This is the sophomore LP from Ohio recording artist & producer Izaya Tiji. Emerging as a founding member of the Slayworld colllective, he would go on to build an extensive solo catalog for himself standing at a full-length debut alongside his last 22 EPs & 3 mixtapes. My personal favorite being his last previous tape Know Nothing Else 2 over 2 years ago at this point. But coming off Before Alexandria couple months ago, Izaya’s finally delivering the main course.
“Envy” is an atmospheric trap opener targeted towards those who’ve become jealous of how far Izaya’s come in his career up to this point whereas “Face Shot” takes the cloudier route boasting that he has the flash on without any cameras around the premises. “I Eat Humans” works in a shimmery backdrop & hi-hats discussing that he got Jew ties as well as giving a finger to the facists, by then “Rockt” gives off a more psychedelic trap edge this time around firing back at those who said he flopped.
Meanwhile, “Elysium” produced by SOULJASPIRITS dives back into trillwave turf talking about his own blissful heaven leading into the moody trap cut “Shy” discussing the whole concept of shyness altogether. “Can’t Stop 3” with thr6x moves forward with a triumphant tribute to the late Takeoff of the Migos who was gunned down the day after Halloween last fall just before “Cold Nights” gives off a ghostly feeling insteumentally tackling the metaphor for the feeling of isolation & detachment from others.
“Fritos” compares his white Molly to that of a hot tub & having old money sitting at the bottom of my bag looking like the titular snack over an airy trap beat while the dreamily produced “Hiccup” talking about people knowing he’s here for the big bucks & having to put back someone who got out for being too wild. “My Twins” hooks up these piano chords & hi-hats addressing an adversary he doesn’t see eye to with no more while “Simba” is a bell-infused trap cut talking about feeling like the titular Disney character.
Moving on from there, “At Last” brings back the keys & hi-hats once more saying at least he has his family with him even though he needs to kick the habit of substance abuse while the luxurious trap flavored “Empty” talking about being possessed by the money. To start the 2nd leg of the album, “Smushed” featuring YSK finds the pair teaming up over a delicate loop & hi-hats flexing that they so hard that they made their cities fly while “Infinite” gives off a more energizing vibe instrumentally talking about how they gon’ take you down.
“Got That” goes into glossier territory with the trap beat telling his homie not to talk back since he ain’t his bitch while the ghostly “Ain’t Faint of Heart” vents about a woman that wound up breaking his heart. “Vacant Trap” keeps it trillwave by pointing out an empty trap house that he just so happened to come across by while “Mac & Cheese” whips up a peaceful trap instrumental boasting that he got the check & letting these little motherfuckers continue to run their mouths for entertainment purposes.
Reaching the end of the 3rd leg of the album, “Cauterized” acknowledges that he can hook people up with a 4 piece & that he’s rolling up in a donkey over a spacious backdrop & hi-hats while “Butterfly” starts the 4th & final leg on a pillowy note talking about having to grow up on top of showing off the kind of doors that he has on his new whip. “Blackouts” admits that he’s lost some people & going haywire as of late backed by more spacey trap production while “Big Hat (Eye for an Eye)” hops on top of a subtle beat talking about not to worry since he knows the way.
“Half” has these cool electronic undertones throughout pointing out that every single thing he got ain’t recently ain’t all for him yet he ain’t dividing it all in an even portion while “Space from Reality” talks about people pushing down as if it’s the UFC, whose parent entity Zuffa was merged with the WWE to form TKO Group Holdings a few days ago after Vince McMahon’s sale of the historic septuagenarian professional wrestling promotion to Endeavor was finalized over a euphoric instrumental. The atmospheric penultimate track “That’s My Dawg” is a straight-up dedication to the people in his life whose backs he’ll always have & “Call of Duty” closes the album by hopping out with the sticks with a beat that gives off a godly aura.
The prelude that we got back in July ended up being one of Izaya’s best EPs in a while, so that alone was enough to increase the anticipation I already had for Alexandria & it’s quite truthfully on the same caliber if not better than his previous album 2020 only less than 2 months before COVID shut the whole world down. Tad bit too long, but he expands on the cloudy plugg/pluggnb trap sound that made a name for himself as well as sounding impressively focused & even improving his flows a bit.
Score: 4/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 