K.A.A.N. is a 32 year old MC/producer from Maryland who’s already made himself well established in less than a decade by delivering standouts in his ever-growing discography like the Dem Jointz-produced Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due & more recently Mission Hillz. But to celebrate hip hop’s 50th birthday, former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 is being enlisted behind the boards throughout K.A.A.N.’s 23rd album.
After the “Foreword from Soul Brother #1” intro, “The Spark” is truly what gets the album going with it’s organ-laced boom bap instrumental asking how one in this industry gets it all whereas “The Glow Up” goes into more sample-based territory talking about how they done see him blow up. “The Fame” gives off an eerier atmosphere with some kicks & snares worked in explaining that some live & would kill for clout prior to “The Life Imitating The Art” hooks up a crooning loop advising not to be scared of your reflection.
“The Politics” dives into wavy boom bap turf explaining that politicians & magicians are basically the same thing just before “The Image” hops on top of these strings, kicks & snares explaining the way to truly make a name for yourself in hip hop. “The Drugs” psychedelically confesses that he did too much & now he’s fucked up as a result leading into “The Self Hate” somberly airs out everything he dislikes about himself.
Beginning the final leg of the album, “The Cavities” discusses all the stale things in like that he likes to refer to as a cavity in a metaphoric sense with a syrupy, delicate beat while “The Fall Off”’s bluesy guitar passages fit with the subject matter of one artist’s demise in success. Eventually, the title track closes out the album manically gives us a glimpse into how our protagonist’s life unfortunately ends.
I’ve publicly stated numerous times that we were in for one of K.A.A.N.’s best albums to date & that’s exactly what we got here. 7’s cooks up production that provokes the emotions each individual joint offers the cohesively-told concept is so well thought out, really a tragic tale of how the industry can genuinely be sometimes.
This is the 7th full-length album from San Gabriel Valley, California emcee Wildcard. Coming up in 2007 off the debut Dark Night of the Soul, he would go on to build up an impressive discography for himself from there whether it be The Odyssey & The War or even his last couple efforts Shadow Work & Change in Cabin Pressure celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary at the end of the month. But given a couple of the singles off Western Promises, I went into it expecting it to be the strongest body of work in his catalog up to this point.
The title track is a rock-infused boom bap opener produced by Johnny Slash talking about being unable to stop this whereas “The Chaser” works in a sample on top of some kicks & snares detailing going from chasing dragons to chasing dreams. “The Rim” ruggedly confesses that he’s been envious of others’ success in the industry before, but then “Pink Diamonds” gives off a Middle Eastern boom bap flare instrumentally mixing insight commentary with humor in a tasteful manner.
“Cali Driver” featuring A-Wax hooks up an organ loop over more kicks & snares so both MCs can hope that the angels save their souls leading into C-Lance cooking up a more grueling sound for “Nightmares” pleading not to make a peep when you die like Freddy Krueger’s victims have. “St. Chris” incorporates a boom bap instrumental with horn sample talking about leaving loved ones at home that is until the crooning “Party for the Dead” says it all & I can definitely see some underground heads having it in their Halloween playlists.
Meanwhile, “The Era” makes it clear what time period he’s from with a sample-laced boom bap beat & clever wordplay just before the spirit-crushing “Place the Blame” getting more introspective on the lyrical side to pop off on all of his struggles personally.“Operator” featuring BARZ! gives me a more mafiosi feeling to the instrumental declaring themselves as exactly that prior to “Bewitched” featuring Savvy Red is a tenser cut talking about how he never meant to make her cry.
The song “Circles” looks back on never thinking that he would be using needles to get a buzz over a twangy boom bap beat from Stu Bangas while the penultimate track “Pick Your Battles” goes into a more piano-driven direction talking about selecting a specific issue of importance to focus on rather than trying to deal with many things at once. “Glass Moon Deluxe” featuring Krayzie Bone wraps up the album on a rap rock note talking about holding the ones they love tightly.
Over a decade into the game, Western Promises absolutely lived up to my expectations & I’d recommend it as a fantastic entry to Wildcard’s catalog for anyone who may be new to him. Sonically, it’s his most well-produced & you can hear that he sounds more inspired now that he’s getting older with time passing us all by as fast as it already does by embracing inspiration & exploring his past.
This is the 11th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career since 2015 by dropping 4 EPs & a collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning called Kingdom of Criminality on top of the all the previous LPs that he’s dropped along the way. But coming off Living in the End Times only 9 months backs on Veteran’s Day, the Chi-Town lyricist is now cooking up Alchemy & Black Magic.
After the “Immortal in Memory” intro, the first song “Rewind” featuring RJ Payne is a gully boom bap opener produced by C-Lance with both wordsmith’s talking about trying to figure this shit whereas “Horses of Instruction” keeps it dusty sonically to point out that he’s been a menace for nearly a decade already. “Suicide Choir” featuring both Ill Bill & Lord Goat of Non Phixion finds the trio over a sample-based boom bap instrumental delivering lyrical annihilation, but then “Death to the False” scathingly attacks every fraudulent person out here.
“Black Magic” gives off an uncanny boom bap atmosphere courtesy of Young Bangas discussing how much he’s elevated from the basement since he started out that is until Lord Goat returns on “Self Destruct” alongside A.M. Early Morning ruggedly talking about sending their goons up to your crib. “Dark World 2023” featuring JakProgresso is essentially a remake of a joint he did 5 years back showing the evolution of his craft just before “The Last Illusion” comes through with a delightful horrorcore/boom bap hybrid that Johnny Slash cooked up.
Moving on to the last couple 6 & a half minutes of the album, “Blood Brothers” featuring Novatore’s brother G-Pap showcases a back-&-forth chemistry between both siblings over a mobster-esque loop as well as kicks & snares declaring that the Infamous has hopefully been reawaken/reunited leading into “Spell Caster” featuring 20 Elbridge tying it all up in the form of both MCs on top of a mystically raw beat comparing themselves to sorcerers with their pens.
I maintain that Novatore’s been continuously outdoing himself in recent memory with each album he delivers, yet Alchemy & Black Magic is the guy’s most consistent solo effort since Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience couple years ago. The traditional production style & gritty lyricism we’ve come to know him for make their way onto here except the performances from the guests are a lot stronger personally.
Rick Hyde is a 34 year old emcee/producer from Buffalo, New York notable for being a flagship artist on Benny the Butcher’s very own MNRK Music Group imprint Black Soprano Family Records. His debut album Plates that came out at the very beginning of 2019 was pretty solid on top of 9 EPs & a sequel to his full-length debut, which the last we heard from him being the Stima EP that celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary this past. However, he’s now enlisting Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla for a 10th EP.
“Rick Rhude” is a killer opener to the EP with it’s guitar passages & pianos promising that no one wants any of the smoke he’s bringing prior to “Eastside” featuring Elcamino works in a sample-based boom bap instrumental talking about another summer on the titular side of their respective hometown. “Weight Watchers” featuring Heem blends these keys & drums together advising not to come out unless you’re ready that is until “Change My High” comes through with a laidback weed smoker’s theme.
Fuego Base comes into the picture for the violin-infused “PTSD” cautioning not to speak of what you saw as this is a different type of law just before “1 Brick Minimum” featuring Benny the Butcher & Malik finds the trio aggressively getting in their hustler bags. “Knock Down” featuring Boldy James goes into a more alluring boom bap vibe calling out those who thought they were down, but then “Streets Ain’t the Same” featuring Benny sends off the EP as both of them emotionally talk about the streets being different these days.
B$F has undeniably been leaving a hot trail throughout 2023 whether it be Loveboat Luciano’s latest sophomore effort Parole or Fuego Base whom I mentioned earlier revealing himself to be the Biggest Since Camby. However, Lupara stands as my favorite project to come out of the Black Soprano Family camp as we reach more than halfway through the year. Ricky lets Chop-La-Rok & Rare Scrilla handle all the production paying tribute to the golden era so he can further cement his status as one of the strongest links on the label roster.
This is a brand new self-produced EP from Millville, New Jersey emcee/producer Gibby Stites. Getting his start in the music industry nearly a decade ago, he wouldn’t catch my attention until performing a set during Netfest On Your Couch during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Later that fall, he signed to Majik Ninja Entertainment & I had the honor of interviewing him shortly after the deal was made public. The 13th Wonder pretty much showcased Gibby to the juggalos as Jamie Madrox’ protégé & Welcome to iLLViLLE several months later took listeners through exactly where he comes from, but decided not to renew his MNE contract to form his own label iLLViLLE Worldwide shortly after. Now I’ll admit that it’s been over a couple years since I’ve covered Gilberto’s music track-by-track & that’s nothing personal at all because I know there are some juggalos out there that give him flack, but my morbid curiosity about Off Air got the best of me to make the time to break it down. Especially considering his return behind the boards for the first time in a grip.
The intro is a chilling, 75 second boom bap opener with Gibby talking about doing it for fuck’s sake that is until “The Man” works in some strings as well as kicks & snares admitting that he feels like that motherfucker now. “Heartbreak Kid” shifts into more summery boom bap territory opening up about being the one they start shit with just before “Blueprint” has a more weepier atmosphere instrumentally acknowledging that he knows for a fact that he’s the one.
“Made Men” keeps the kicks & snares in tact with a bluesier loop shaking the money tree to rake it all in leading into “Goosebumpin’” switching it up with a groovy trap beat talking about how people be sayin’ they gon’ do something to him & not actually go through with it at all. “Labels” brings back the symphonic undertones calling out the music industry for trying to stick him & “Ocean” closes out the EP with a powerful ballad promising not to let anyone down.
So this is Gibby’s 3rd EP albeit 9th project overall on iLLViLLE & I’m gonna have to be honest by saying Off Air is undebatably the best he’s sounded since leaving Majik Ninja to go his own way. The production is primarily grounded in the traditional east coast boom bap sound with a couple exceptions & he continues to take a step further into demonstrating how much he’s grown artistically within the last 5 years.
MacArthur Maze is a Bay Area-based hip-hop collective consisting of Blvck Achilles, Champ Green, D. Blesdoe, Ian Kelly, Jane Handcock, Roux Shankle & the Golden State Warriors’ disc jockey DJ D Sharp. The septuplet has been turning quite a few heads in the west coast underground scene over the years, most notably WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg signing Jane to a contract with the infamous Death Row Records as a solo artist now that the cousin of the shortest reigning IWGP女子チャンピオン, 6-time WWE women’s champion, NXT Women’s Champion & the inaugural record-tying 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné has full ownership of the label. However, the crew’s ready to make their mark as a unit on their official debut album.
After the intro, the first song “First Friday” starts it all off with an orchestral boom bap instrumental pledging allegiance to the family prior to “Panther Bruce Lee” working in a lounger sound so the crew can display some strong back & forth mic chemistry for nearly 3 minutes. “San Pablo Dam” goes into a more delicate direction with the beat talking about the titular road out in Contra Costa county, but then “Ms. Mula” shifts into solemn trap territory to put an interesting spin on the concept of money.
The title track blends a vocal sample with kicks & snares discussing what they can still remember just before “No More” comes through with a dope gospel flip talking about not wanting to hear wack shit anymore. “Table for 5” gives off a jazzier flare instrumentally declaring to be on the highway leading into the dreamier “Switching Lanes” talking about having his rap shit down to the chemistry.
Lastly to begin the final leg of the album, the penultimate track “Dealin’ Art” cooks up an even smoother beat detailing the many blessings that the collective has been grateful enough to receive up to this point & “Thank You Have a Nice Day” rounds out MacArthur Maze’s debut album with everyone over horns talking about reaching a certain high to be known & proving all their doubters wrong.
I was already familiar with Jane because of her extensive collaborations with Snoop Dogg & being taken under his mentorship, so that undoubtedly played a part in my interest for this album peaking. The final result being a solid introduction as to who MacArthur Maze is. They honor those in Northern California who paved the way while also carving out their own niche in the scene.
It’s finally arrived: The 4th full-length album from Houston, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & entrepreneur Travis Scott. Not only was it confirmed by DJ Premier recently that La Flame’s father actually taught Preem how to play drum & bass, but Trav himself up as 1/2 of The Graduate$ until the duo disbanded after he signed a joint deal with T.I. to Grand Hustle Records as a recording artist & with one of my top 10 music producers of all-time Kanye West as a G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer. His debut mixtape Owl Pharaoh that came out my sophomore year had a blatantly heavy KiD CuDi influence which isn’t bad because it was even said that CuDi was Travis’ biggest musical influence & they’ve since formed a superduo called The Scotts. The sophomore tape Days Before Rodeo was where he started coming into his own artistically & the Epic Records distributed full-length debut Rodeo has rightfully become one of the most important trap albums of all-time. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight followed the next fall to more moderate reception even though the highs like “sweet sweet” & “goosebumps” are very high, but ASTROWORLD came out only a few days after a death in the family & it helped me get through it as Travis would expand on the psychedelic trap sounds of his groundbreaking debut album. This would subsequently be his last body of work to be released under Grand Hustle, as he would go on to form his own Epic imprint Cactus Jack Records. But after years of singles & a crowd crush at the 3rd annual ASTROWORLD Fest that some people still blame him for even though the same security who worked there were the same ones who worked when Dave Chappelle got jumped on stage last year, the H-Town trap trailblazer is taking us to UTOPIA.
“HYAENA” is a self-produced boom bap opener flipping “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic talking about shit being out of control as it is calling the situation we’re in currently to neither be a good one nor unblessed whereas “THANK GOD” gives his thanks to the man upstairs for still being here today & the only 12 he supports being the greatest QB of all-time or 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady over a drumless instrumental with co-production from Ye, BoogzDaBeast, WondaGurl, FNZ & Allen Ritter. “MODERN JAM” featuring Teezo Touchdown speaks on the way the world is now as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo & Mike Dean sonically draw inspiration from Yeezus a bit that is until “MY EYES” has a dynamically dreamier vibe courtesy of Wheezy & Justin Vernon confessing that his eyes remain closed.
30 Roc & Dez Wright hook up a melodic vocal loop & hi-hats for “GOD’S COUNTRY” talking about how it ain’t up to you no more just before “SIRENS” energetically talks about being too determined & needing refurbishing. “MELTDOWN” featuring Drake is essentially a spiritual successor to “Sicko Mode” with all the instrumental switch-ups from Boi-1da, BNYX of Working on Dying, Tay Keith & Vinylz respectively getting on tea time with my only complaint being Drake’s redundantly corny diss to one of my idols Pharrell. We all know the story of Adidon, but he didn’t have to throw Skateboard under the bus. The secondary WrestleMania XLI official theme song “FE!N” featuring Playboi Carti though makes up for it by going into a synth-heavy realm talking about drug use & Carti’s vocal utilizations throughout are unbelievable.
“DELRESTO (ECHOES)” featuring Beyoncé sounds like it could’ve been on B’s comeback effort Renaissance from last summer as they jump on top of a house beat from Hit-Boy clarifying the only thing they escape for is the echoes themselves, but then “I KNOW?” talks about a girl that really ain’t even his type backed by a nocturnal trap instrumental. “TOPIA TWINS” featuring Rob49 & 21 Savage blends some organs & hi-hats referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock showing off 2 twin bitches hoppin’ off a jetski even though Rob’s contribution doesn’t hold up to La Flame’s or 21’s, but “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” named after his debut film talks about having his final moment on top of synths & heavy drums.
Cactus Slatt gets together for the trippy, 6-minute “SKITZO” once again dabbling with multiple beat-switches pointing out how the bitches they bagged do that there on top of Travis rightfully choosing Kanye over Biden any day while the “PARASAIL” interlude gives off a slower edge promising to eternally fight for everything he loves. “Lost Forever” featuring Westside Gunn was something I was highly anticipating sampling both “f.o.r.e.v.e.r.” by James Blake & “Don’t Be Safe” by Check Senrick thanks to another top 10 producer of mine The Alchemist so Trav can discuss being lost in Utopia on top of West dropping the raw gangsta shit we’ve come to love him for later on.
“LOOOVE” by The Scotts goes into more robotic territory understanding that they’re loved asking if that’s how anyone else is feeling while “K-Pop” featuring Bad Bunny fresh off his WrestleMania XXXIX guest Spanish commentator appearance & The Weeknd is basically a male version of “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, which I actually understand why he chose it as a single even though I’ll most likely never listen to that song again. Really the only skip here. The cloudy penultimate track “TELEKINESIS” featuring Future & SZA finds the trio talking about seeing ahead into what’s to come, but “‘TIL FURTHER NOTICE” featuring James Blake & 21 Savage wraps up Utopia by saying x-rated love is the best kinda love accompanied by a synth-trap hybrid from Metro Boomin’.
ASTROWORLD quickly became my 2nd favorite Trav album for how it expanded on the psychedelics that made his full-length debut amongst the most groundbreaking trap projects to come out within the last decade & it makes me happy to see how much it’s aged well, but UTOPIA easily stands at the #3 spot. It’s refreshing to hear him behind the boards again with him wearing the Ye influences HEAVY as he shows us all experiences where utopian things can exist & you can enjoy yourself & have a good time.
This is the 6th EP from Maryland recording artist Ty Fontaine. Breaking out in 2019 off the strength of his debut EP Waiting on Ascension, he would go on to follow this up with the full-length debut We Ain’t the Same alongside a couple of mixtapes & 3 more EPs, the previous being The Revive preluding a sequel to his Internet Money Records-backed debut mixtape Ascension & more recently Black Truck Life in the spring. Now that we’re halfway through summer, Ty’s enlisting SJR to ask if Yuheame.
“Epic Disco” is an electronic-tinged opener talking big things whereas “Ma Deserves ChaNayNay” gives off more of a psychedelic trap edge so he can single out everyone that’s called him crazy up to this point. “Soso” has a more cheerful sound to it instrumentally talking about how they tried to take his heart away but after the “Tyler’s Message #FreeTheSeals” interlude, “Macaroni Sounds” featuring Migo Lee dives into plugg territory putting it all on their granny’s kids.
Meanwhile, “Fleek” goes for a moodier atmosphere saying his squad on that shit if you want it just before “Magic Magic” goes into glossy trap territory asking why his bitch being extra & not to play with his paper. “Fast” featuring MultiPlayas blends these keys & hi-hats to detail exactly the way they be living now while “On Ya Head” pulls from dance music a bit addressing a love interest of his.
The song “C’mon” featuring Joony finds the 2 gives off a victorious flare to the instrumental pointing out the fact that the money ain’t ever gon’ leave them as opposed to the women that do while the penultimate track “On Timing…” dives into syrupy territory talking about still being on that time. “Beaming” though closes out the EP out on a profound note by addressing his ever-growing popularity.
However long it may be until we reach Ascension 2, I’m more than ok with Ty continuing to build anticipation for it by further experimenting with his versatility like he did only a few months back. The performances from the few features that he brings in are pretty mild but outside of that, but his knack for catchy songwriting remains untouched & SJR’s brings a whole new vibe behind the boards.
Whitney Peyton is a 29 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who rose to prominence in the underground by releasing 3 albums, 2 mixtapes & 4 EPs all independently. She recently signed to Burbank, California powerhouse Suburban Noize Records at the beginning of the decade with my favorite full-length of hers Alpha, going on to leave afterwards to form Alpha Howse & made her debut under the imprint The Audacity only 14 months ago. But now, she’s returning to take us in a trip for her 6th official full-length.
“Leave Me Alone” featuring Enkay47 is a woozy trap opener advising not to bother either one of them since they don’t know who to trust whereas “Make Some Room” gives off more an electronic flare instrumentally getting flirtatious on the lyrical end. “Sometimes” featuring Astray takes the cavernous route so both of them admit they have moments where they just wanna run away, but then “Make Up Ya Mind” featuring Grieves comes through with a more stripped-back approach talking about a relationship where he doesn’t want her to be herself & gets mad when she’s with other guys.
C-Lance’s boom bap production “Climber” might be my favorite beat on the whole album calling out those with no shine who want to climb to the top, but then “Takes One to Know One” delivers the worst feature from Futuristic despite the acoustic trap instrumental & the subject matter of being headcases. “Full Moon” featuring Bag of Tricks Cat works in some heavy synthesizers talking about how something don’t feel right leading into “Get It from My Mom” featuring Reverie paying tribute to their mothers with a trap metal beat from Godsynth.
The song “Into the Fire” draws closer to the end of the album by jumping on top of a moody trap instrumental encouraging everyone that’s listening to live for the moment while the penultimate track “Be Mine” returns to more pop rap turf telling her significant other to take care of themselves & that your heart has to be yours first. “Ring Around the Rosé” is a cloudy closer to tie up Whitney’s 6th album albeit 2nd under her independent imprint by declaring it doesn’t have to be the way it is anymore.
The Audacity although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Alpha still had its highlights & undeniably marked a new chapter in Whitney’s career, but I actually might like Side Effects a tad bit more than the AH debut she put out over a year ago at this point. Only a couple features that under-performed like the predecessor, except the 2 biggest differences are that the production’s better & she has a brand new confidence.
This is the 9th EP from Jersey City wordsmith Ransom. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own in 2008 following their disbandment beginning with his 2008 full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort The Proposal. But it’s been safe to say these last couple years have been his biggest so far whether it be the 5 EPs that he put out produced by Nicholas Craven, 7 based around the 7 deadly sins, Heavy’s the Head produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce, or even his last couple albums Chaos is My Ladder or Director’s Cut 4. Now that the latter finally made it to DSPs earlier this month despite being released limitedly in May, it’s only right for Ran & Nicholas to whip up a Deleted Scenes sequel.
“American Made” opens the EP with a heavy soul sample talking about motherfuckers using their brains for the dumbest antics whereas “Arrival” takes the chipmunk soul route speaks on turning his messes into messages, considering that to be his arrival to the top of the game. The track “Body of Lies” blends some victorious horns & background vocals discussing a hustler’s remorse while the final song “Homefront” officially ties up the EP on a bluesier note talking about time being too precious to fall back. We’re then treated to a remix of “Deliver Us from Evil” from the previous Deleted Scenesthat’s on par with the original.
Craven & Ran have never missed whenever they connect for a body of work as DC4 further exemplified a couple months ago. Here we are at the end of July & they did it again with what I believe is amongst the strongest EPs that 2023 had given us. There ain’t no one like Ransom lyrically & Nicholas’ production is rooted in his signature drumless/chipmunk soul sound that we’ve all come to know & love. Basically the underground Nas & Hit-Boy right now.
