Sk8star – “Mogul” review

This is the 3rd EP from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Sk8star. Getting his footing in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up this year with both his previous EP B4NWØ & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. But coming fresh off a live performance in Brooklyn last month during the Black Friday weekend that we went to & now that Christmas is only a week away, dude’s seeing fit to drop Mogul without any prior notice.

“dover mogul” starts the EP with a pluggy instrumental & Sk8star talking about being as powerful as he is coming straight out of the titular community in Screven County whereas “first class” samples the Fergie & Ludacris bop “Glamorous” 1,000x better than Jack Harlow did thanks to Nosaint from Vanguard Music Group saying he started this shit. “thin line” returns to a more mellow trap-based sound touching on the border between love & hate leading into “tripple cross”, which keeps the plugg vibes going talking about losing friends not really being that much of an issue for him personally.

However with “paparazzi”, we have Sk8 over a rage beat from Popstar Benny calling out those who be hatin’ every time he posts a pic just before “sky’s the limit” works in some hi-hats & rattling bass to deliver some braggadocio. “slatty” has a more spacious atmosphere to it talking about having his swag on overload while the song “workin’” is a piano trap ballad admitting he’s more observant & talkative. The penultimate track “goosebumps” has a more ethereal instrumental continuing to flex & “no heart” finishes the EP on a cloudy note talking about how he did this shit.

Now if you’re like me & got drawn into this dude’s music over the summer by New World Ørder, then you’re gonna wanna give Mogul a listen as well because it’s certainly on par with his last tape & can definitely see his profile continuing to grow going into the new year. The production has some more prominent plugg undertones this time around & his melodic delivery is still as charming as it was on the predecessor.

Score: 3.5/5

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Renelle 893 – “Cocoa Butter” review

This is the 2nd EP from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee Renelle 893. Introducing himself a year & a half earlier off the previous extended play Black Currents, he would eventually catch the attention of High Focus Records not too long afterwards & signed to the label. The historic Hove, East Sussex imprint however has decided for Renelle to end their 2022 by having King Kashmere fully produce Cocoa Butter a couple months succeeding Letherette entirely producing Chuck Enzo’s official High Focus return TR3B only 24 hours away from Robbie X ending Luke Jacobs’ reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Let Go” begins with a funky boom bap opener talking about keeping his hood up in his head low whereas “Wine Bottle” drumlessly flexes of pulling up to a zoo because he got a cougar in his whip. “I Dunno” featuring The Strange Neighbour finds the pair suggesting that they act the way do because of the cognac they drink & once “Like a Villain” wavily talks about him wanting to simply chill, “Gotta Go” ends the EP with him speaking of ruling with Hell fire & brimstones.

Continuing to warm fans up for an upcoming full-length debut album of his own, Renelle 893 embraces a new era in the London artist’s career with an extended play that greatly improves beyond the predecessor & his future on board the High Focus Records roster promises a bright future for him in preparation of グレート-O-カーン becoming the new RPW British Heavyweight Champion tomorrow. King Kashmere’s production throughout Cocoa Butter feels nostalgically reminiscent to the simpler times of our lives compared to Black Currents & Renelle’s pen-game has improved tremendously over the course of 20 months.

Score: 4/5

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Your Old Droog – “The Shining” review

This is the 9th EP from Ukrainian-American emcee Your Old Droog. Catching my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut. many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 3 EPs he’s given us since YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield & The Yodfather weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. So just when I assumed the predecessor was gonna be Droog’s last of 2022, dude’s making me eat my own words by dropping The Shining less than 2 weeks before Christmas.

“Fresh Direct” is an ominous boom bap opener with Droog acknowledging that there ain’t a rapper that he’s not sonnin’ whereas “Brinks Truck” takes a jazzier route to spit the illest shit that he can think of. “We on the Tarmac” has a more spacious vibe talking about not worrying about a thing & being where the stars at prior to TCF Music Group’s very own Che Noir tagging along for the sample based “Room 237” referencing the titular room in the fictional Overlook Hotel from the classic Stanley Kubrick film that the EP is named after. The song “Redrum” with Rock & Tha God Fahim finds the trio over some dusty production to get murderous while the penultimate track “Here’s Johnny” weaves a flute-tinged boom bap beat in talking about catching him where the dough at. “The Hedge Maze” however ends the EP with a ghostly Sadhugold instrumental & Droog looking back on all his fake friends as he freezes to death.

Before I wrap things up here, I just wanna sincerely apologize for jumping the gun & assuming that The Yodfather was gonna be the final offering from Droog before the year ends. Now that’s out of the way, The Shining is absolutely a cut above the last 3 EPs dude has put out. It’s more conceptual as one of the most prominent MCs in the underground today uniquely retells the titularly classic Stephen King tale & it’s cool to see Wino Willy get more shine by producing a bulk of it. Here’s to the impending masterpiece of a Droogie Otis full-length debut in 2023!

Score: 3.5/5

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Ab-Soul – “Herbert” review

Ab-Soul is a 35 year old MC & singer/songwriter from Carson, California who came up as 1/2 of the duo Area 51 alongside Snake Hollywood. The pair would be short lived however, as Soulo would go on to sign to Top Dawg Entertainment & has remained under Top Dawg’s wing since. Dude’s first 2 mixtapes Longterm & Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke & Almost Famous would begin to turn heads & I can’t forget about his first 2 full-lengths Longterm Mentality & Control System going on to become the Black Lip Bastard’s most acclaimed efforts to date, but These Days… & Do What Thou Wilt. were both released to mediocre reception from many including myself. That being said though, I was definitely looking forward to Soulo’s 6th album here as TDE comes fresh off SZA‘s long awaited sophomore effort S.O.S. last Friday & of course Kendrick’s final offering with the label Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers over the spring.

“Message in a Bottle” is a 2-part boom bap opener with Soulo talking about being close to the edge whereas “No Report Card” takes a peppier Route promising not to stop. “Hollandaise” starts off going into trap turf with some cloudy/pluggy undertones talking about being locked in with no fucks given prior to a jazzy switch-up during the final verse, but then Joey Bada$$ tags along for the “Moonshooter” remix weaving a chipmunk soul sample & some dusty drums to get more conscious lyrically.

However on “F.O.M.F. (Fuck Out My Face)”, we have the Black Lip Bastard over a horn-inflicted trap instrumental advising the bitch-made to back up from him leading into Punch coming into the picture for the soulful boom bap cut “Goodman” talking about being righteous & good men turning tyrant. “Do Better” samples “Green Twins” by Nick Hakim dropping some more uplifting lyricism just before the Fre$h-assisted “Gang’Nem” embraces a cloudier sound getting on a whole lotta gang shit.

“The Wild Side” returns to the boom bap with some piano chords woven in speaking on turning their lifestyles into their careers while “Art of Seduction” is of course a decently moody love ballad. “Bucket” hooks up a vocal loop talking about controlling this system & not to worry about a damn thing while “Go Off” with Big Sean & Russ has a wavy trap groove with the trio giving off big sick energy. The verse from the latter at the middle is kinda cringey especially with the line about not teaching a girl how to arch since she’s from St. Louis, but Sean comes out swinging with a crazy Stone Cold Steve Austin reference once he starts spitting near the end.

Moving on from there with “Fallacy” featuring Alemeda, it’s only right for Soulo to declare that the real is back over some airy boom bap production from Hit-Boy while the title track brings a sample-based trap beat into the fold talking about how he’ll never be understood. “Church on the Move” is a gospel/trap hybrid keeping the faith while the piano-heavy “It Be Like That” admits his fuck-ups with a melodic outro. The penultimate track “Positive Vibes Only” speaks for itself with a triumphant beat & “Gotta Rap” finishes the album with the God of Boom Bap himself DJ Premier behind the boards to flex Ab’s lyrical abilities.

As someone who adored this guy’s first 2 full-lengths during my adolescence, I’ll admit that I had some doubts going into Herbert considering how underwhelming his last 2 have been. However, there’s no denying that this is the best he’s sounded since Control System. Given the title, I admire how he decided to get more personal be detailing his upbringings accompanied by some versatile production pulling from boom bap to trap & even gospel music.

Score: 4/5

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Ransom – “Chaos is My Ladder” review

Ransom is a 44 year old MC from Jersey City who came up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock. After their disbandment, he branched out on his own in 2008 beginning with his 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, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Heavy’s the Head, the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce, his previous full-length No Rest for the Wicked earlier this spring & his latest EP This Life Made Me in the fall. But to ring in the winter, Ran’s enlisting V Don to fully produce his 5th album.

“Hit List” featuring 38 Spesh starts things off with a menacing boom bap of opener as the pair go back & forth with one another getting ready to go to war whereas “All In” with Eto works in some lavish piano chords with the 2 talking about how tigers don’t dance in the desert. Both J. Arrr & Mad Squablz tag along for the chipmunk soul infused “Blissful Agony” to drop some battle bars just before the orchestral boom bap ballad “Lone Wolf” declares himself as such.

After the “Calm Before the Storm” interlude, we have Ransom coming together with “A Most Dreadful Symphony” calling out those who glance over the scripts & never knowing the plots over some string sections leading into the angelically produced “Toxic Love” with the title speaking for itself as far as subject matter goes, but then “Burning Bridges” goes drumless with it’s bare piano instrumental continue to be more introspective with the lyrics.

The song “Chaotic Ceremony” has a more luxurious groove to it talking about liking action & making shit happen while the penultimate track “Short Notice” with Lloyd Banks finds the 2 wordsmiths talking about how it’s time to even the score over a jazzy beat. “Late Nights Early Mournings” however closes out the album on a symphonic note proclaiming only the strong survive so the weak ends.

Between this as well as No Rest for the Wicked & This Life Made Me, there’s not a single doubt in my mind that Chaos is My Ladder is the best of the 3 projects that Ransom has dropped throughout 2022. The production that V Don cooks up is a tad bit more consistent than what we heard on the last EP with no disrespect intended towards Mayor whatsoever as the lyricism continues to remind everyone that there aren’t many who’re on Ran’s level.

Score: 4.5/5

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Gotti Mob – “Don’t Be Stupid” review

The Gotti Mob is a newly formed hip hop duo consisting of Kurupt & C-Mob. One is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania born albeit Los Angeles, California bred veteran notable for being 1/2 of Tha Dogg Pound alongside Daz Dillinger & the latter coming straight outta Marion, Indiana turning heads in the underground since 2005, particularly within the horrorcore scene. They’ve only crossed paths with each other on wax a few times over the years, but are linking together & putting their chemistry to the test with a full-length debut.

“Mid West” is a grim piano/boom bap opener produced by Tone Spliff to start off the album talking about being so much more than the images that both MCs have portrayed whereas “Want Smoke!” works in some melodic vocal chops & dusty drums courtesy of Johnny Slash acknowledging that people don’t wanna fuck with them. Too $hort tags along for “Dumb Shit (Delirious)” to talk about not dealing with stupidity over a syrupy sample just before “I Ain’t Even Know!” has a more spacious sound speaking on living their lives & not trying to do anyone wrong.

Moving on from there with “Player’s Ball”, we have WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg joining the Gotti Mob over some production blending g-funk & boom bap referencing the titular gathering of pimps that takes place in Chicago every year leading into “Da Buzine$$” diving into trap territory talking about doing big business only. After the “Game Recognize Game” interlude, Sacramento veteran & the newest addition to the Strange Music roster X-Raided comes into the picture for the bell-infused “Often” advising to take caution prior to the bouncy “Take Me Away” showing a more romantic side lyrically.

“Medicine” with MC Eiht finds all 3 of them over a dark trap beat asking if one wants to do some gangsta shit or handle a certain situation like gentlemen while the song “Move Nice” pulls from hyphy music instrumentally recommending that one needs to be aware of all the tension surrounding them. The penultimate track “Wanna Be a Ho” returns to the trap sound 1 last time telling their significant others to be themselves around them, but then “Everywhere” with KXNG CROOKED & Spice 1 truly ends the album with a delirious ballad about being all over the place.

Now despite already being familiar with Kurupt at a young age due to his history with Death Row Records & the D.P.G.C. collective, I personally haven’t really heard much of C-Mob’s own material outside of some features he’s done for artists like Tech N9ne & Kung Fu Vampire throughout the last 3 years. All of that being said: the Gotti Mob gave us a pretty solid debut here & only time will tell if they plan on working with one another more down the road. The production from start to finish is trunk-rattling & the styles of both MCs gel with one another impressively.

Score: 4/5

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Little Simz – “NO THANK YOU” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Islington, London, England, United Kingdom emcee, singer & actress Little Simz. Getting her start at the beginning of the previous decade, she would go on to drop 4 mixtapes & 9 EPs alongside her previous LPs. GREY Area showed some serious artistic evolution & S.I.M.B.I. (Sometimes I Might Be Introvert) wound up being my 2021 Album of the Year, even giving it a perfect 10. So considering that, anticipation going into No Thank You after Simz announced it early last week was definitely high.

“Angel” is a crooning opener with Simz rapping about praying for a sign & how good things aren’t granted to you whereas “Gorilla” has a bit of a boom bap quality to the instrumental she she can go ape shit lyrically after being fully charged & bared up. “Silhouette” has a more angelic approach sonically encouraging the listeners to look inside oneself & that what she sees in certain people now in contrast the light shining on them at one point, but then “No Merci” works in some orchestral influences talking about doing yourself a favor & not sell your soul to those undeserving of it.

However with “X”, we have Simz on top of a gospel-inspired beat admitting that she needs God & that her pain will be adored someday leading into the soulful yet symphonic “Heart on Fire” talking about her life being a blessing & being unable to take all the stresses that come with it. “Broken” weaves some strings & swooning background vocals throughout to discuss what it means to feel hopeless just before “Sideways” takes the chipmunk soul route talking about cautioning not to get attached to the version of her you see today & removing toxic people from her presence. The penultimate track “Who Even Cares?” has a more woozier groove to it talking about not being afraid of shit & “Control” is a piano-heavy closer asks her lover to promise not to let go of her hand because their love is all she has left.

Simz has already proven herself to be the most exciting hip hop artist in the UK today with GREY Area & especially S.I.M.B.I. (Sometimes I Might Be Introvert), so it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that she goes for a 3-peat on NO THANK YOU here. She wonderfully details the point she’s at now without holding anything back & Inflo’s production still has the jazzy/neo-soul undertones of the predecessor with the exception of swapping out the orchestral influences of the last album with gospel.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mount Westmore – “Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort” review

Mount Westmore is a California west coast supergroup consisting Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40 & Too $hort. Each member being veterans in their hometowns of Long Beach, Inglewood, Vallejo & Oakland respectively. We never heard all 4 of them on a track together until after they formed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic & after releasing their full-length debut Bad MFs over the summer exclusively as an NFT, they’re finally putting it on streaming services 6 months later backed by MNRK Music Group & with some new cuts sprinkled into the mix.

“California” is a hyper opener produced by Rick Rock representing their home-state whereas the bouncy “Motto” lets everyone know what the maxim exactly is. “Big Subwoofer” blends hyphy with trap thanks to Kato dropping some braggadocio leading into “Too Big” pulling from snap music interestingly enough going back & forth with each other talking about just exactly how they prefer to do shit.

However with “Activated”, we have Mt. Westmore explaining that everything’s imitated rather than calculated over a g-funk instrumental just before “Have a Nice Day (Fuck You)” has a soulful boom bap quality provided by Fredwreck & Dem Jointz basically telling everyone to kiss their asses & I actually like the latter’s hook quite a bit although my only complaint is that the first verse he delivers was redundantly short. “Ghetto Gutter” brings back the hyphy courtesy of 40 Water’s son Droop-E with co-production from Ant Banks acknowledging that it’s how you come prior to the rubbery-synth-laced “Free Game” dropping precisely that.

“I Got Pull” returns to g-funk turf advising to ask your boss if you don’t know who they’re are while “Up & Down” comes through with my least favorite track on the album personally, as it happens to be an awkward ode to all the thick bitches out there. “Do My Best” picks things back up with a smoother ballad produced by Soopafly referring to themselves as champions while “Lace You Up” has a more peppy quality to the beat giving the listeners some advise.

Meanwhile with “Tribal”, all 4 of them talk about how it takes a village to raise the real ones over more hyphy production while the song “How Many” goes back to the g-funk spitting that gangsta shit. The penultimate track “On Camera” is an eerie trap cut feeling like that they’re being watched primarily because of how quick things tend to go around on social media these days & “Mash” is menacing closer getting quite mobbish.

I know some people were quick to write off the supergroup’s debut since it was initially released exclusively as an NFT back in June, but I knew they’d have to put it up on all streaming services at some point & I gotta admit that the material that we got out of it is pretty impressive. It’s interesting to hear how all 4 MCs’ unique deliveries mesh with one another & the production representing the state of California as a whole by blending g-funk with hyphy.

Score: 3.5/5

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Cult of the Damned – “Cultgangrapsh!t” review

Here we have the 3rd studio LP from England, United Kingdom collective the Cult of the Damned comprised of Blah Records founder Lee Scott, BeTheGun, Sly Moon, Salar, Bill Shakes, King Grubb, Tony Broke, Black Josh, Stinkin’ Slumrok, Bisk, Sleazy F Baby, Col. Mustard, Dr. Zygote, Sam Zircon & Reklews. Introducing themselves as a unit in 2015 off an eponymous debut EP, a sequel would come in the form of their full-length debut Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate & the sophomore effort The Church Of mostly produced by Nobodies Home was more rawer sonically. However, they’re returning to have Drae da Skimask solely produce Cultgangrapsh!t.

“SCOTTY2COMFY” by Bisk, Lee Scott & Sniff was a psychedelic boom bap intro talking about fathering MCs & breaking boundaries whereas “PUSSY2” by Bisk, Black Josh & Sniff featuring Jack Danz hooks up a piano sample mixed with kicks & snares so they can explain that you can’t be the greatest & a bitch. “FU” by the Antiheroes & Sly Moon eeriely brings the trio together over more key-driven boom bap instrumental for a hardcore hip hop track dismissing the need of a hook leading into “Belly” by Bisk & Black Josh featuring Jehst talking about life being a mess & controlling it all the way.

Stinkin’ Slumrok gets a solo joint of his own on the psychedelically raw “SLUMMY” looking to keep it going until the daylight comes prior to “JIM BEAM” by BeTheGun & Sly Moon going for a lo-fi boom bap vibe speaking of walking down the street & talking in their sleep at night. “DINOSAURFOOD” by Bisk & Black Josh jazzily finds the pair discussing less being more unless you’re short on the drawer while “Highlighted” lets Black Josh hold the fort for 113 seconds talking about having women on his mind over prominent vibraphone flip.

“Coffee, Pt. 2” by Bisk, King Grubb & Lee Scott nears the conclusion of Cultgangrapsh!t with a sequel to a standout off Cult of the Damned 2: Brick Pelican Posse Gang Crew Syndicate making it known that there ain’t nobody like them while “Free Tony” by Bill Shakes, Lee Scott & Tony Broke references UFC middleweight Nick Diaz. “Kosher” by Bisk & the Super Sag Bros finishes the album with all 3 of them talking about stealing women & only seeing greatness whenever shutting their eyes at night.

Since its title implies that we could a sequel or 2, this inaugural entry of the Cultgangrapsh!t series could by the weakest of the 3 full-lengths that the Cult of the Damned have given us in almost a decade. That said: I still enjoy it, just not as much as their previous material collectively. Drae da Skimask’s production suits their whole style & Reklews’ engineering, but it kinda feels like a compilation considering the lack of moments where there are 5 members or more appearing simultaneously. I’d also like to hear Reklews & Sam Zircon returning to produce a Cultgangrapsh!t 2whenever the time’s right.

Score: 3.5/5

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xhulooo – “NVRLST” review

This is the full-length debut from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer xhulooo. Breaking through SoundCloud at the very beginning of 2019, he’s gone on to drop a total of 9 EPs since with the last one being the 3-track offering Xhuday this past summer. But as his popularity has only continued to grow especially after the Ronny J-produced single “Hunnaround”, all of the loosies & EPs that xhu has given us within the last 3 years have all been leading up to the commercial debut NVRLST.

“Father” is a cloudy yet bassy trap opener produced by Maajins expressing his confusion by a bitch who keeps calling him papa whereas “freezTag” has a more cloudier vibe to it talking about being in that lane. “time2getAhM” works in a plugg instrumental to chase $1M prior to Lunchbox tagging along for the delicately-produced “Peel Off” talking about not giving any fucks towards how anyone else feels & looking back on when people used to do them dirty when they were down bad.

Meanwhile on “kantHang”, we have xhulooo airing out those who want to roll with him over some hi-hats as well as piano chords & synths leading into just before “yungRichFella” returns to a cloudier sound boasting his wealth. “Hold Us / Need You” starts off a spacious beat with a fast-tempo switch-up talking about them being unable to contain them expressing his love for this woman, but then sgpwes comes into the picture for the airy “Flat” admitting they don’t even know whey they are & having too many racks on them

“Was Hannin’?” jumps on top of a hazy instrumental asking what the deal is while “Trix” references 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena. “Mind Ur Business” with Highway finds the 2 over a heavenly trap beat encouraging everyone to not stick their noses where it don’t belong while the song “S.O.t.W. (Smoking Out the Window)” with Lil Keel hooks up a intriguing vocal sample as the pair talking about blowing gas & linking up with women they can’t give their love to. The penultimate track “1forTheBooks” ensuring how how they got this over a roomy trap instrumental & “opp pack” is a minimal closer dropping braggadocio.

If you were coming into this album expecting some rage inducing pop rap, then you might be disappointed. However, I personally admire that xhu decided to take the artistic risk of departing from the sound that blew him up to begin with because it’s a solid debut. The production is more plugg/trap-based, the feature list is brief yet consistent & the kid himself proves that he’s a force to be reckoned with down the line.

Score: 3.5/5

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