This is the 13th full-length album from Oxnard veteran Declaime. Debuting on “WLIX” off Tha Alkaholiks’ sophomore album Coast II Coast in 1995, it wouldn’t be until 2001 when Dudley Perkins started putting out albums under his own name by dropping Andsoitisaid. But ahead of LMD’s long-awaited debut Flying High next weekend, he’s linking back up with childhood friend/longtime collaborator Madlib for a sequel to last summer’s In the Beginning.
“2MC ornot 2MC?” is an orchestral boom bap opener asking the titular question whereas “Bandwagon” takes a dustier route talking about how there’s more to him on the mic. The demo version of “WLIX” is something fresh for all the hardcore fans who’ve never heard it before & after the “Sensei Sound” interlude, “WunTwo” returns to the boom bap so he can flex his pen-game.
Meanwhile on “As I Get Wild”, we have Declaime taking a rawer route challenging anyone to step up to him lyrically just before “Temporary Rhyme Speech” comes through with a low-fi Crate Diggas Palace posse cut. “Scarce Compliments” weaves some piano embellishments into the fold talking about knowing what he’s grateful for, but then “Enjoy Your Stay” ruggedly calling God’s revelation his only source of inspiration. And prior to the outro, Wildchild tags along for the hypnotic closer “Signs” talking about how it’s all in the mind.
Although I prefer the predecessor a tad bit more, I’d still say that this whole In the Beginning series is very intriguing & are must-listens for any hardcore fan. Hearing the vintage production & cutthroat lyricism presented throughout even in 2022 continues to show how far both Declaime & Madlib have come in the last 3 decades or so. Could we get a 3rd installment next summer? Only time will tell.
Drego & Beno are a duo from Detroit, Michigan who started to blow up in the summer of 2018 through the #GetOffRecords founders’ debut mixtape Sorry for the Get Off followed by both Meet Us Outer Space & Sorry for the Auto-Tune after signing to EMPIRE Distribution. But coming off a 3-year break they took in order to focus on further establishing themselves as solo artists, the pair are getting back together for a full-length debut a year & a half already since Drego put out his 1st solo effort Krazy Man.
The title track is a hyphy-laced opened apologizing for disappearing from the scene whereas the 5th installment of the “Slatt Season” series works in some strings & a rubbery bass-line tossing the mic back & forth with one another talking about getting the money. “Provolone” takes a more suspenseful route to spit some gangsta raps, but then “RTA” returns to a more Bay Area sound talking about running through anything with their new straps.
We get some synths & bells for the “Tuck & Duck” sequel basically continuing the themes of the predecessor while “Palm Angels” is Drego solo cut over some woodwinds paying tribute to the titular brand. Lil Yachty, Sada Baby & Tee Grizzley all tag along for the heinous “Wit It” talking about thuggin’ in public just before “Dope Game” shoots for a more tenser aesthetic to describe life as hustlers.
“Xelinage” is the bombastic Beno solo cut talking about having hoes on the weekend while one of the 2 biggest rappers in the city right now Babytron comes into the picture for the song “Vaxuum Seal” brings some Hi-NRG to admit they ain’t shit without such. The penultimate track “You Hip?” almost has a tropical quality to it asking listeners know what the deal is & “Bhrome Hearts” is a rich closer to the album getting materialistic.
I was genuinely curious to hear where both these dudes would go after 3 years off & I think that they gave us a worthy debut LP. Both halves never lost their step as far as their chemistry goes & the production stays true to the Detroit trap sound even though there are points where they don’t come off as repetitive like most artists in that style do.
Autumn! is a 24 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Lafayette, Louisiana who made he got his start by dropping 17 EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following Not Much Left this past fall. He put out his sophomore effort albeit major label debut Antagonist! few months back to positive reception & returned to his plugg roots a month ago with ##B4GC2, but is steadily grinding by putting out his 18th EP.
The intro sets it off with a glistening instrumental talking about being up now whereas “Inside My Head!” takes a more atmospheric route thanks to Goyxrd refusing to let the industry take his soul. “Can We Talk!” goes pluggnb responding to everyone who said he fell off prior to “Golden Child!” confessing about lying that he’s fine when he’s really not over a tranquil instrumental. The song “Jay n Bey!” works in a guitar comparing his love for his partner to that of The Carters while the penultimate track “Should Know Me Better!” spaciously talks about needing to relax after moving too fast & that he’ll always be here in the scene. “Myself!” though is a fun send-off to the EP telling this hoe not to deny that she’s like the rest.
As a sequel to one of the best projects in Autumn!’s ever-growing discography, it certainly lived up to my expectations. Much like the prequel & the predecessor, the actual follow-up itself picks up where things left off with it’s well-crafted pluggnb production that helped blow him up & the subject matter all comes from a unique perspective that he continues to bring to the table. He & Weiland are definitely holding it down for Victor Victor right now.
This is the 13th full-length album from New Orleans DJ, record executive, producer & media personality DJ Khaled. Most people know him as a living meme pretty much & for the hilariously embarrassing temper tantrum he threw when IGOR outsold Father of Asahd, but many forget that that he actually came up as a tour DJ for the Terror Squad. As for his solo output, he already has a dozen LPs under his belt with Major 🔑 being the most enjoyable of the bunch & has decided to tell the world that the man upstairs believed in him when no one else would on God Did.
“No Secret” by Drake is a gospel-inspired 48 second intro talking about how he spills all his feelings unashamedly whereas the title track by JAY-Z, Lil Wayne & Rick Ross is an uplifting ballad about God believing in them when no one else would with Hov steals the show without a slightest bit of doubt. The highly anticipated “Use This Gospel, Pt. 2” by Eminem pops up on here somehow someway although I absolutely love the rock/boom bap infused production from Dr. Dre & the subject matter from Em refusing to break suits the original, but then “Big Time” by Future & Lil Baby delivers a lavish trap banger produced by TM88 talking about their statuses in the rap game.
Meanwhile on “Keep Goin’”, we have Lil Durk & 21 Savage over some horns & hi-hats to boast just before “Party All the Time” by Unc & Phew feels more like a Takeoff solo cut given that Quavo only does the hook & the painfully underwritten first verse accompanied by a weakly flipped sample of the Eddie Murphy joint of the same name from STREETRUNNER disappointingly. “Staying Alive” by Drake & Baby pretty much bastardizes the iconic single by the BGs, but then “Beautiful” by Future comes through with a sensual ode to toxic love.
“It Ain’t Safe” by Kodak Black & Nardo Wickbrings some pianos & bells together provided by Tay Keith quenching for blood while “Ley’s Pray” by Don Toliver & Travis Scott shoots for a more apocalyptic aesthetic talking about how nobody’s on their level. “Fam Good, We Good” by Gunna & Roddy Ricch basically feels like a parody of “Hot” by Young Thug down the horn-heavy beat while “Bills Paid” by the City Girls & Latto is an obnoxiously funky ode to boss bitches.
Continuing from there, “Way Past Luck” by 21 blends chipmunk soul with trap talking about going from the mud to a millionaire while “These Streets Know My Name” by Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Capleton, Sizzla & Skillibeng is the typical dancehall cut guaranteed every time Khaled drops. The song “Juice WRLD Did” by the late Juice WRLD stands out to me as a bittersweet ode from Nick Mira of Internet Money Records’ production to the references that Juice drops throughout while the “Jadakiss Interlude” starts off with an audio clip from the obvious battle where Verzuz peaked & an aggressive beat with Kiss spitting hardcore shit. After the “Asahd & Alaam Cloth Talk” skit, “Grateful” by Vory ends the album with a full-blown gospel ballad talking about letting his blessings glow.
Everyone going into God Did should know what they’re getting themselves into at this point in my personal opinion & the reason why I say that is because how formulaic Khaled’s albums have always been. Is this an exception? Absolutely not. I can appreciate that he tried to give it more of a spiritual concept & the production even pulling from gospel music, but it’s just so unfocused & all over the goddamn place.
This is the 10th full-length album from Long Island emcee/producer Roc Marciano. Starting out in the very late 90’s as a member of the Flipmode Squad, he then went solo in 2008 to drop classic albums that would pave the way for those like Griselda such as Marcberg & Reloaded. However after focusing on producing projects for other artists like Flee Lord & Bronze Nazareth following Mt. Marci a couple years ago, Marci’s enlisting The Alchemist to produce The Elephant Man’s Bones.
“Rubber Band Grip” is a spaciously suspenseful opener talking about having the pump on him whereas the Action Bronson-assisted “Daddy Kane” works in synths to deliver bars like ”I been gettin’ off that soft white long before shorties was rockin’ Off-White. Water color ice, I call it Walter White” or “Know the in and outs, they want dinner? We get ’em In-N-Out”. The lead single “Deja Vu” takes a more drumless route with it’s bare piano instrumental confessing he had a breakthrough, but then “Quantum Leap” has some jazzy undertones to it talking about how your favorite rapper send him fan mail & your album ain’t worth 12 pennies to him.
Meanwhile on the title track, we have Marci brings back the luxurious keyboards providing food for the spirit just before “Bubble Bath” has a more glistening yet dusty quality to it talking about being rich for real. “Liquid Coke” shoots for a more symphonic aesthetic saying that’s exactly what he’ll leave when he slits ya throat leading into Boldy James tagging along for “Trillion Cut” getting in their hustle bag on top of a flute & some pianos. Stand-out bars being “Me & G on Stockwell, filthy as Rockwell. Turn an eye on high fresh out a dry spell” & ”My pops had tracks in his arms from heroin, this is rap meets Gil Scott-Heron”.
“The Horns of Abraxas” however has these chilling organ harmonies throughout talking about the road to success being Hell sandwiched in the middle of a great spoken word intro/outro from the O.G. himself Ice-T while “JJ Flash” returns to soulful territory spitting that kingpin shit. “Zig Zag Zig” is dramatic boom bap ballad about his life being a fantasy & you getting no pussy while “Stigmata” takes it back to the soul samples as Marci gives free game referencing WWE Hall of Famer & former WWE tag team champion Ivan Putski. Favorite bar is definitely “Like 2 teens playin’ Call of Duty, but all of these is real toolies”.
Following that, the sinister” Zip Guns” with Knowledge the Pirate intimidatingly paints some vivid gangsta rap imagery while the song “Think Big” has a more summery vibe to it talking about taking destiny in his own hands. The penultimate track “Macaroni” returns to a synth-based sound encouraging his competition to hang up the mic & get a job finding them odder than disgraced former IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion & 3-time WCW World Television Champion Chris Benoit while “Momma Love” sends it off with fireworks as Marci hops on top of a on operatic loop putting it all on Ma Dukes.
From the moment I first heard “Flash Gordon” alongside “Pistolier” & “Paradise Pimps” during my sophomore year of high school a decade ago, I’ve been screaming for Marci & Uncle Al to do an album together. Now that it’s here, it’s the masterpiece that I could’ve ever dreamed from them. There is not a single moment from the beginning of The Elephant Man’s Bones to the end that I genuinely dislike from the smooth & witty gangsta rap lyricism from the New York veteran to the perfectly crafted production pulling from drumless, boom bap & jazz rap.
Here we have the 2nd EP from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verbz. Introducing himself in 2017 off the full-length debut Lessons of Adolescence produced by Brighton beatsmith Mr. Slipz, he would later put out the debut mixtape Pathways & the sophomore effort Radio Waves under High Focus Records followed near the end of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following up The Low almost 14 months earlier, he & Slipz are reuniting so they can take things back Where It Started.
The title track is a lo-fi boom bap intro talking about home being where the heart is & wearing it on his sleeve whereas “Music Banging Like” rawly speaks of reaping what he sowed now he’s getting older. “For My Peeps” instrumentally reminds me of A Tribe Called Quest shouting out all the important people in his life & after “Felt Like a Dream” takes a moment to talk about his successes in making music, “Walk Like a King” dedicates itself to those who left too soon.
Catching a 52 minute train between Croydon & Brighton to reconnect throughout Where It Started, this extended play does everything & more fan have come to expect from Verbz & Mr. Slipz diving deep into their hearts & minds. Slipz’ boom bap production was made with an MPC without the need of using any samples & Verbz nostalgically conceives themes revolving around the trials & tribulations of both artists doing what they done & still do presently in order of surviving the streets of the Cronx.
Substance810 is an MC/producer from Port Huron, Michigan who came up in ‘06 off his debut The Definition under his original moniker Tekneek. He’s since gone on to build up an impressive catalog for himself whether it be the sequel The Definition Of… or the Hobgoblin-produced The Hanging Gardens & more recently the Chuck Chan-produced Desolate Lands this past spring. But with fall approaching, Substance has decided to recruit JQuest Beatz for his 11th album.
After the “Exordium” intro, the first song “Don’t Bite the Hand” is an eerie opener basically advising to never act ungrateful towards him prior to ethemadassassin & K. Burns tagging along for the dusty “Monolithic” talking about being indivisible. “Triumphant” works in some horns describing his rise to prominence whereas “Ancient Sand” laces an entrancing vocal loop asking if you know the traces that make a man.
Meanwhile on “Cross the Line”, we have P.U.R.E. tagging along to help Substance deliver a seething jab at those who step over their boundaries leading into “Time Zones” returning to the boom bap talking about being in another world. “Flaming Chariots” weaves a flute into the fold explaining that the loudest be the scariest in this battle, but then “Solidarity” with John Creasy, Big Trip & Josiah the Gift comes through with an impassioned Umbrella posse cut.
“Sexxx Pistol” shoots for a more foreboding aesthetic delivering some flawless wordplay using sexual & weapon metaphors while the guitar-laced “Concierge’s in Negril” getting in his storytelling bag about a shorty named Natalie. The song “Foundational” with Allah Supreme & Sunez Allah sees the trio over a rich beat talking about never starving while the penultimate track “Raw Materials” with Body Bag Ben brings back the horns displaying some cutthroat lyricism. “Precious Medals” though is a jazzy yet emotional closer talking about the old days.
Of the 2 albums that Substance has dropped this year, I think The Monolithic Era is a more personal experience than Desolate Lands was back in the spring. He lets the listeners in a journey through his mind as to how he got his name & JQuest Beatz’ sound compliments his lyrical style well in my personal opinion.
This is the 3rd full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia emcee J.I.D. Emerging in 2010 off his debut mixtape Cakewalk & joined the Spillage Village collective lead by the EARTHGANG around that same time frame, he dropped 2 more mixtapes as well as then an EP after that & signed to J. Cole’s very own Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records in 2017. He has since made himself home there with The Never Story & DiCaprio 2, but is returning after 4 long years in the form of The Forever Story.
After the melodic “Galaxy” intro, the first song “Raydar” kicks off the album with a heavy bass-line & some hi-hats provided by Nonstop da Hitman talking about how “when it rains, it pours” prior to the beat switching up into more dramatic saying he’ll “steal the cattle then burn the farm”. “Dance Now” however samples “Yoel’s Niggun” by Zusha talking about making ‘em dance with his 9 whereas “Crack Sandwich” takes a more rugged route acknowledging that you can tell that he never had shit.
The EARTHGANG tags along for the KAYTRANADA/JD Beck-laced “Can’t Punk Me” reminding everything that nothing will stop them leading into Baby Tate & 21 Savage coming into the picture for the chipmunk soul/trap banger “Surround Sound” produced by DJ Scheme talking about putting the rap game on their backs & snatching crowns. “Kody Blu 31” incorporates a crooning sample in the mix encouraging listeners to swang on, but then the Lil Durk-assisted “Bruddanem” shoots for a more mellow aesthetic thanks to DJ Khalil talking about loyalty.
Meanwhile on “Sistanem”, we have J.I.D over some spacious boom bap production describing the tour life leading into the romance-driven “Can’t Make U Change” that starts off with a funky instrumental from Dreamville in-house producer Elite & switches into a melodic vocal loop. “Stars” opens up with a hazy BADBADNOTGOOD beat & J.I.D talking about having his goals set with E. Jones changing it up into boom bap turf as well as a stellar Yasiin Bey verse for the outro while “Just in Time” with Lil Wayne takes a more symphonic approach talking about having the time today.
“Money” throws a guitar & some live drums courtesy of Khrysis into the mix dissing the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan while the song “Better Days” weaves some piano chords into the chord talking about balancing the highs & lows. The closer “Lauder Too” is a futuristic sequel to a highlight off The Never Story laced by James Blake & Thundercat with the bonus cut “2007” ends the album is a 7 & a half minute epic looking back on J.I.D’s life throughout the past 15 years.
I’ve gone on record numerous times saying that J.I.D’s the future of Dreamville & if The Forever Story doesn’t further prove that, then I don’t know what to tell you because it’s a great sequel to his full-length debut & I’ll even say it’s arguably better than The Never Story. I admire that he comes through with more in-depth stories throughout, the production is incredibly dynamic & the feature list is pretty tight.
This is the debut EP from Alabama rapper YBN Nahmir. Coming up as the de facto leader of the now defunct YBN collective, he would go on to drop his full-length debut Visionland about a year & a half ago under Atlantic Records to be universally panned (more specifically for “Soul Train”). But after jumping ship to Def Jam Recordings recently, Nahmir’s looking to redeem himself in the form of Faster Car Music.
“Spend It” is a generically produced opener unenthusiastically bragging, that he has $800 on him whereas “Where I’m From” happens to be one of the better cuts with it’s vibrant production & the subject matter describing what it’s like around his parts. “Bows” has a decent instrumental to it even though there’s not that much substance to what Nahmir’s saying leading into “Pip ‘n Walk”, which is a bass-heavy cut talking about being the plug.
The song “Inna Trap” confesses that the feds raided his shit over a grim beat while the penultimate track “Only 1” comes off as a forced pop rap ballad with an ok Jeremih hook & the lyrics talking about how this bitch is the only partner that he really needs. “Lamborghini Truck” however finishes the EP with a bland ode to the whip that he be pulling up in.
As decent as From a Bird’s Eye View was compared to The Lost Boy, at least Cordae publicly acknowledged that recently & makes me feel like next album we’ll be better. That being said: I don’t get any more out of Faster Car Music than I did with Visionland whatsoever. It’s lazy songwriting, uninspired subject matter & cut-rate production makes it really hard for me to believe that this EP would appeal to any sports car enthusiast.
Tink is a 27 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois who blew up in the spring in 2012 off her debut mixtape Winter’s Diary. She would then proceed to drop 4 more tapes prior to signing a joint deal with Mosley Music Group & Epic Records in the fall of 2014, where she only put out 2 mixtapes prior to leaving in late February of 2018 due to Industry Rule #4080 unfortunately. Since starting her own label Winter’s Diary Records with distribution from EMPIRE, she’s given us her 8th mixtape Voicemails as well as a couple EPs & full-lengths. But much like Heat of the Moment that dropped last summer, Tink’s bringing Hitmaka back into the fold to executive producer her 3rd album.
“Going Bad” is a soothing trap opener about her calling her man when she gets lonely whereas “Switch” works in some guitars & finger-snaps asking who he fuckin’ on the side. “Opposite” shoots for a moodier aesthetic talking about how it feels when he plays his games on her, but then Cardiak, Hitmaka & Wu10 flip the 702 joint “Get It Together” for “Goofy” describing how the dick got her feeling.
Meanwhile on “Cater”, we have 2 Chainztagging along for an enticing duet talking about being made for each other pretty much leading into the slow jam “Throwback” expressing that she wants to love her man like a C4. Muni Long comes into the picture for “Mine” to deliver a weakly modernized version of the Brandy/Monica hit “The Boy is Mine” just before “25 Reasons” fuses a guitar with the sounds of a bed squeaking explaining why she loves this dude so much.
“Cum See Me” is an atmospheric ballad with an underwhelming Toosii verse at the backend of it about dreaming of one another while “Oooh Triflin” has a groovier vibe to it pondering how a fuck boy got her feeling some type of way & the Fabolous verse makes up for the staleness of the feature the last cut had to offer. “Balance” goes into woozier territory explaining that’s exactly what she needs while “Drunk Text’n” with Layton Greene is a tedious duet about texting each other fucked up off D’ussé.
Following that, the Russ-assisted “News” has to be my least favorite duet of them all despite the decent trap production primarily because of just how awkward the chemistry is while the song “Ghetto Luv” with G Herbo picks it back up with it’s rich instrumental & the lyrics about just that. The penultimate track “Cum’n 2” brings back the acoustics explaining that her heart ain’t meant for breaking with “I Choose Me” ends the album by talking about drinking wine & that ain’t nothin’ worth more than her peace over a stripped back beat.
Tink has always been writing songs touching on romance, so it was really a matter of time before she made a whole R&B album embracing a sexier side to her & it’s really not a bad listen although it certainly has it’s flaws. Wasn’t really feeling a good majority of the features, but she sounds very confident on the mic & Hitmaka’s production yet again proves to be a solid fit for her mostly.
