Las Vegas emcee Ouija Macc preluding his upcoming 4th LP Darcc Planet by releasing his 9th mixtape to start 2024. Breaking out in the fall of 2017 after the Insane Clown Posse signed him to Psychopathic Records shortly after putting out his debut EP Trashfire independently, Ouija has since proven himself as one of the most consistent & hard working dudes in the underground by dropping 3 full-lengths, 2 greatest hits compilations, his previous 7 mixtapes & 4 EPs all in the span of nearly 7 years. He even started his own label Chapter 17 Records, signing Darby O’Trill. As far as 2023 however, I really enjoyed Ouija’s previous tape Detritus along with both 3-Headed Monster albums & the Coronella collab album with Trizz. So coming fresh off that, the CEO’s beginning C17’s new year by treading new waters on Corruptus.
“Corrosion in C Sharp” finds Ouija singing a capella asking if it’s it real or all a lie whereas “Sorcerer Stoned” taking a groovier trap route starting off by continuing to sing for the first verse prior to rapping for the second so he can throw devil sets in your face. “Breathing is a Sacrifice” goes into full-blown rock territory advising not to spend money on him because he’ll be fine prior to “Laughing Upside Down” going a capella once more singing to find your smile.
Meanwhile, “Off the Ground” has more of an acoustic trap flare thanks to Devereaux talking about picking yourself back up when you’re down & after the “How Many Times?” interlude interpolating the song of the same name off my favorite joker’s card The Great Milenko, “All 4 Nothing” gives off a bit of a spacey trap rock vibe advising not to tell him it’s alright when you know it’s not.
“The Knowing Hand” keeps it a capella singing that he doesn’t know what he should say, but then “Wingless Bones” sings about how you can’t fix lonely over some guitars. After the “The Lights Are On in Hell” interlude & before the “To Say Goodbye outro, the final song “Nicorette” properly ends Corruptus by going head-on trap metal instrumentally as he sings that he doesn’t want to feel since none of his friends care as he shouldn’t either.
If anyone’s gonna go into Corruptus expecting the usual mix of the wicked shit & trap that a lot of Ouija Macc’s music is known for, then you’re gonna be surprised as I am to hear that he makes a huge stylistic departure on this tape & it’s probably the most experimental body of work he’s ever done. He’s showing off his singing voice more here on top of the production being more guitar-centered for a chunk of it.
Detroit emcee Bizarre originally the now defunct D12 led by the late Proof surprise-releasing his 3rd EP a day in advance. Amongst the first in the crew to put out a solo effort with his 1998 debut EP Attack of the Weirdos which is a hometown classic to me, the idiotic kid followed it up 7 years later with a worthy full-length debut Hannicap Circus & has continued to put out music on his own since. However, his last couple albums He Got a Gun along with it’s sequel produced by Foul Mouth have become his most acclaimed solo material since Attack of the Weirdos & Hannicap Circus. So when Biz started teasing Ratt Poison, I didn’t expect anything to be below the mark those previous LPs had set.
“Count on Me” is a soulful boom bap opener with some jazzy undertones talking about hitting your block with 100 of his homies with dynamite powerful enough to kill J.J. Walker himself whereas “Uncle” takes a more rugged approach instrumentally talking about being homicidal & looking to air out his enemies. “Heebee Jeebeez” works in some ominous piano chords as well as more kicks & snares asking if you can feel the griminess prior to “Kodak” giving off straight up horror movie vibes with the beat talking about being a drug addict.
To officially start the encore of Ratt Poison, “Potty Mouth” gets on his disgusting shit over a dusty ass instrumental while the unhinged “G.E.D.” admits to being stupid & that he chose thuggin’ over a degree. Finally, the title track featuring Young Zee of the Outsidaz collective whom both Bizarre AND Eminem were once members of from the late 90’s to early 2000s finds the 2 over 1 last boom bap beat with these chilling piano chords woven in spitting lethal hardcore bars for a couple minutes.
Pill God in the summer of 2018 was the last time to my knowledge than I can recall Peter S. putting out an EP & I feel like that was to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of Attack of the Weirdos, which Pill God just didn’t hold a candle to in terms of quality. Ratt Poison on the other hand continues the trajectory that He Got a Gun & He Got a Gun 2 headed towards. Foul’s production is consistently raw & continues to prove as a great match for Bizarre’s improved lyricism.
Michigan rappers Fordio & MJPaid teaming up for a new collaborative mixtape. Both of whom are notable for being members of the Dog $hit Militia collective founded by the ShittyBoyz, signing to Lando Bando’s own EMPIRE Distribution imprint The Hip Hop Lab Records as solo acts not too long ago with 3 EPs under their belts each. However ahead of their respective debut albums Paid Ponzi & Fordi Milligrams next year, both parties are putting their chemistry to the test on Made & $tyle.
“Grammys” begins by trading verses with one another about the way they be living over a Detroit trap instrumental whereas “Dirty $oda” expresses their love of sippin’ lean. “Trials & Tribulations” produced by Danny G has to be an early favorite of mine excellently pulling off the back-&-forth delivery better than both previous attempts while “2K24” talks about leaving all that broke ass shit in the past.
As for “Neck of the Juggs”, we have Fordio & MJPaid telling us they’d rather play gangster for the blue hundreds spending all day chasin’ a bag just before “Way 2 Geeked” talks about being fucked up off the drugs to the point where they can’t even sleep. “IDKY” references WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson while “Chemistry” featuring the late $camaurion has a bar referring to the Fox Corporation’s flagship property’s longest running animated series The Simpsons.
“Bubble” talks about hitting Philadelphia after burning down shop only 3 months away from the City of Love hosting WrestleMania XL following Endeavor merging the WWE & the UFC to form TKO Group Holdings a few months ago while “D$M&$” featuring Lewis & Clark reps their gang over a Jakesand instrumental. “3am in Oakland” remembers their fallen homie $cams accompanied by a Danny G beat while “What Happened” asks where the time goes.
Moving on from there, “Nowadays” observes the way things are currently whether others acting as if they tough or both Dog $hit Militia members never failing while “Never Stop Cashin’” featuring Prince Jefe reunites with Jakesand for the trio to talk about not complaining of the cheese they making since it’s free. “On the Way” advised for anyone broke to keep their opinions to themselves while “Intoxicated” talks about profiting off every run.
“Master Minds” featuring Kasher Quon reminisces over the times they’ve done fucked up a load & memories of $camaurion coming up to mind while “2am in Atlanta” takes us live from the ATL talking about what’s on their minds during the late night hours. “Juice WRLD” gets over a Danny G instrumental for another exciting moment of trading verses prior to GlockBoyz TeeJaee & TR Dee joining to express their dislike towards “Paparazzi”.
Danny G & Jakesand both lock in with each other behind the boards for the song “What It Seems” talking about rocking the finest, most expensive shit & having the money to compliment the outfits while “Ain’t Hearing It” confesses to getting up in their feelings when it comes to the bands aspiring to go after millions. “End Goal” finishes Made & $tyle with both rappers talking about their endgame being in their separate mansions.
As someone who’s heard both of these guys through guest appearances on a handful of projects that THHL has put out within the past couple years, Made & $tyle is only the beginning for Fordio & MJPaid as I’m sure their individual debuts for the Detroit trap label will be equally promising of their artistic potentials as this. The production is greater than either solo EP from each performer, holding their own weight & doing a fine job at balancing one another lyrically.
Ohio self-deprecating horrorcore duo Mr. 8 Legz & Whipstick professionally known as the Super Famous Fun Time Guys have returned with their 4th full-length LP & their 2nd under Long Live Evil. Emerging in 2018 off their debut album Our Album, they would follow it up with the Super Dudes Crooning the Tunes EP that same fall freestyling over songs like Yasiin Bey’s “Mathemathics” or even Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”. Following their sophomore effort How Do You Fit a Cassette in a Discography? & their solo debut EPs, they became the very 1st act to sign to LLE & their 3rd album Don’t Hug Me from the Front quickly won a lot of people (including myself) over with how well it mixed horrorcore with comedy. They continued to further establish themselves in the underground by putting out a Christmas EP Holiday EP: Advent & the critically acclaimed Lost Lake Estates collaborative effort with their mentors Alla Xul Elu, they’re beginning the 2nd half of January 2024 by simply saying I’ll Tell You When I Want to Laugh By Laughing.
After the “I’m Intro Bro” intro, the first song “Laugh Now Maybe” is a spacious boom bap opener essentially serving as the title track to the album whereas “More Things Same” works in some woodwinds reminding that they’re here to piss you off 1 pussy at a time referencing former 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Damage CTRL. “We”R”Us” sets out to ruin your day because it’s simply what they are asking if you’ve ever noticed that record-setting 3-time ROH World Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, ROH World Television Champion, the longest reigning NXT Champion, the inaugural NXT North American Champion, NXT Tag Team Champion, PWG World Champion & CZW World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Adam Cole and former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker look alike over an plucky, eerie loop attached to these kicks & snares just before “FanDUHlism” gives off an EDM vibe instrumentally responding to those telling them to grow up & leaving blood behind as if they’re 8-time WWE tag team champions The Usos.
“Thirst Trap” gives off a bit of a synth-funk flare to the beat Uno card reversing bitches wanting to break their hearts leading into “Cumulonimbus Cerebrum” talking about how no one’s safe when they open the clouds they keep their heads with a reference to current Monday Night Raw superstar, former 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE tag team champion, inaugural ROH Hall of Famer inductee, 2-time AEW World Champion, ROH World Champion and 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champion CM Punk who later albeit unsuccessfully competed in the UFC division of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings over a west coast instrumental. “We’re Waaaack” by Mighty Morphin’ Wackness shifts into dustier territory giving us a look at 4 guys who don’t know how to act right, but then “Hatemail” featuring McNastee assures the listener that everything will be ok over some piano chords.
The 2nd & final single “Charity Case” admits to getting drunk & fall asleep so they can leave the hate they’re bottling behind over some guitars while the lead single “Quirky Pop Punk Song (Existential Dread)” featuring Stray has some incredibly tight production from Billy Martin in the titular vein feeling like time is starting to wear thin. “My Friends Can Beat Up Your Friends” featuring Alla Xul Elu as well as Long Live Evil’s newest recording artist S.O.N. brings the sextet together for a boom bap-infused LLE posse cut referencing lucha libre popularized by the Lutteroth family-owned Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)& it’s rival promotion in the Peña–Roldán family-owned Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) while “1 Botched Brooks Finisher” dabbles with trap delving into their villain arcs.
After the “I’m Outro Tho” skit, “Sote2nelF” serves as the first of 2 bonus tracks to end I’ll Tell You When I Want to Laugh by Laughing by making peace with the dark over a drearier beat & the other bonus cut “Idk Might Cry Later” ties up the greatest tag team to never set foot in the ring’s sophomore effort with Long Live Evil talking about falling into darker places masking their pain on top of some solemn acoustics.
Since first being announced at the 2nd annual Camp Xul, I was hoping that Billy Obey was gonna fully produce it because I feel like hearing Legz & Whip over his production start to finish would make for something really special one day. However, they haven’t let me down in the 3 years that I’ve been a fan of theirs & we still got a solid LP regardless. The overall sound is a melting pot of different & interesting ideas as the chemistry amongst both MCs remains humorously animated.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe this is the 8th proper full-length studio LP from New York underground veteran Hus Kingpin. In addition to being 1/2 of Tha Connection with SmooVth, he has also built up over both a dozen mixtapes & EP in his discography all in the span of over 15 years with my personal favorites being Cocaine Beach produced by Big Ghost Ltd. & the Portishead-inspired Portishus. However when it was announced that 9th Wonder was gonna fully produced The Supergoat, I had a feeling it was going to surpass both of those as his strongest album.
“Rewind” is a great kickstarter with a luxurious sample cooking up a sunrise song for those slidin’ on motherfuckers whereas “King is Born” featuring fuckin’ Rosco P. Coldchain takes the drumlessly jazzier route likening themselves to that of royalty. The title track shifts into soulful territory telling y’all how to address him, but then “Friends” gives off a spacier boom bap flare to the instrumental showing a more sensual side to Hus.
Meanwhile, “Behind the Scenes” hooks up these strings with kicks & snares spilling some behind the scenes sex on the set shit just before “Famous Poet” fuses chipmunk soul & boom bap talking about not being misunderstood amongst those in serendipity figuring he would know it. “What It Is” featuring The Musalini strips the drums once more saying everyone knows exactly what the fuck it is leading into “The Waviest” returning to an orchestral vibe boasting that he really is the waviest of them all.
“Chaos” continues the sampling of soul music by telling a real story on wax while “Already” by Tha Connection with a melodic hook from Sweata yet again displays a sensual side to Hus except he’s joined by his partner-in-rhyme SmooVth. To tie up The Supergoat the closer “Box Office” links up with Fredro Starr of Onyx for a synth-funk/hip hop hybrid getting on some big screen type of flexing.
Cocaine Beach has been my favorite LP of Hus’ for almost 7 years up to this point, but I gotta say here that The Supergoat has now dethroned it for that spot. Not just because 9th Wonder’s production masterfully goes from boom bap to drumless & chipmunk soul, but there’s less features here in comparison & they’re all unparalleled to the waviest as he drops some of my favorite performances of his yet.
Cleveland rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, fashion designer, model, director & filmmaker KiD CuDi really getting New Music Fridays for 2024 rolling by putting out his 9th full-length solo LP. Blowing up in 2008 off his debut mixtape A KiD Named CuDi as well as his songwriting credits on his mentor Kanye West’s 4th album 808s & Heartbreak, his profile from there would increasingly grow off his groundbreaking debut & sophomore albums Man on the Moon: The End of the Day& Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. But following the self-produced & overlooked Indicud, CuDi would leave G.O.O.D. Music amicably to form his own Republic Records imprint Wicked Awesome Records. Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon though was mediocre at best & who could forget when CuDi attempted to go alt-rock on the critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven? Luckily he would redeem himself on his next effort Pain & Demon Slayin’in 2016 along with the self-titled album from him & Ye as the duo KIDS SEE GHOSTScouple summers later & even Man on the Moon III: The Chosen the day after my 24th birthday despite it’s blatantly heavy Travis Scott influence. At the beginning of 2022 though, Kanye announced that CuDi wouldn’t be on the unfinished DONDA 2 due to the latter’s friendship with Skete because he was dating Ye’s hobbit ex-wife at the time & ultimately resulted in a falling out between the mentor/protege duo that always brought the best out of one another. He stormed off stage at Rolling Loud later that same year because ignorant hecklers were throwing shit at him while performing & now Mike Dean announcing on Twitter that CuDi booted him off the inaugural Moon Man’s Landing festival that just went down earlier this month due to his longstanding ties as Kanye’s engineer. Shortly after, KiD CuDi would release his previous LP Entergalactic to mixed reviews although I appreciate how he took it back to his roots on there musically. But now only a month after making amends with Ye once more, CuDi’s finally going INSANO to sign off on his longstanding Republic deal.
“Often, I Have These Dreams” begins by assuring God has your back “when there’s a punk motherfucker tryin’ to bring you down when they see you shinin’” accompanied by a psychedelic instrumental from Mike Zombie whereas “Keep Bouncin’” produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. goes for a electro-trap vibe encouraging everyone to bounce to this shit. “Get Off Me” by The Scotts talks about being fresher than everyone else over horns & hi-hats, but then “Most Ain’t Dennis” balances trap & rage thanks to BNYX of Working in Dying alongside his mentor Jean Baptiste & FNZ showing off a more carefree attitude giving a nod to his manager Dennis Cummings.
A$AP Rocky joins CuDi for the trippy “Wow” explaining that life is amazing for them these days as they put a blunt up in the air & that everything will only get better from hereon out just before “Electrowavebaby” sings over a synth-funk beat sampling “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base about if anyone’s here with no issues & wanting a superstar to come fly with him. “A Tale of a Knight” however brings listeners into his life with a vibrant ass trap instrumental that Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced backing him leading into the mind-altering “CuD Life” with Keyon Christ providing co-production referring himself as the king of Rager Town.
“Too Damn High” featuring Lil Yachty embraces the rage beats even further as both of them look to get fucked up while “Getcha Gone” goes for a cloudier trap groove working all night long. The Scotts link back up 1 last time for the album’s final single “At the Party” getting live over a synthwave instrumental from Pharrell whose hook admittedly could’ve been performed a little better while “Mr. Coola” hooks up an airy backdrop & hi-hats dropping braggadocio.
Meanwhile, “Freshie” gives off a murky atmosphere with the help of CuDi’s longtime collaborator & WZRD cohort Dot da Genius joined by Plain Pat saying you can’t tell him shit whenever he pops up in the room while “Tortured” asks God to help him over a quirky trap beat from WondaGurl & Cubeatz. “X & CuD” heavily flips “Orlando” by the late XXXTENTACION underwhemingly explaining that he was born to be a grinder & that he’s doing it ill while “7” featuring Lil Wayne talking about being in heavy over more cloudy trap production cooked up by Clams Casino & Take a Daytrip.
“Funky Wizard Smoke” shouts out everyone who got that swish & some bread over an incredibly groovy instrumental while the acoustic trap-flavored “Rager Boyz” featuring Young Thug gives a middle finger to the law. “Porsche Topless” was a fun choice of a lead single & I still maintain that it’s a summertime bop even though people ripped on it at first while the warm “Blue Sky” produced by CuDi himself alongside Yachty & Sadpony goes on a quest to grind. “Hit the Streetz in My Nikes” ends CuDi’s final Republic offering groovily talking about being too cold.
I know people turned their backs on CuDi when he & Kanye were beefing for the 2nd time, but I’ve always stood by both artists throughout their careers as they’ve always brought the best out of one another & I’m more than glad they squashed it again. As for INSANO, it lived up to my expectations of being superior to Entergalactic. The production is a mixture of old & new sounds, it has a stronger feature list & CuDi is giving a toast to the ones living their best life not giving a fuck about what anyone thinks or has to say.
Matt Martians is a 35 year old producer, illustrator & singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia notable for being a founding member of the now defunct Odd Future collective as well as 1/2 of the production duo The Jet Age of Tomorrow with Pyramid Vritra & the co-founder of The Internet alongside Syd. He also made up 1/3 of The Super D3Shay with Ace Hashimoto on the mic & The Jet Age of Tomorrow behind the boards alongside 1/2 of the MC/producer duo Sweaty Martians with Earl Sweatshirt. Also for almost 7 years, Matt’s been building a solo career for himself beginning with the full-length debut The Drum Chord Theory followed by the sophomore effort The Last Party & not 1 but 3 EPs in 2021. However ahead of The Internet’s upcoming 5th album, Matt’s returning after a few years for a 4th EP.
To start us off, “B Like That” sings over a funky beat for this chick that caught his eye in to get at him & that he’ll see her soon whereas “Rushback” takes a trippier route instrumentally talking about feeling her from across the room. “Perfect Warning” gives off a groovier vibe admitting that he & his significant other could grow old together hoping she feels the same way leading into the soley self-produced “Play” taking the mellower route asking if he can mess around.
“The Reason” despite it’s chilled out atmosphere plays with the idea of stalking a romantic interest that Matt will have love for just before “Bassline” picks things back up with a slick ballad about having to get it running coming with exactly that. “Best Girl” has a summery, funky start to the beat with a switch-up during the 2nd half telling her he wouldn’t know what to do if she left his side while the catchy “Don’t Think About It” talks about wanting her to stay.
“Adjust” starts the encore of the EP by admitting that he’s been having to adapt as of late & this woman being all up in his head until “Sick n’ Tired” rounds out Matt’s Missing by experimenting with funk rock making it clear that he’s at the point now where he’s simply fed up with the lies, the hate, everybody telling him what to do & being down altogether.
Drum Chord Theory has to be my favorite solo LP out of the 2 that Matt has given us thus far but when it comes to his EPs, Matt’s Missing might be my favorite since Going Normal & that includes the 4-track deluxe. He expands his the neo-psychedelic soul sounds of his solo material generally beyond neo-psychedelia altogether, hypnagogic pop, abstract hip hop & funk music.
This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Stratford, Connecticut emcee/producer Donnie Menace. Emerging in 2008 off his debut mixtape The Threat & the leader of the Nitebreed collective, he would later continue to establish himself with the full-length debut Wrath of a Menace followed by his 2nd tape The Threat 2: Audio Sickness & his sophomore effort Bonded by Chaos. However over a year & a half ago by now, Donnie’s last album & his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut Chainsaws & Boomsticks was met with significant acclaim compared to his previous material joining the likes of Gully & E=MC Skelter. But for his LSP sophomore effort, Donnie’s returning with a sequel to his debut for the Denver gore hop label.
“The Boomsticks Reloaded” is a grimy, 2-minute self-produced boom bap opener unloading lethal battle bars on y’all whereas “Talk to the Chainsaw” keeps the kicks & snares in tact for a follow-up to the joint “Talk to the Boomstick” off Donnie’s last album with a reference to the late WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, ECW Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, the oldest JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion & 3-time WCW Hardcore Champion Terry Funk. “Take ‘Em Out” featuring White Cheddar looks to take out all competition over an organ-laced boom bap instrumental just before “Omen” samples “Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness” by Ann Peebles spitting the wicked shit.
M.M.M.F.D. joins Donnie for the bloodthirsty “Let Them All Rot” setting out to bring pain & destruction leading into “Run It Back” going completely drumless bringing it hardcore lyrically. “Another Scumbag Anthem” by Nitebreed pretty much lives up to the name conceptually returning to the boom bap, but then “Watch You Suffer” shifts gears into trap territory tackling more horrorcore themes.
“Where You At?” featuring Lex the Hex Master finds the 2 east coast lyricists joining forces for a hardcore anthem assuring everyone that they ain’t going nowhere while “Catchin’ the Bullets” gives me mafioso vibes from the instrumental to the subject matter from a gangster’s perspective. “S.M.B.T.M.D. (Suck My Balls Through My Drawers)” featuring the Super Famous Fun Time Guys says it all going for an old school vibe while “Body Shop” properly ends the album if you don’t count the “Lair of the Cenobites” remix with a ghoulish boom bap joint about dead corpses.
The first Chainsaws & Boomsticks was easily the most refined body of work compared to his previous material & the sequel here is as equally enjoyable as the predecessor from a year & a half ago. The production is primarily centered around boom bap with some trap undertones & a tight guest-list on top of the lyricism going from being boastful to straight gangsta & even murderous.
London, England, United Kingdom born albeit Atlanta, Georgia raised rapper, songwriter & occasional producer 21 Savage back with his 4th full-length solo LP over 3 years since the previous one Savage Mode II. Appearing on the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class list, he continued to make a household name for himself in the current trap landscape by dropping his 2nd EP Savage Mode with Metro Boomin’ producing it in it’s entirety shortly after. Then came his full-length debut Issa Album & an incredible collab album he did with Offset called Without Warning the following year, but it wouldn’t be until the end of 2018 where 21 dropped his most mature work to date with i am > i was. Fast forward a little over a month later, he was arrested by ICE after it was revealed that he was born in the UK & stayed in the US on an expired visa to freed 10 days later. But as he gears up to release his own biopic this summer coming off Savage Mode II, he’s giving us the soundtrack 6 months early.
After the titular intro, the first song “all of me” is a spaciously trap opener sampling Rose Royce talking about becoming the person that he is today whereas “redrum” works in more hi-hats & an operatic vocal flip thanks to London on da Track getting on his murder shit. “n.h.i.e.” featuring Doja Cat comes through with a moody pop rap duet discussing playing by the rules prior to the cloudy “Sneaky” laced by Coupe talking about how it be every time he gets with his bitch.
“pop ur shit” featuring Metro Thuggin’ finds both 21 & Young Thug getting braggadocious on top of a dark Metro Boomin’ instrumental except the “It smell like gas, I think somebody pooped” line is cringe just before the sample-heavy “letter 2 my brudda” is a sequel to “letter 2 my momma”. Metro returns behind the boards with BoogzDaBeast for “dangerous” featuring Lil Durk telling all the fuck boys to stay out their way over some crooning vocals & hi-hats, but then “née-nah” featuring Travis Scott goes into orchestral turf talking about people getting them fucked up.
Meanwhile, “see the real” takes the atmospheric route with the help of OG Parker explaining his dog don’t want nothin’ out of life but to kill motherfuckers while “prove it” featuring Summer Walker finds Coupe flipping Faith Evans so both of them can deliver a pop rap/R&B duet. “should’ve wore a bonnet” featuring Brent Faiyaz keeps the trap/R&B fusions rolling as Cardo samples “I Don’t Want to Do Anything” by Mary J. Blige featuring K-Ci while “just like me” addresses “the judge for my crimes” over a soulful trap beat Metro & FNZ made.
The penultimate track “red sky” sees Honorable C.N.O.T.E. blending these strings as well as hi-hats to begin the encore of the american dream soundtrack matched with 21’s lyrics about tides risin’ up to new highs & finally, “dark days” featuring Mariah the Scientist on the hook is a profound note to end the album on being unable to stand the thought of losing all his dawgs. I also felt that Kid Hazel played his part in enhancing the overall emotion to the track too.
Although I wouldn’t put it on the same pedestal as Savage Mode II as far as 21’s full-lengths go, we still got a solid follow-up from him nevertheless in my opinion. The production expands his trap sound by additionally pulling from gangsta rap, pop rap & chipmunk soul so he can formally address the long-standing queries about the UK-born rapper’s origin story & the immigration troubles that ensued in the intervening years.
This is the 8th proper full-length LP from Detroit veteran Boldy James. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set). He would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up but once Boldy came home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. The last I covered Boldy’s music was in 2022 for the well regarded Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven & Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave respectively. However in light of teasing Penalty of Leadership with Craven over the last couple months, we’re getting it at long last to ring in the new year.
“Formal Invite” is a soulful opener to the album assuring that every wish will be granted whereas “Jack Frost” works in another high-pitched vocal sample talking about being quick to rip the tag off after money being put on your head. “Evil Genius” goes into more synth-heavy direction wishing all the bros were here with him in this moment just before “Murderous Tendencies” says it all conceptually with yet another soul flip.
Continuing from there, “No Pun Intended” shifts into chipmunk soul territory so Bo Jack can talk about feeling like Thanos prior to the lead single “Brand New Chanel Kicks” going drumless making it clear that “this drug zone shit is so for real”. “Straight As” brings back the soulful vibes boasting that he been on his game time shit, but then “Soccer Mom” shooting for a calmer approach instrumentally talking about the 227 Concreatures being the ones.
“Early Worms Get Birds” featuring Double D might be the weakest on the album despite the boom bap production & Boldy’s lyrics declaring to be a new sheriff in town in addition to the references of former IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン as well as 10-time WWE world champion & former UFC Heavyweight Champion of both TKO Group Holdings divisions Brock Lesnar & WWE Hall of Famer Junkyard Dog while the chipmunk soul-inflicted penultimate track “Speedy Recovery” advises to sit back & take notes. “All My Tokens” closes Penalty of Leadership by jumping over guitars looking to stack his tokens up.
Fair Exchange No Robbery is one of Boldy’s strongest LPs ever, so I was more excited for this considering that it was literally the very first album that he ever recorded after being released from the hospital due to the car crash he was in & did it ever. He’s pretty much saying what’s on his mind after going through a life-threatening experience & Craven’s sample-heavy production is a step above the last one he did with the Detroit icon.
Legends Will Never Die 