Brother Ali – “Love & Service” review

Minneapolis, Minnesota activist & battle emcee Brother Ali teaming up with Oakland, California producer Unjust for his 8th full-length LP only 4 & a half years after the Evidence-produced Secrets & Escapes. Exploding within the underground off his 2003 sophomore effort Shadows in the Sun & of course his 2007 follow-up The Undisputed Truth, he would continue this string of acclaimed releases with Us as well as the Jake One-produced Mourning in America & Dreaming in Color and All the Beauty in This Whole Life. Can’t forget to mention Ali’s debut EP Champion turning 20 in a couple weeks & his debut mixtape Left in the Deck either. It’s been a few years since we last heard from him on his 4th EP Brother Minutester which marked his departure from Rhymesayers Entertainment after nearly 2 decades. So with Love & Service being his first album through his very own label Traveler’s Media, that & seeing some of the features nevertheless kept me interested.

After the “Chapter 1” intro, the first song “Ottomans” is a boom bap opener welcoming y’all to the extravaganza & informing everyone listening that they’re now rockin’ with a true & living master except the “mumble rap” jabs are cringe since this isn’t 2016 anymore whereas “Awaken” mixes together these woodwinds & strings talking about sleepwalking through our days. “The Collapse” calling out those who were dazzled by the warning signs flashing continuing to dance in the midst of it all collapsing over an instrumental with a summertime-flare, but then “Manik” featuring Aesop Rock & Casual brings the trio together getting in their battle rap bag for 4 minutes.

“Nom De Plume” kinda goes for more an uncanny atmosphere talking about part of dues having to be paid in order for him to even offer you this news making it rain blood & tears on any stage he rocks while “Cadillac” fuses these organs & guitar licks discussing his father-in-law’s titular yellow tinted whip. “Gauntlet” featuring Roc Marciano goes into a jazzier direction talking about both of them being on some other shit their whole entire lives pretty much leading into “Howlin’ Wolf” hopping over a brass sample to rock & moan much like the blues icon of the same name.

Quelle Chris joins Ali Newman for the spacious “Ghosts” pleading to not let them walk on their own just before the title track smoothly talks about how it’s all simply Love & Service at the end of the day. “Worthy” continues near the end of the album by affirming that every single one of us is worthy of love accompanied by a peppy beat & lastly to finish up Ali’s first full-length in nearly 5 years as of this upcoming fall, “Inside” finishes up the album by vulnerably talking about being unable to hold his tears back.

A good majority of Brother Ali‘s discography is exceptionally high in quality & although this isn’t one of my favorite projects from him, I still find it to be absolutely tolerable. Unjust provides a warm & unquantized sound chopping & flipping educational children’s movies from both the 70’s & 80’s using an ASR-10 sampler cohesively bedding Ali’s dense & poignant musings on God, death, empire & beauty in the process.

Score: 3.5/5

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Stretch Money – “To the West Coast…with Love” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee Stretch Money returning 4 months after 1984 to release his 10th EP. Emerging in the fall of 2006 off his full-length debut album Take Money to Make Money, he would go on to put out 3 more LPs with 25 Miles Per Hour as well as Locked In & Lil Daran from da Way Way. His output of EPs consists of The Villain, The Tribute, The Drunken Master, The Real Money, the Upper Echelon: Legend of the Silver Surfa duology, Giant, Eastside Lord & the previously mentioned 1984. Stretch also formed the duo Bill & Isiah with Valid, introducing themselves a year ago on their eponymous debut paying homage to the 80s in the process. However to start the 2nd quarter of the year, he’s cooking up an open letter To the West Coast…with Love.

“L.A.” appropriately starts the EP by setting the tone as a warm, slick tribute to the entertainment capital of the world whereas “Make Sum Em” goes into atmospheric turf talking about being stuck to this shit & keeping the faith at his lowest. “This is Y They Mad” is this smooth ass middle finger to everyone hating on him for making paper leading into “Ain’t No Secret” spaciously acknowledging that the way he’s coming really isn’t a secret whatsoever.

Meanwhile on “No Favors”, we have Stretch passionately talking about not needing a plug since he has his own cables just before the souful “Never Thought” talks about never imagining serving time behind bars like he did. “Zombie” weaves these pianos & hi-hats only needing money & Mary Jane, but then “Cool” is a trap closer thanking everyone for hopping on the plane with him.

Being a Detroiter who considers Los Angeles his 2nd home, this EP really spoke to me & I feel like a lot of people in both cities are gonna enjoy To the West Coast…with Love as a profound love letter to the sunshine state. He & the producer Vino coming straight outta South Central take the connection they have with one another & channel it all into this 8-track, 19 minute offering showing their appreciation for the City of Angels.

Score: 4/5

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Chetta – “Sacrifice & Sabotage” review

Here we have the 4th full-length studio LP from New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a couple summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch almost 5 months ago. That said: Expectations for Sacrifice & Sabotage raised exponentially after learning that $crim of the $uicideboy$ fully produced it.

“You’re Gonna Die Tonight” gets the ball rolling by mixing bells, a vocal sample & hi-hats asking exactly who wants to meet their demise risking their souls whereas “1 of 1” follows it up with a piano-trap banger talking about never folding since he’s locked in & they know how he be rockin’ it. “Millennium” goes full-blown rage beats to discuss feeling the exact same after poppin’ pills leading into “God, Can You Hear Me?” incorporating more keys & hi-hats into the picture explaining that he’s never scared.

The Memphis influences that G*59 is known for make their way onto “Born Under a Bad Sign” talking about always being him & not playing games at all prior to the riot-inducing “Horus” finding himself in his zone getting throwed unable to be saved because he doesn’t need anyone. $crim himself joins Chetta on the guitar-trap driven “Meet Me At My Worst” talking about being way too high for this shit, but then “Vera Wang” jumps on top of a crooning loop & hi-hats breaking down having hoes in every state.

“*Crash Out*” continues the 2nd half of Sacrifice & Sabotage by going for a creepy trap atmosphere sonically talking about drug use prior to the Memphis sound returning on “While I Burn” so he can ball on the right key & boast the fact that he’s tapped in. “KillKillKill” turns up the bass to 11 feelin’ like he could easily blow $100K while “…What a Letdown” tells a bitch that it’s on for her to hate him by now over what could possibly be the most upbeat instrumental on the entire album.

The dreary yet bouncy “Claymore” begins the last moments of the LP by talking about being tired & asking not just why they hatin’, but what they’re running from on top of it. “Missing<>Link” goes into cloudier turf asking a lil hoe what they missing so he can actually go get it next to just living out all that wishing she does & “As If Everything Wasn’t Enough” ties everything up by solemnly yet exuberantly getting all up in his bag.

36 projects overall in his discography in the span of 10 years & this most recent entry has not solely joined Been Here Forever as my one of favorite albums of Chetta’s that he’s put out since being signed, but even as one of my new favorite LPs of his whole entire discography period. $crim has evolved as a producer since Been Here Forever balancing old & new sounds together, so it’s right for him & Chetta to take themselves to a higher level than the G*59 debut.

Score: 4/5

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Scum – “Anti-Human” review

Denver, Colorado emcee & Lyrikal Snuff Productionz founder Scum moving on from the Dyin’ World Chroniclez trilogy by releasing his 15th full-length solo LP. Starting as a member of an experimental grind/noise band called Down Syndrome about 28 years ago, his solo debut Enter the Asylum just turned 20 this past winter & has outdone himself plenty of times since. Case in point: The Gorefather, Out with the Old & recently his 3rd EP Bad Uncle fully produced by Chapter 17/Psychopathic Records in-house producer Devereaux last summer. I also found myself enjoying the previously mentioned Dyin’ World Chroniclez trilogy of course too & was certainly interested in the outcome of Anti-Human.

M.M.M.F.D. gets us started with “This Pain” morbidly talking about losing an addiction battle & doubting that heaven would let them in if they even try walking through the pearly that is until “Revenge is Cheap” grabs the ski mask & makes them bleed rather quickly over this gruesome trap instrumental. “The Past” takes the trap metal route stylistically blowing up in people’s faces similarly to that of an explosive barrel, but then “Float or Sink” featuring Big Hoodoo works in kicks & snares talking about swimming for your life.

“What U Leave Behind” has more of a cloudy trap flare to it tackling the idea of forgetting things that one may now regret as time passes by while “Bloody Mess” works in some guitars & hi-hats talking about leaving them curled up in a ball bruised & abused. The piano-heavy “When I’m Gone” featuring Madopelli presents self-mutilation at it’s finest clarifying it’s about those who’ll remember you when the hype is through as opposed to who’ll show up at your funeral just before “Unsobriety” goes trap metal again talking about being fucked up to cope with anxiety.

S.O.S reunites on “Pull Up” going for a cloudy trap vibe thanks to Fiasco Andretti advising to come through just to be murdered leading into “Cold One” featuring Lyte menacingly breaks down simply how cold both the Gorefather & the Psychopathic MonStar can be. “Guilty” wickedly talks about sitting in this motherfucker with a shotgun while “Daaamn” produced by Godsynth calls out an individual that he heard stole from those that you should never steal from in the first place & severing ties in the process.

“No More” featuring JP tha Hustler, Mista Doesha & Slyzwicked begins the final moments of Anti-Human in the form of all 4 MCs desecrating everyone who pushed them to the limit returning to the boom bap in the process while “Heavy Lies the Crown” continues the encore of the album with a synth-trap fusion talking about too much pressure steady caving in on his skull now. “Voicemail” ends the LP getting relatable over on top of kicks & snares needing someone to talk to as soon as possible rather than leaving a voice message.

Over 2 decades of giving the underground nothing but straight-up gore hop & Anti-Human continues to make that the case for the Gorefather himself. The overall sound is predominantly trap, yet you also get hints of trap metal & even boom bap so Scum can bring some his LSP brethren & even a couple Psychopathic Records alumni keeping the underground wicked shit scene alive & thriving in the distinctive styles of all performers involved.

Score: 3.5.5

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Mike Dean – “4:24” review

Houston, Texas producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & one of the greatest audio engineers of all-time Mike Dean continuing to further establish himself as an artist by releasing his 5th full-length studio album. Pioneering the dirty south sound in the 90s as an in-house producer for Rap-A-Lot Records, one may also know him for engineering nearly all of Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s output up until his 2022 antisemitic meltdown calling himself a Nazi on InfoWars. 4:20 was a 90 minute exploration into progressive electronic & the nearly 2 hour sequel 4:22 continued towards that trajectory. Smoke State 42222 went for more of a straight-forward electronic sound with additional elements of space ambient & even Mike’s last LP 4:23 went head-on synthwave, landing a spot on my Honorable Mentions of 2023 list as a result of being more well-put together than his last couple solo efforts. Considering that, I went into 4:24 expecting it to reach the bar its predecessor had set.

“Subdivision of Time” begins by incorporating these synthesizers that only get grander & grander in the span of a little over 3 minutes whereae “3 AM” goes into space ambient territory starting off reminding me of the scene in one of my top 5 shows of all-time Rick & Morty where Rick’s traveling universe-to-universe searching for Rick Prime, but feels like an out-of-body experience during the 2nd half. “It’s in the Water” gives off a straight up progressive electronic vibe that I can imagine hearing in a sci-fi movie trailer just before “Don’t Fast Forward Life” incorporates some jazz influences towards the end that I love.

Concluding the first half of the album, “Distorted Time” brings the synthwave influences back into full effect leading into “Space Brains” admirably venturing out into electronic rock a bit. “Black Holes Echoing” returns to the large, throbbing synthesizers & upbeat percussion that retro electro is known for that is until “Swimming Pools & Movie Stars” presents these cinematic synths for a minute & a half. “Fast Forward Life in Rewind” pushes near the end of 4:24 by going space ambient again for 6 minutes, but then “I Like” closes the LP shooting for a ghostly atmosphere.

Everything that made 4:23 more enjoyable than Mike’s first couple albums manages to make their way onto this new one here & I find it to be as tightly crafted as the predecessor over a year ago already. He puts a bigger emphasis on the progressive electronic style predominantly throughout his solo catalog once more in the midst of maintaining the synthwave & space ambient elements although in a lesser capacity.

Score: 4/5

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tana – “bana” review

Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer tana coming off a string of EPs by releasing his full-length debut studio album. Starting in 2018 as a member of the plu2o9 collective under the original moniker BabySantana, he would go on to drop his first 2 EPs Recreation! & Planet Sosa alongside his debut mixtape Quan before signining to Lil Tecca’s very own Republic Records imprint Galactic Records the next fall. tana then preluded bana by putting out Gaultier as well as London & Dale. Nearly 6 months after the latter, we’re finally being treated to the main course.

“Decatur” produced by Zaytoven has to be my favorite opening track to a tana project yet jumping over a rich trap instrumental talking about his current mentality paying tribute to the titular city in Georgia whereas “Never Sober” takes the atmospheric route thanks to Rio Leyva working in some hi-hats as well boasting that his clients are always under the influence. “Because of Me” is this piano/trap hybrid asserting his position over those who turned his back on him after teaching them everything they know leading into the pluggnb infused “Cut Ties” telling his old hoes he ain’t interested in them no more.

Meanwhile on “Helluva Night”, we have BabySantana luxuriously describing an eventful evening that he’s had just before the club banger “couple$$$” that Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic laced talks about the high status he’s reached as result of his position as an artist. “stfu” breaks down life on the road & being too busy to have conversations with others unless it’s about money accompanied by a harp & hi-hats, but then the heavenly “Designer Thangs” begins the 2nd half of the album by talking about tana’s commitment to his craft.

“Slide” makes it clear to his current romantic interest that he’s in her city for the night on top of a spacious backdrop & rattling hi-hats while “Jesus Piece” is this synth-trap fusion looking back on the early stages of his career since he was introduced to the industry at a young age. “YSL” playfully talks about having her leave in new Saint Laurent while “VTMNTS” mixes a guitar & hi-hats talking about the Swiss luxury fashion house. “Feng Shui” clouding prays for better days & “wake up” ends Santanaromani’s first LP by psychedelically hoping she’s still there when he gets up.

Of all 4 projects we’ve gotten from tana in the last year & a half ever since he signed to a major label, bana stands out differently than Gaultier or even London & Dale did. Not only is he continually progressing artistically here but this time, we get what could possibly be his most cohesive body of work thus far. It’s more well-produced refining his signature pop rap/trap/pluggnb stylings & as far as the subject matter goes, you get a clearer look at who tana is personally.

Score: 4/5

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Hardrock – “My Gift to You” review

Up-&-coming Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Hardrock celebrating his new Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records deal by releasing his 7th EP. Getting his start over 2 years ago off his debut EP Y.N.S. (Young N***a Shit), he would continue to build up anticipation by delivering 6 more EPs ahead of the commercial debut LP Next! & the breakout sophomore effort 808 Speaker Knockerz. The latter of which contains some of his best tracks to date like “H.Y.L.M.N.? (How You Like Me Now)”, “Madonna”, “New WRLD” & “Luigi Mansion”. Last summer’s 1of1 matched the caliber of its predecessor & is preluding the next full-length with My Gift to You.

“Boba” is a synth-heavy opener to the EP that Toom of Vanguard Music Group & Vendr helped make looking to fuck them over & detailing being in the trenches with the pots whereas “Clear the Store” incorporates a trippy rage beat talking about walking into the store simply to clear that bitch out. “Taliban Hoodie” mixes some synth-horns & hi-hats together refusing to let anyone play him since the block knows he’s famous, but then “South ATL” takes a darker route instrumentally thanks to Nosaint for a dedication to the southern parts of Atlanta.

The trippy lead single “King Tut” produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. talks about how nobody can do shit to him or his squad in general leading into “Russian Cream” talking about his mob ties over a bit of a quirky trap beat from Cxdy of Internet Money Records. “St. Patrick’s Day” brings back the hypertrap influences eating green like the titular holiday just before “Nvrcared” turns up the bass thanks to ReidMD brushing off what everyone else thinks of him. “Pain Strain” concludes the EP on some cloudy trap shit styling.

Slattydon was my favorite Hardrock EP up to this point, but I really think My Gift to You is on that same level if not better as it reaches the bar that 808 Speaker Knockerz & 1of1 had both set for him as one of the most interesting trap artists that Atlanta has to offer right now. His overall style is still refining itself as his popularity grows on top of the songwriting getting catchier & maintaining his unique voice.

Score: 4/5

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Novatore – “The 87 Arsonist” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore is back with the 12th solo LP in his catalog. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality on top of all the previous LPs that he’s dropped along the way. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations & Living in the End Times. He just put out Alchemy & Black Magic last summer & is returning to make his Goon MuSick debut as The 87 Arsonist.

After the “Ronald Bartel” intro, the first song “Flammable Material” is a grimy boom bap opener produced by C-Lance talking about feeling like he’s showing off every single time he’s writing whereas “Backdraft” featuring Lord Goat finds the 2 over a coldblooded instrumental with kicks & snares as they look to burn everyone lyrically. “Point of Origin: The Biography of John Leonard Orr” portrays the life of the titular serial arsonist & mass murder on his 75th birthday coincidentally with the help of Stu Bangas, but then “Pyromaniacs” featuring Celph Titled hops on top of a piano/boom bap crossover talking about their names raising to the top.

“All Consuming” featuring Daniel Son finds the 2 on their battle shit over some more keys, kicks & snares from Johnny Slash just before “Burning Monk” by Azthmatix begins with some jazzy horns & a vocal sample talking about feeling like a monk lighting himself on fire tackling the theme of self-destruction. The song “Waking Up to the Fire” is an operatic boom bap cut about his rhymes being conceived in his sleep leading into “Incendiary Device” featuring A.M. Early Morning recapturing the magic of their collab effort from a couple years ago. “Sent from Hell” featuring Benny Holiday ends on an atmospherically dusty note thanks to the Snowgoons burning hoes naked.

It’s been amazing to watch this guy gradually getting better over the last 3 years & his Goon MuSick debut here as I expected stands as yet another fiery entry in Novatore’s discography. The traditional boom bap production dominant throughout his entire catalog continues to only get consistently stronger by each year, it has a one of the more consistent list of guest MCs that match his caliber of lyricism portraying himself as an arsonist for about 27 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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PARTYNEXTDOOR – “PARTYNEXTDOOR 4” review

PARTYNEXTDOOR is a 30 year old singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada becoming the first artist that Drake signed to OVO Sound in the spring of 2013 & released a well-received eponymous debut EP few months later. His full-length debut PARTYNEXTDOOR 2 nearly 13 months later took everything from self-titled to another level & Colours that winter was noticeably more contemporary. PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 received generally mixed responses in comparison to it’s both predecessors until Colours 2 showed a bit of improvement, but 7 Days ended up missing harder than P3 did. PND’s next EP Partypack became another redeeming moment much like Colours 2 & keeping in mind that the last album Partymobile easily stands as his worst, PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 gave me some optimism that it would outdo his last couple LPs.

“C o n t r o l” gets started with this atmospheric trap soul/alternative R&B crossover with Cardiak behind the boards talking about wanting to sex up this woman whereas “L o s e M y M i n d” ruins the timeless DMX song “Party Up (Up in Here)” gratingly discussing 2 women driving him to the point of insanity. “S t u c k I n M y W a y s” takes a groovier route instrumentally thanks to Alex Lustig & 40 so PARTYNEXTDOOR can talk about never wanting to change just before “C h e e r s” brings this futuristic trap soul vibe to the table dedicating this one to all the lovers that like to turn up by consuming alcohol.

Drawing near the end of P4’s first half, “M a k e I t T o T h e M o r n i n g” spaciously sings about not wanting to fight with his romantic interest wanting them to last until the sunrise while the moody “N o C h i l l” produced by Nonstop da Hitman telling the star of the show that she been acting reckless ever since he got her some ice. “H e r O l d F r i e n d s”produced by OG Parker & G. Ry was an ok trap soul/alternative R&B single talking about sleeping with girl’s old friends but after the “R e t r e a t” skit, “F o r C e r t a i n” sounds like a boring dancehall track running off from VIEWS/More Life.

“S o r r y, B u t I’ m O u t s i d e” works in luscious synths & hi-hats singing that he has someone waiting for him inside playing with their emotions while “R e a l W o m a n” is another alternative R&B/trap soul fusion showing off this model he’s dating who’s taller than him. After the “M o t h e r’ s P r a y e r” skit, “F a m i l y” stands as the most heartfelt moment on the album talking about that he misses his family & the self-produced “R e s e n t m e n t” closes shop with some downtempo undertones needing respect.

The reason both P3 & Partymobile weren’t was well received as PARTYNEXTDOOR’s first couple LPs is because of the fact that he confirmed he wasn’t using everything he learned artistically on them & cheating on the quality of the art, which P4 does the complete opposite of as the best album he’s put out in almost a decade. He cooks up 46 minutes worth of amongst the most focused alternative R&B/trap soul in his discography from a “me & her” perspective that the intimacy for the prime PND listening experience requires.

Score: 3.5/5

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Rx Papi – “Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em” review

Rx Papi is a 28 year old rapper from Rochester, New York originally emerging under the original moniker Lil Fleechy. Beginning his music career when he was 9, he has since build up a solo discography consisting of 3 proper full-length studio LPs as well as 15 EPs & 11 mixtapes on top of 11 collaborative projects. Essentials of Papi’s include the sophomore effort Numbers Tell a Different Story, his 13th EP Foreign Exchange, his 10th mixtape 100 Miles & Walkin’ and lastly the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul to name only a few. However in light of his born day next month, he’s following up My Name is My Name by releasing his 4th album.

“U Gotta Believe Me” seriously has to be one of the best opening tracks to an Rx Papi project that I’ve ever heard from the sample-laced trap instrumental to Fleechy talking about those that ever doubted him whereas “You Must Love Me” mixes a pitched soul flip & hi-hats together addressing everyone who didn’t want to see him shinin’ at all. “Melinda Told Me” has these amazingly jazzy undertones to the trap production & Rx admitting he should’ve listened to what his mother had previously told him prior to “Designa” clashing these horns & hi-hats flexing on the lyrical side of things.

Meanwhile on “When the Smoke Clear”, we have Papi talking about being paranoid & the hood loving him similarly to DJ Clark Kent since they both hail from the City of Dreams giving a Detroit trap vibe to the beat, but then “Legends Never Die” is this soulful trap rock hybrid getting high & reminiscing over a special person in his life the other day that can’t be with us today. “Collect Call” returns to that Motor City trap sound asking if you gonna press 5 when he hits you up on collect & the bells & strings on “Made Man” are a great touch asking why you want war with gravediggers.

“Riggs” goes for a bouncier trap approach with instrumentally except with crooning background vocals & Rx painting images of the gangsta lifestyle while “You Gotta Be Crazy” expressing his annoyance at naggin’ ass bitches who think they know it all & how you’re really supposed to be ballin’ out here backed by 808s & solemn sampling. “No Deal Bill” taking shots at those who wanna see him on the bench when he’s out on the courts over more 808s & looped vocal harmonies behind it just before the cloudy, self-explanatory “Love Me While I’m Here” says it all.

Papi lets out true anger all throughout “I Need All My Money” responding to a hoe that the reason he’s so heartless being due to the fact that he grew up in darkness & “Something Seem Funny” samples Sade talking about everyone quickly ducking as soon as his squad hop out of their whips. The bell-heavy albeit exuberant “You Need Your Grass Cut” promising brody that ties will be cut if he ever catch him tucking his chain that is until the grisly “N.M.N.G.H. (Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt)” talks about putting any & all oops under pressure.

“I’m Only Gonna Say It Once” heavy builds itself around flipping “Gunz Come Out”, which happens to be my personal favorite song off 50 Cent’s officially released sophomore effort The Massacre cautioning that playing with his money will get you shot dead in your shit & the “Walked Me Into the Wild” beat is the same as “Town & Country” by Boldy James wanting an explanation for being lied to. “97 Harris St” saves the jazziest instrumental for last asking what a bitch want after getting 10 missed calls.

I’d love an LP from Papi on the same pedestal as the Foreign Exchange EP at some point & Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em undoubtedly takes a step above the previous one My Name is My Name regardless of Numbers Telling a Different Story remaining as my favorite full-length of his. Being more gangsta rap & trap oriented cumulatively, it’s one of if not the darkest body of work in his discography filled with interesting sample selections with additional dark plugg, Detroit trap & pop rap undertones.

Score: 3.5/5

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