West Palm Beach, Florida rapper/producer vax staying busy with his 7th extended play. Someone who’s eventually go on to drop his last 6 EPs since 2023 after beginning to make music at the age of 12 including New Jazz as well as Forgive My Sins & Pyramid Scheme, with Is This You? following my personal favorite of the bunch Throne. Coming off #B4BlueDawn & the full-length debut Blue Dawn merely 8 weeks earlier & he’s applying more pressure by releasing Steeze.
“Parade” kicks things off with a rage-inducing intro talking about being with slayr in his hometown & looking for all the hoes back in the South shaking ass at a local parade while “Hetereo” bridges Steeze boasting that nobody can do this music shit the way he does it. “Screamer” spends the final minutes of the EP with 1 last hypertrap instrumental talking about going dumb whenever he’s on stage & making sure his bitch can’t walk for a week after sex.
Ditching the primary digicore influences of Blue Dawn along with the cloud/pop rap undertones, vax gets ready for the next era of his career dropping of a 6 minute 3-pack that I find to be average in comparison. The rage production doesn’t make a lasting impression on me as much as the debut a couple months ago & maybe a track or 2 could’ve been more fully fleshed out, but you can definitely still hear the hunger in his performances.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper & singer/songwriter Tierra Whack has returned for her 2nd mixtape in time for the summer. Breaking out in 2018 off the strength of her debut tape Whack World after signing to Interscope Records, she would go on to drop a trilogy of EPs showcasing her artistry: Rap? as well as Pop? & R&B?. Her full-length debut Worldwide Whack was more moderately received compared to Whack World although I appreciated it for what it was, taking us through Whack’s Museum a couple years later.
“Whack Job” produced by Chris Keys & Conductor Williams breaks the door down responding to the people saying she should rap more whereas “Wax Paper” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about feeling too generous at times. “Brazilian Wax” soulfully asks herself why some are intimidated by her presence until “Wiggidy Whack” runs it back with Conductor talking about leaving any & all competitors scorched.
As for “Totem”, we have Tierra embracing some trap vibes so she can discuss getting what she wants leading into “Godda” ending the 1st half returning to the boom bap courtesy of Swaggyono from Working on Dying talking about making some money. “Siren” kicks off the 2nd leg of Whack’s Museum so she can let get a bit more goofier & joyous with her wordplay while “Candle Wax” strips the drums to talk about her going out being herself: Amongst the greatest to ever do it musically.
“Queen’s Crown” retains her signature sense of humor dropping 4 straight verses without a hook over a soul sample while “Earwax” talks about choosing not to play the game despite her knowledge of it over another drumless loop. “215” shouts out the city that made her the person she’s becoming once again getting humorous with her pen & the outro “Flowers” ends Whack’s Museum demanding her props from those who ain’t giving ‘em to her.
Little Simz & Doechii have been widely regarded as some of the greatest women to touch a microphone in recent memory, but Tierra Whack has already proven herself to be in that same category from her Lil Boat 3 feature to her recent appearance on Jill Scott’s latest album To Whom This May Concern several months earlier. Her lyrics are more abstract & occasionally conscious than usual with the production varying between boom bap, jazz rap & pop rap.
This is the 4th extended play from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Germ. Signing to G*59 Record$ in mid-2018, he would drop his debut EP Bad Shit a couple years earlier followed by the Badshit (Bootleg) EP along with the debut mixtape Germ Has a Deathwish as well as The Hijinx Tape & the Cold Summer EP. Last we heard from him was almost 2 & a half years ago when he dropped his full-length studio debut Every Dog Has It’s Day, celebrating his birthday by dropping Stay Gold entirely produced by Cosh.
The title track incorporates some heavy bass to get things going talking about moving with the wicked whereas “Out My Top” gives off a funkier vibe instrumentally explaining that he has tons of pain inside his heart. “Fasho Fasho” brings a more laidback beat to the table talking about the money calling him & after “Space Face” embraces a darker atmosphere to get on gangsta shit lyrically, the outro “Heart Went Cold” ends the EP looking to run the racks back up.
Every Dog Has It’s Day at this point has already surpassed Germ Has a Deathwish to become my favorite entry in Germ’s whole discography & if we’re gonna get a sophomore effort down the line, then I’d say Stay Gold would be an acceptable prelude to it. I was already familiar with Cosh since he produced the intro of that Mental Trillness 2 mixtape Juicy J did a couple years ago & it’s appropriate considering G*59’s heavily inspired by Three 6.
Compton, California emcee YG back for his 4th LP & 10K Projects debut. Coming up in 2009 off his debut mixtape 4Fingaz, this was followed up with 4 more tapes prior to Jeezy discovering him in 2013 & landing him a deal with his Def Jam Recordings imprint CTE World. YG’s potential would begin to show in the form of his full-length debut My Krazy Life & came into his own on the sophomore effort Still Brazy launching his own label 400 Records around that same time period, but the next 4 tapes Stay Dangerous as well as 4Real 4Real, My Life 400 & I Got Issues all received mixed to poor responses as did the 3rd installment of the Just Re’d Up series. However, he’s opening up The Gentleman’s Club to celebrate the summer.
After the intro, “OMG” featuring Pusha T begins with both of them over a sinister beat although there’s a questionable line during Push’s verse whereas “Kudos” incorporates a harp instrumental talking about saying goodbye to everything to made him. “Hitman” has a more aggressive vibe in general promising to be the last one standing while “Simon Says” featuring Isaiah Falls & Odeal derails it with a hideous pop rap cut.
“On the Low” featuring Tyler, The Creator & produced by Ty$ was highly anticipated by me talking about dressing like Vogue models just before the nervous “We Know the Truth” confesses to not having Drakeo the Ruler murdered. “Hollywood” featuring the Shoreline Mafia finds the trio hitting us with more traffic music detailing their gangsta upbringings while “Gang Bizness” featuring PayGotti kicks off the 2nd half with a gangsta rap single that I found myself enjoying less than the one prior.
We have YG responding to the “Hitman” who tried to claim his life on “Ready to Die” hooking up some prominent pianos & capitalizing on his ability of telling stories but after “Writing My Wrongs” leans towards a more cavernous vibe instrumentally talking about all the mistakes he’s made in his life, “Dinner Dates & Heartbreaks” has a cloudier approach to the beat lividly airing out a bitch for lying to him & demanding that she gives him the truth for once.
“Tiffany” splits itself into 2 separate portions recalling an encounter Chris had with the titular character whom he met at the club who happened to be transgender while “Insecure” featuring Ab-Soul & J.I.D was my favorite single of the bunch, talking about their own personal insecurities. The closing track “Mid Life Crisis” spends The Gentlemen’s Club’s final minutes hopping over a Jay Versace beat looking to get all the bullshit off his mind.
The Gentlemen’s Club is noticeably more conceptual than a lot of YG’s recent material & I’m happy that he came to the realization of throwing shit at the wall to see if it sticks wasn’t entirely the best way to get out of his contract since his discography suffered as a result. Some of the contemporary R&B/pop rap-flavored cuts still don’t do it for me although the elements of hardcore hip hop, conscious hip hop, gangsta rap & nervous music are all higher quality material.
Atlanta, Georgia singer/songwriter, producer & actress Chlöe enlisting Norfolk, Virginia producer Timbaland to handle all of her debut solo mixtape’s production. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo Chlöe x Halle with Halle Bailey, they introduced themselves in 2018 when Beyoncé signed them to Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records for their decent full-length debut The Kids Are Alright. The sophomore effort Ungodly Hour in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns would prove to be their most acclaimed body of work yet but coming off In Pieces & Trouble in Paradise, I went into Resurrection hoping Timbo wouldn’t be using any AI on it.
“Talking Dirty” begins with a sultry R&B intro singing about her lustful intentions whereas “Hold It” gives off a catchier vibe altogether from the instrumental to the lyrics of being drawn into someone. “Priorities” shifts towards an alternative R&B direction stylistically airing out the people who think she’s breakable for misunderstanding her leading into “World on Fire” singing about feeling safe with her partner even if the globe’s in turmoil.
Meanwhile on “Caught”, we have Chlöe over a seductive R&B beat realizing that maybe you lose ’em how you get ’em just before “Sensitive” lusciously addresses an ex-boyfriend telling him to move on already. “Better Than She Can” leans towards a dance-pop direction trying to convince a guy to leave his current girlfriend for her to reach the halfway point while “On Your Own” slows down the pace singing about her keeping a close eye out for a specific individual.
“Believer” feels like a throwback to Timbo’s early 2000s output admitting that she didn’t mean to come off too strong while “Main Attraction” sings about wanting to get sexually active. “Mama’s Boy” sends shots a cornball whining to his mother of her being the problem in their relationship & after “Belong to You” confronts her soulmate telling him that they were meant for each other, “Jittery” ends Resurrection taking accountability for the way things panned out.
Considering that Timbaland’s recent production placements on Conway the Machine’s 5th album You Can’t Kill God with Bullets & more recently Juvenile’s 12th album Boiling Point didn’t really warrant a lot of criticism out of me, I’m happy to say that he keeps that same energy throughout the greatest achievement in Chlöe’s solo career providing her a consistently tasteful batch of R&B production & holding off on having any guest appearances compared to both of her previous LPs.
This is a brand new extended play of solo material from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & fashion model Pz’. Emerging a couple years ago off the strength of his debut single “Sun”, he would eventually blow up last summer when “Hedis Bussin’” came out & has since collaborated with the likes of billi0n for his debut mixtape Revenge as well as the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ eponymous tape earlier this spring. Only a few days away from No Turnin’ Back however, he’s dropping off B4NTB.
“Track Meet” hops over this colorful trap beat making it known to anyone who ain’t makin’ a profit that they can’t hang with him whereas “Seals & Tags” acknowledges the ØWay collective’s increasing popularity to end the 1st half. My favorite track here “Tamagochi” embraces a cloudier vibe instrumentally talking about puttin’ muhfuckas on dinner plates & “Keep It Tucked” produced by Noah Mejia finishes with an outro that I’d consider a close 2nd compared to the previous track.
It was already known since the very beginning of the month that Pz’ would finally begin building a discography for himself following his standout guest appearances & singles, but him dropping B4NTB literally 24 hours in advance increases what anticipation I’ve had for No Turnin’ Back tomorrow with an impressively brief collection of trap songs taking additional inspiration from rage, cloud rap, pop rap & futuristic swag in only under 10 minutes.
London, England, United Kingdom rapper & producer Fimiguerrero preluding his upcoming 3rd album Lost City with his 7th extended play. Releasing his debut EP Human Anatomy in 2019, he would continue to build up a catalog for himself with his next EP Fuck Brex!t as well as the eponymous full-length debut & the No Way Out EP. kvnt, Black, the sophomore effort Immigrant & New World Order all followed & he’s decided to shock the world after unveiling The Statue of a Fool without any prior announcement.
“Me Again” opens up with a jerk intro talking about his appetite being suppressed by taking some ecstasy whereas “Loser” keeps the hoodtrap vibes going clapping back at his haters doing the shit they wish they could do. “Good Girl” blends trap, emo rap & jerk so he can talk about his own struggles struggles with fame & trusting women leading into the self-produced “Cocaina” ending the 1st half touching on the subject of escapism & describing a kinda love that‘s addicting.
Kicking off the 2nd half, the song “Dutty” featuring Bassvictim takes an atmospherically darker approach instrumentally admitting to still feeling some sort of disconnect even after he started to gain popularity while “Skywalker” samples “Throw It In” by Lil Wayne addressing individuals who constantly have issues with him although I wish fakemink had a verse. “Mind the Gap” talks about repeating the same mistakes his own father had made & the cons of living in London while “Don’t Leave Me” ends the EP detailing a breakup.
Impressed by the guest appearances he had on both EsDeeKid’s debut EP Rebel & Jim Legxacy’s debut mixtape Black British Music last summer, Fimiguerrero gives us a glimpse of what we can expect out of Lost City in the guise of The Statue of a Fool which is a salvageable appetizer until the main course. I wouldn’t necessarily call it my favorite EP he’s done, but I do appreciate him experimenting a bit more outside of his signature jerk/rage sounds.
This is the 2nd extended play from Detroit, Michigan emcee ZelooperZ. A member of the Bruiser Brigade collective & 1/2 of ZGTO, he has spent the last 15 years building up a solo catalog comprised of a dozen LPs along with another EP & a couple mixtapes. My personal favorites of which being the Black Noi$e-produced Dyn-o-mite & more recently, ZelooperZ’ most recent full-length Dalí Ain’t Dead, digging up all 11 of Pin Breakers’ tracks 9 months later & putting it up exclusively on his Bandcamp.
“Listen” starts us off with a 90 second intro talking about never dropping the ball similarly to Blake Griffin over some sampling in the background whereas “Pain T Wayne” hops over a psychedelic trap beat saying that he reminds himself of T-Pain & shit not changing. “Beautician” goes for a jazzier boom bap vibe instrumentally talking about working in any weather while “Mason’s Dispatch” feels like a minute & a half freestyle.
My least favorite track here might be “The Music” mostly because it sounds underdeveloped & so short where having it on here seems rather pointless while “Nostradamus” featuring Danny Brown makes up for it by giving us a boom bap banger that would’ve fit perfectly on Dyn-o-mite. “My Momma” continues the 2nd half of the EP showing gratitude towards his mother while “River Rogue” continues to chop up more samples talking about having this shit laced.
“Baby Bruisin’” nears closer towards the conclusion of Pin Breakers blending some strings & hi-hats discussing him spending a long time not having shit while “Sailing Seas” further elaborates on that recalling the days where he used to eat a bunch of Spam & sleep in the studio over a piano instrumental. The outro “Aha Aha” soulfully concludes the EP looking back at when he couldn’t walk around the hood because of a bounty placed on his stepfather’s head.
Considering that Pin Breakers was recorded in 2019 around the same time as Dyn-o-mite, it wouldn’t surprise me of these collection of previously unreleased tracks were meant to be on that album since ZelooperZ’ primarily abstract lyrics combined with Black Noi$e’s experimentally jazzy production were all key factors in making Dyn-o-mite so special to me even if there are some occasionally incomplete ideas floating around here & there.
Highland Park, New Jersey born producer Mr. Green now based out of New York City surprisingly taking the microphone for a new extended play of solo material. For nearly 2 decades already, this guy has produced for some of the most prolific artists across the entire underground hip hop spectrum from the Army of the Pharaohs to R.A. the Rugged Man & Westside Gunn. He also has multiple beat tapes under his belt & was interested in hearing what sort of directions he’d try taking for F.U. S.M.D. (For U, Some Musical Distraction).
After the soulful “ooo ooo ooo” intro, the first song “think about u” works in some pianos to sing about him not being able to get enough of a woman he’s fallen in love with whereas “make money” takes a mainly repetitive approach to his songwriting wanting to increase his revenue over more keys. “g thang” eventually reaches the halfway point soulfully covering WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg’s opening verse of “Nuthin’ But a G Thang”.
“u known me for years” kicks off the 2nd leg of F.U. S.M.D. (For U, Some Musical Distraction) hooking up a boom bap instrumental to spit an off-the-cuff freestyle talking about some wanting him to stay & others hoping he calls it quits but after a 21 second skit, the closing track beautiful life” preceding a Bandcamp exclusive outro spanning almost a minute spends the last 76 seconds of the EP repetitively singing about the beauty of existing.
Wouldn’t have ever imagined Mr. Green taking the risk of vocally performing over his own production for the duration of an entire project & although I appreciate gin doing so, I found a great deal of F.U. S.M.D. (For U, Some Musical Distraction) to be pretty average. There is some artistic range pulling inspiration from singer/songwriter as well as R&B & of course hip hop, but I was expecting more out of the songwriting considering the repetitiveness of multiple tracks & firmly believe he can make a few improvements.
This is the sophomore effort from Belleville, Michigan emcee Kain Cole. Coming up artistically as a teenager, he would unfortunately wind up incarcerated for 8 years until signing to Detroit independent powerhouse Middle Finger Music almost immediately after coming home & showed us how much he perfected his craft by having the label’s co-founder Foul Mouth producing his 2022 debut album S.U.M.P. (Surviving Under Major Pressure). Following a string of guest appearances for his fellow MFM alumni Bizarre & Isaac Castor, the time for the Khronicles of Kain to be told as finally come.
“Gotta Have It” begins with this soulfully jazzy intro thanking all of his haters whether it be past or present whereas “It’s Up to You” embraces more jazzier vibes taking a more motivational approach to his songwriting for a couple minutes. “Heavyweight” switches things up with a boom bap instrumental & the gritty penmanship leading into “I.Y.K.Y.K. (If You Know You Know)” reminds the world that he’s been doing this prior to his incarceration.
Meanwhile on “Uno”, we have Kain over some strings mixed with kicks & snares flexing that he kills muhfuckas in silence despite him constantly smoking loud while “Blue Check” chops up more soul samples talking about how some will literally sell themselves out for money. “Foolish” ends the 1st half on some chipmunk soul shit admitting that it’s been hard for him to change because he loves this shit while “I Know” talks about people being inept of telling him what he’s already aware of.
“Bebe’s Kid” continues the 2nd leg of the LP taking a jazzy boom bap route instrumentally making it clear that he actually lives what he writes instead of merely yapping & after “Break a Leg” swaps out the jazz elements in favor of some orchestral undertones getting in his shit-talking bag for a bit, “We Get It In” featuring Bang Belushi finds the pair boasting that they’re so raw to the point where their intensities are felt across 10 different cities.
The song “Pesto” winds down the Khronicles of Kain coasting a piano-driven boom bap beat asking who the fuck these cornballs think they’re talking crazy to & rollin’ 100 deep with his squad while “Seasoned” featuring Bad News Brown joins forces with the MC/producer duo named after the late WWE Hall of Famer to discuss their own experience in the game. “How Did I Survive?” lastly finishes things up explaining his way of escaping the terror he’s seen.
Almost 4 & a half years since his debut, Kain Cole makes it clear to anyone that he didn’t go anywhere which I think his feature run justifies that & I might have to put Khronicles of Kain above S.U.M.P. (Surviving Under Major Pressure) because of the growth shown compared to it’s predecessor. Foul Mouth’s production varies between drumless, boom bap, jazz rap & chipmunk soul backing Kain’s introspective lyrics & a couple appearances from his MFM brethren.
Legends Will Never Die 