment 6 Piece earlier this past summer. But for A.L.T.D. (Angels Loyal to Demons) over here, Nvy’s enlisting Accosta the Man to produce the entire thing from start to finish.

“Blakk Magikk” is a vibraphone-laced boom bap opener with Nvy talking about wanting all the static whereas “Greed & Love” follows it up with some twinkling keys & dusty kicks letting y’all know who you’re fucking with accompanied by a sung AHVE verse during the 2nd half. “Enemy” with JahVybez & King Moe finds the trio over a trap instrumental asking if you see the villain when looking into their eyes while D-Rell & Rodey Cali’s Remedy tag along for the 3rd installment of the “Street Politics” series returning to the boom bap with some gangsta bars.

The penultimate track “Drugz” brings it back to the trap for the first half prior to the beat switch during the 2nd talking about coming in hot just before “Violence” finishes the EP off by enlisting Negash Ali & Showrocka to assist in him on top of a boom bap instrumental basically summing up the whole theme of the EP by praying & scheming at the same time.

I still stand on 6 Piece being the best Chicken Spot installment yet, so it had me intrigued about where Nvy would take it on a future solo project. Now that we got a 3rd EP from him, I think the fans will dig it ahead of his opening set for Conway the Machine next month. The boom bap/trap production that Accosta delivers is his strongest to date & Nvy lyrically continuing to step up.

Score: 3.5/5

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TR Dee – “Crunch Time” review

Detroit rapper TR Dee tapping in with Danny G for his 4th mixtape. Notable for being 1/3 of the ShittyBoyz alongside Babytron & Stanwill signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also began carving a path for himself as a solo artist off his first couple mixtapes Trapped in My Bag & Made for This ahead of his debut album M.I.P. (Most Improved Player). Coming fresh off Trapped in My Bag 2 several months ago, he & Danny are teaming up on Crunch Time.

“Zap Zone” comes out the gate with a stunning Detroit trap intro talking about the whole block having lasers on them whereas “Franklin Saint” co-produced by Jakesand references the main character of The Walt Disney Company-owned FX hit series Snowfall, which I’m a fan of. “Drunk in Love” talks about being addicted to money like it’s a drug while “Odd Future” by the Dookie Brothers gives a nod to one of my favorite hip hop collectives of my adolescence.

We have TR Dee talking about how nothing’s basic when it comes to him & the rest of his squad during “Take the Throne” rightfully boasting that they’re the greatest in the whole city while “My Glocky & My Chop” featuring MJPaid & $camaurion finds the trio trading verses with each other for 2 & a half minutes. “Glo Gang” crowns himself the lieutenant of the Dog $hit Militia while “Wizardry” pokes fun at people scouting & watching others play ball from the sidelines.

“Louie V” winds down the final minutes of Crunch Time talking about his materialistic lifestyle copping a duffel bag from the iconic French luxury fashion house whose men’s creative director, Off-White founder & RSVP Gallery founder Virgil Abloh passed away 11 months earlier while the closing track “6 & 0” discusses his preference of showing people what he does rather than giving them a whole explanation.

Contrary to many Detroit trap fans enjoying Crunch Time less than both installments of the Trapped in My Bag series or Made for This & M.I.P. (Most Improved Player), it’s another great example of what TR Dee can do by himself & having a singular producer by his side takes it to another level. Danny G’s production exemplifies why he’s one of the greatest beatsmiths in this style of trap & all 3 guest performers match TR’s level of lyrical proficiency.

Score: 4.5/5

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UFO Fev – “Blood on the Bills” review

UFO Fev is a 38 year old MC from Harlem, New York who came up in 2014 off his full-length debut Around My Way. But wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. This was all followed up with Magnum Opus along with the Vanderslice-produced Enigma of Dalí & 4 EPs: The Most High, Prayer, Weed & Music, E Pluribus Unum & more recently Sunsets in the Ghetto. But for his 6th full-length over here, Fev’s enlisting Finn of the Brown Bag Money collective behind the boards from start to finish.

“A1 Credit” is a gully opener where Fev comes out to admit that he don’t need any credit & that he ain’t slept-on until Pro Dillinger tags along for the jazzy “Drop the Needle” talking about not freezing when the world gets too cold for ya. LRed Inf then comes into the picture for the boom bap-heavy “Check the Balance” going in depth of doing it for the love & doing just that when they wake up whereas “Wash the Bills” takes a more drumless route talking about being a hustler.

However on “Drug Free”, we have Fev over a bare sample explaining how badly the crack epidemic impacted his community leading into the Ty Farris-assisted “Tax Man” returning to the boom bap letting y’all know it’s about respect rather than money. “Caged Birds” has a more mellow sound to it venting about life going on & on, but then “Left vs. Right” goes chipmunk soul detailing a conflict with both hands. The track “Watch What You Say” pretty much says it all over a somber yet dusty beat & prior to the spoken word outro “Words of Wisdom”, the gully “Keep Spending” with Saipher Soze truly sends off the album with the 2 MCs about how drug dealing is essentially an American past time.

Fev’s last 4 EPs have been hit or miss with me personally, but it just goes without saying that Blood on the Bills wipes the floor & will go down as one of his best projects much like Fresh Air or The Ghost of Albizu. Finn continues to cement himself as one of the best underground producers that Canada has to offer in recent memory with his incredible raw sound & Fev himself sounds rejuvenated on the mic.

Score: 4/5

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Pasto Flocco – “#TWLG” review

This is the 6th EP from Queens rapper Pasto Flocco. Coming up as an associate of Lil Tecca, he’s seen quite the success off his own once branching out on his own by dropping his first 2 albums March Madness & Dreams 2 Reality along with a debut mixtape Surf to Kill (SGBSTK) as a member of the Surf Gang collective. Pasto rang in 2022 by dropping sophomore tape R.O.A.M. (Rich Off A Mic) under his newly founded Ghetto Luxury Entertainment & continued to build upon the sample drill sound on March Madness 2 in the spring & then Walking Glitch over the summer, so it was only a matter of time until he celebrated fall in the form of #TWLG only a day after his 19th birthday.

The intro is 2-minute kickoff to the EP with a futuristic instrumental admitting being in a certain mode as of late whereas “Off da Porch 2 takes a triumphant route picking up where the loosie “Off da Porch” left off as far as content goes. “mhm mhm” embraces a sample drill sound thanks to J6 talking about how that’s the exact noise he be making when a fuckboy tries to run his mouth to him prior to the airy yet booming “Joy Ride” letting y’all know he ain’t giving no 1s.

Meanwhile on “My Fault”, we have Pasto diving into cloudier turf so he can get unbottle his feelings towards a recent breakup while the song “Can’t Stop Now” brings a hazier vibe provided by Harrison talking about his refusal to quit. The penultimate track “Believe It” to things end with a remarkable sample drill-laced sequel to song that got Pasto where he is today: “Shawn M!”.

We’ve gotten a total of 4 projects from Pasto throughout the year & The Way Lyfe Goes has to be my personal favorite one of them all. Primarily because of the the fact that he throws it back to some of his older styles & mixes it with the sample drill sound that he fully embraced on the last EP he put out only a couple months back.

Score: 4/5

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Cormega – “The Realness II” review

This is the 6th full-length album from Brooklyn veteran Cormega. Coming up as an original member of The Firm, he would depart from the supergroup right after being signed to Aftermath Entertainment & has gone onto release a handful of solo efforts including The Realness and Born & Raised. Last we heard from him was the solid STREETRUNNER-produced debut EP MEGA, but is now returning after 4 long years in the form of a sequel to The Realness.

“Once & For All” is a 2-minute boom bap opener produced by Domingo talking about being a legend spitting at an elite level whereas “Her Name” takes a symphonic yet dusty route calling someone who forgot where she came form. Nas tags along for The Alchemist-laced “Glorious” to talk about exceeding their dreams of better living, but then “The Saga Resumes” is basically a mature sequel to “The Saga” down to the Big Ty instrumental.

Meanwhile on “What’s Understood”, we have Mega over a rich beat that he & Sha Money XL helped put together explaining that the titular matter doesn’t need to be explained this day in age leading into Large Professor producing the piano/boom bap “Life & Rhymes” providing inspiring words of wisdom for everyone listening. Lloyd Banks comes into the picture for “Grand Scheme” talking about how the quality of life means nothing to death on top of a shimmering STREETRUNNER instrumental just before the cavernous “White Roses” recalls how notorious the way he used to live was.

“Essential” picks things up with a more symphonic flare thanks to Havoc dropping jewels while “This Life of Ours” works in an alluring vocal sample encouraging to remove weakness & acknowledge strength. “Age of Wisdom” goes a capella to reflect on his hustling days while the penultimate track “Paradise” with Havoc finds the 2 diving into soulful territory calling out those who fake until they make it. “Man vs. Myth” though finishes the album with a roomy Harry Fraud beat talking about how his name’s familiar where he’s from.

Although I’m more of a True Meaning guy personally, The Realness has always been my #2 & this is most definitely a sequel that lives up to the expectations of the classic full-length debut. The lyrics are incredibly introspective & the production is on par if not superior to the predecessor. If it takes us until 2026 for him to give us another project considering the fact that Mega Philosophy came out in 2014 & then MEGA in 2018, then I wouldn’t even be opposed.

Score: 4.5/5

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Flee Lord – “Ladies & Gentlemen” review

This is the 4th proper full-length album from Queens emcee Flee Lord. Coming up in 2017 as protege of the late Prodigy, he has since become known for building up a massive discography for himself in the last 5 years. This includes the Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk trilogy produced by GodBlessBeatz, the Loyalty or Trust duology produced by 38 Spesh, the DJ Shay-produced Lucky 13 the Buckwild-produced Hand Me My Flowers, the Pete Rock-produced The People’s Champ & the Havoc-produced In the Name of Prodigy, the DJ Muggs-produced RAMM£LLZ££ & the Roc Marciano produced Delgado. He just linked back up with Mephux over the spring for the 3rd & final installment of the Pray for the Evil trilogy, but is returning 5 months later with Ladies & Gentlemen.

“We Was Gettin’ It Off” opens up the album with a string-laced boom bap instrumental from GhostDave spitting some battle bars whereas “Da Warm Up” takes a jazzier route thanks to Futurewave encouraging to throw some shells if you’re real with the steel. Rome Streetz & T.F tag along for “Outta Bounds” with a fresh ass Tiona Deniece hook as well getting in their hustler bags on top of some keys & dusty drums prior to the cinematic “Ride Away” bringing you the hardcore.

Continuing from there with “Step Brothas”, we have O.T. the Real coming into the picture for a weepy boom bap ballad detailing the crime life just before “Recipes” with Vic Spencer returns to jazz rap territory explaining that the recipe to lose is being too high & fly. The soul sample throughout 3 Queens” by Che Noir, Dazy Lyn & 7xvethegenius is a nice touch as the 3 display their skills leading into Flee returning on the piano/boom bap infused Fake Thugs” with Bangdana Red talking about how crazy shit is.

“Pardon Me” brings back the jazz courtesy of Harry Fraud to speak from the heart while “Broken Hearted” with Trizz weaves a vocal loop into the mix as the pair admit they’re more mad about their bros & a bitch. “Mission Complete” despite its 53 second brevity finds Flee on top of an orchestral beat from Che Noir talking about going down in history while the song “Everything” with G4 Jag jumps on top of a tense instrumental talking about coming from nothing to having it all. The penultimate track “Last of the Real” has a more dejecting tone sonically declaring himself as such & “On to the Next” is a guitar-woven closer talking about those who hate seeing him win.

As classic some of Flee’s extensive EP work has been, I’ve felt that an full-length effort with more than 10 tracks & over a half hour in length has been a little overdue & the last time I think we really got anything in that form was No More Humble Fashion a couple Black Fridays back. Needless to say: It’s a solid follow-up to Pray for the Evil 3. He sounds fully focused, the production cast all stick to their own stylistic strengths & most of the features come correct as well. If this is the last thing we’re getting from him this year, then here’s to 2023!

Score: 3.5/5

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Unc & Phew – “Only Built for Infinity Links” review

Unc & Phew are a trap duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of Quavo & Takeoff. Both of whom came up as 2/3 of the Migos with their cousin Offset & would see huge success during the early/mid 2010s, most notably when Y.R.N. (Young Rich N****s) & C U L T U R E both dropped. But as Offset prepares for a follow-up to the best Migos solo effort to date Father of 4 next month, the other 2 members have seen fit to form a duo of their own & put out a full-length debut.

“2 Infinity Links” opens up the album with a horn-laced trap beat from Buddah Bless describing the strongest links in the world bonded by blood whereas “Tony Starks” takes a more cavernous route thanks to Murda Beatz talking about putting holes in your chest kin to that of Iron Man. “Hotel Lobby” has a more twangier vibe to it dropping some braggadocio just before “Bars into Captions” samples “So Fresh, So Clean” by OutKast welcoming y’all to the ATL.

Meanwhile on “See ‘Bout It”, we have Unc & Phew bragging about stealing hoes over a hyphy instrumental from DJ Mustard leading into YoungBoy Never Broke Again tagging along for the slick “To the Bone” describing how bad their bitches are. “Not Out” shoots for a cloudier sound provided by DJ Durel talking about popping out, but then Gunna & Young Thug both come into the picture for the acoustic/trap-laced “Chocolate” getting in their hustler bags.

“2.30” has a wavier sound to it even though the Percocet-heavy lyricism just doesn’t do it for me personally while “Look @ This” fuses trap with orchestral talking about all the shit they got. “Mixy” with Summer Walker is a moody little trap/R&B fusion with the trio of course tackling the themes of love while “Messy” talks about the main reason why not to let a bitch in their crib over a glitchy trap beat with Quavo apparently airing out Offset for fucking his ex Saweetie along with a reference to Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Continuing from there, “Nothing Changed” was clearly made for Huncho Jack down to the psychedelic instrumental even though I don’t mind the subject matter addressing that ain’t shit change but the ice while the mellow “Integration” brags about having white everything. “Big Stunna” is a fun little boastful trap banger as Birdman comes through with a decent verse while the song “Us vs. Them” with Gucci Mane finds the trio aggressively talking about how it’s them against the world. The penultimate track “Hell Yeah” shoots got a more stripped back aesthetic as Unc & Phew chase a bag together with “Tools” though is a shimmering finisher encouraging you to spread the cash.

For as much shit that C U L T U R E III got last summer, I still think it was a more enjoyable listen than C U L T U R E II & that it would’ve been more well received if you got rid of 4-5 cuts. As for Only Built for Infinity Links, it’s a solid debut from Unc & Phew. Both Quavo & Takeoff manage to take it back to the basics are some more interesting ideas with the production this time around. Here’s to Blame It on Set next month!

Score: 3.5/5

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Grip – “5 & a Fuck You” review

This is the 2nd mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Grip. Coming up in 2017 of his debut mixtape Porch, he would go on to drop his full-length debut Snubnose along with 2 EPs Halo & Proboscidea prior to Detroit veteran Eminem signing Grip to his very own Interscope Records imprint Shady Records last summer. His sophomore effort I Died For This?! the following month was an impressive major label debut showing his potential, so I was excited going into 5 & a Fuck You when he announced it out of the blue a couple nights ago.

“Cook Up” is a booming yet dark trap opener with Grip talking about needing a week to do exactly just that whereas “‘94 Flow” takes the boom bap route to spit some aggressive battle bars. Marco+ tags along for trap-laced “Static” calling out those who don’t want smoke with them, but then “Popular Demand” returns to the boom bap with an organ sample laced with the help of DJ Khalil addressing his return.

Moving on from there with “Da Benzo”, we have Grip delivering a shrilling trap ode to Mercedes-Benz leading into “The F Word” switching it back into boom bap turf talking about giving no fucks. “Value Mall” has a more atmospheric vibe to it explaining how you can ball on a budget just before Tate228 tags comes into the picture for “Cory ‘N Mel” telling the story of 2 robbers of the same name with some chilling soundscapes.

The song “Good” is a soulful celebration of how far we’ve come in this life while the penultimate track “Many Thanks” has a more twangier aesthetic to it with Grip sincerely expressing his gratitude to everyone listening for being the reason why he’s even here for a little over 8 minutes. “Ain’t Ok” though happens to be a solemn closer to the tape talking about the kids not being alright.

If this is something to warm people up for his next full-length, then I think it’ll be even bigger splashes than I Died For This?! as impressive of a major label debut was when it came out a little over a year ago. It’s a lot more rawer in sound, his penmanship is continuing to get better & he’s starting to come into his own artistically.

Score: 3.5/5

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Pacewon – “Good Dope Sells Itself” review

Pacewon is a 48 year old MC from Newark, New Jersey who came up with Young Z as one of the 2 founding members of the now defunct Outsidaz collective that once included the likes of Rah Digga & Eminem. He would also go on to drop 4 solo albums & 3 EPs, with the last one being the Daniel El Campeon-produced Invincibles nearly a little over a year & a half ago this point. But to coincide with what would’ve been the 49th birthday of the late D12 de facto leader Proof, Pace is enlisting Detroit veteran DJ Butter behind the boards for the majority of his 4th EP.

“First Impression, Last Impression” is a jazzy boom bap opener produced by DJ Butter with Pace referring himself as the one you wanna rap like prior to Bizarre & B-Boy Reg tagging along for the futuristic “Holdin’ It Down” promising that they ain’t going nowhere. “The DJ (Tribute)” dives into trap territory giving his flowers to all the DJs that our culture has seen, but then 4-Ize comes into the picture for the dusty “Watch It Smoke” to spit some charismatic battle bars.

Meanwhile on “Adventures of…”, we have Pace going into a moodier direction thanks to DJ Dez getting on the more romantic side of things while the final song “Get Blunted” with Davey Diggla a.k.a. DJ King David finds the 2 talking about weed of course over a funky trap beat. The penultimate track “Grow House (Outhouse) is a more instrumental cut with a little bit of an electronic dance groove to it & the outro “Chattin’ with Young Z” sends off the EP with a 10-minute phone call that Pace had with Z when he was still locked up at the time.

Now for those’ve you who enjoyed Won along with The Only Color That Matters is Green & The Only Number That Matters is Won as much as I do, then you’re gonna wanna give Good Dope Sells Itself a listen because it’s one of Pace’s best efforts to date. He can still very much rap his ass off at this point of his career as proven on his last EPs & further proves that here, but the production that DJ Butter brings to the table with the help of DJ King David & DJ Dez is more consistent in my opinion.

Score: 4/5

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Samson Samson – “Witch Hunt” review

Samson Samson is a 30 year old rapper from Hampton, Virginia introducing himself a decade ago by releasing his debut EP Regret. He just made his return this spring by releasing the full-length debut studio album Beforecore flooded with guest appearances on nearly half of it, signing to Dirtcore Music exactly a month later. To celebrate the fall & with the Halloween season coming up in 30 days, it’s only right for him to make his Dirtcore debut in the form of his sophomore effort & have the label’s founder Crossworm fully producing it.

After the intro, “The Witch” opens the LP with a boom bap instrumental co-produced by BAD MiND asking exactly how does he know that he’s free & why does he love what isn’t even his whereas “Where to Go” ponders if he’s safe on this road along with his thoughts being unsure of the exact location he’s headed towards. “Gone” featuring J Reno on the remix maintains a dusty vibe to the beat talking about being sick in the head drinking life forces to fix himself prior to “See What You Can’t” boasting of envisioning things others are unable to.

“Stay Quiet” reaches the halfway point of the Witch Hunt feeling like everything’s caving in prior to “Distasteful Static” bringing an industrial hip hop vibe to the table talking about hearing pain & expressing hope of others feeling the exact same way. “Break Down” talks about the bittersweet feeling of his mind collapsing on him & after “Bodies Below Sea Level” introduces the horrorcore duo of the same name with a refreshing industrial hip hop sound, “Run” ends the LP going into rap rock turf doing what others are scared of doing.

Embodying everything he’s been wanting to do artistically, Witch Hunt makes for a captivating comeback from Dirtcore’s inaugural signing officially marking the beginning of a new era as a force to be reckoned with in the underground for years to come. Crossworm’s production pulls heavily from boom bap, rap rock & industrial hip hop with Sammy’s lyrics taking on the perspective of a newly released insane asylum patient recapping his traumatic pain to a therapist.

Score: 4.5/5

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