Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Miles releasing his long-awaited debut mixtape. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career began in the end of 2020 off his first couple EPs I Shoulda Been Dropped & Trappin’ n L.A. ahead of the full-length debut studio album Crackhouse Mafia. Born of his most recent batch of EPs Cross State Lines & Road Music would individually prelude Shortstop, which has arrived in the midst of what’s already shaping up to be a stacked week musically.
“Brick by Brick” comes out the gate with the Detroit sound to get on his off the planet shit whereas “Who I Am 2” picks up where the Cross State Lines highlight left off on some Detroit trap vibes not needing to say much because of his reputation. Homealone Drock & Prince Jefe join Miles on “Not Enough” with Jefe having my favorite guest appearance of the 2 staying committed to the bills prior to the self-produced “See Me Now” talking about waking people up.
We get another Cross State Lines sequel track, except this time it’s “Forever Hustling” explaining that nothing’s changed since while “Dame Time” blends some horns & 808s together referencing Portland Trailblazers point guard Damian Lillard. “March Madness” speaks on choosing to either go hard or go home just before “No Gimmicks” featuring WTM Solid talks about living the life they rap of.
“Daisy Navy Mafia” featuring Talibando & WB Nutty finds the trio coming together to press down keys without typing leading into “Code Talking” tells those on the consistent grind that their time will come with patience. “Mobsters” featuring Rafa unites both WRLD Tour members discussing turning Slam A Slut Records into a trend together while the Detroit trap/Mobb crossover “4am in the Raq” talks about not resting so he can tour.
Samuel Shabazz joins Miles on “Slow” to flex their own waves without Max B while “1 Strike” introspectively talks about his brother watching over him & trying to do him proud since everything gets bigger to him by the daily. “Fairy Odd Parents” heavily samples the theme song of the original Fairly OddParents, whose sequel series A New Wish is currently preparing for another season on the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon.
Money Man’s been teasing Shortstop for the past year at this point & for only a half hour tape, I enjoyed it a tad more than Road Music & it could plausibly rival Crackhouse Mafia if I had to pick a specific favorite or 2 out of the WTM Miles solo discography. He saves both the rap game & the road with tighter production than the last time we heard him, basically solidifying himself as the most recent AL Cy Young Award recipient Tarik Skubal of WRLD Tour stealing all the clientele.
Score: 4/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 