Here is the 8th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia plugg pioneer Tony Shhnow. Being introduced to his music after my younger brother J$zpiech showed me his 4th mixtape Black Billionaires Club & the song “Vet” off the full-length debut Da World’s Ours 3, he then continued to turn heads with his 8th mixtape Reflexions to critical acclaim & I honestly wish I covered it considering that some of his best songs are on there like “Finessin’” or “Forgive Don’t Forget”. He would return to his plugg roots on the BeatPluggzproduced Plug Motivation, Love Streak showed a more sensual side to him, Shadowbanned 2 dabbled with new sounds, the self-produced #NoOneElse was a step above Out the Woods & looks to paint a Self Portrait fresh off the 3rd chapter of the Shadowbanned series.
After the “Mr. Shhnow” intro, the first song “I Can’t” produced by Mike & Keys sets up shop with a ratchet instrumental talking about making money from making music & trappin’ whereas “Die 4 Me” poses the question if anyone would still ride for him if life took a turn. “Think Again” talks about there being plenty of people who’d kill for you & spending with your lifespan just before “Beat da Odds” flexes that he stays quiet even if his money don’t.
“Thank God That I’m a Real N***a” obviously gives his praises to the most high that He made the Shhnowman as legitimate as they come & after the “Ion Wanna Talk” skit, “Voicemails” talks about all the O.G.s saluting him like he’s in the service. “Devotion” flexes that he’s on the incline & not fucking with swine despite going H•A•M while “Tush Push” featuring Chrisnxtdoor talks about metaphorically being identical twins with money.
Luh Tyler joins Tony on “Bank Statements” to smoke competition while “Infest” talks about having so much work that he could possibly supervise. “Burnt Out” featuring Marco+ explains that they stay strapped because they don’t know what other people be on & once “Boss Up” dismisses the hate from lames because it’s not worth it, “Understand” ends the Self Portrait with a self-produced throwback to his plugg origins.
Starring the deluxe run, “Cobb to Cabo” talks about seeing past the fake through a blindfold & his bitch snapping harder than Thanos while “D.Y.T.A.M. (Did You Think About Me)?” featuring 03 Greedo poses that very question over some sampling from Bakkwoods. The final bonus track “Certified” however finished with these sinister 808 patterns talking about the inability to take his homies anywhere since they all sell drugs & keep handguns close to them.
Been waiting for Tony Shhnow to drop another album for a while now & Self Portrait will easily go down as some of his best material joining Black Billionaires Club, Reflexions or #NoOneElse as a more recent example. Mike & Keys’ production on almost the entirety of it is easily amongst their most experimentally cutting-edge & the Shhnowman paints a clever image of who he is generally.
Score: 4.5/5
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