YBN Nahmir – “Faster Car Music” review

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.

Score: 1/5

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Tink – “Pillow Talk” review

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.

Score: 3/5

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RhymeStyleTroop – “Cypher” review

RhymeStyleTroop is a 26 year old MC from Imperial Beach, California who’s been turning heads in the underground for the past year now by dropping a total of 6 head-banging singles along with her mic session at UndergroundHipHopBlog.Com & her opening set at their 10 year anniversary show last month. However, all of that has been leading up to her conceptual debut EP over here fully produced by Manzu Beatz.

After the titular intro, the first song “Full Metal Jacket” sets it off with a soul sample & some dusty drums spitting some battle bars whereas the MC Wicks-assisted “Militant” takes a more spookier route talking about their titular mindset. “War of Art” works in some weepy strings advising that you’ll get burned playing with her just before “Ill” talks about being as dope as she is all her life over a downtrodden instrumental.

Following that, “Power” with M Doc Diego takes a more ominous turn explaining that they don’t give a fuck about any of these other cats while the song “Robin Hood” incorporates some vibraphones talking about making the time-wasters pay. The penultimate track “Strength” fuses some strings & keys together expressing that she feels like $1M & “Solomon” is a cinematic closer warning that the reaper’s coming.

For Cypher to be RhymeStyleTroop’s first official project, I think it’s a pretty solid introduction to a wider audience. The whole concept of a soldier finding her resilience is well pieced together down to the intricate lyricism & Manzu Beatz reveals himself to be one of the best producers that Italy has to offer right now.

Score: 4/5

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Larry June – “Spaceships on the Blade” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Vallejo emcee Larry June. Since dropping out of high school, this dude has been steadily grinding his ass off with his last 7 studio efforts along with a total 14 EPs & 7 mixtapes. My favorites of his ever-growing discography include the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry, the Cardo-produced Cruise USA & it’s sequel Into the Late Night, the Harry Fraud-produced Keep Going & more recently the mobb music-influenced Jay Worthy collab effort 2 P’z in a Pod that came out this past spring. So considering that Jay just dropped his full-length debut a couple weeks ago, it’s only fitting for Larry to follow suit in the form of Spaceships on the Blade.

After the “Free Uncle Herm IV” intro, the first song “Private Valet” is a symphonic opener produced by Jake One to the album talking about how nobody has love for you when the sky gets cold whereas “I’m Him” takes a more spacey yet funkier route thanks to Cardo to boast. “Things You Do” has a more luscious tone to it featuring co-production from DJ Khalil telling this woman he knows she’s trying to make that move, but then the DJ Fresh-laced “Don’t Check Me” mixes some pianos & synths to advise to check a bitch before him.

The sequel to “Another Day in SF” is pretty cool from the lyrics picking up where the predecessor left off to the 80s-inspired instrumental & after the “Tools of the Game” interlude, “Corte Madera, CA” comes through with a jazzy tribute to the titular city in Marin County. 2 Chainz tags along for “Still Boomin’” to get back in their mobb shit just before “Brand New Machinery” has a more melodic flare to it over a synth-heavy beat from Chuck Inglish talking about the whip he just copped.

Meanwhile on “I’ll Make Time”, we have Larry over more sensual production acknowledging this chick wants to get to know him more while “For Tonight” refines the romance vibes of the last cut from Syd’s hook to the verses & instrumental. “In My Pockets” weaves the synthesizers back in to talk about the bread while the Curren$y-assisted “5.0 Chronicles” has a more syrupy feel to it delivering a late night cruiser’s anthem.

“Breakfast in Monoco” is a string-laced prelude to Larry’s upcoming album with The Alchemist spitting that fly shit while “Larry’s Diner” goes full-blown drumless thanks to Sean House delivering some vivid storytelling. “Organic Adjustments” dives into funkier turf talking about wanting to be with this chick even when he’s on the road while the song “Spaceships & Orange Juice” is atmospheric trap ballad rightfully flexing that he’s been doing numbers.

The penultimate track “Extra of Um” with one of the 2 hottest artists in Detroit right now Babyface Ray amalgamates some pianos, synths & even a couple strings so the pair can talk about have extras of everything pretty much with the Turbo-produced “Appreciate It All” ending the album with a genuine open letter to the public expressing his gratitude.

Although I don’t think it’s as great as Into the Late Night, I’m not gonna sit here & deny that I enjoyed a good portion of what I heard throughout Spaceships on the Blade. The overall sound of the album is admirably diverse, the feature list is pretty consistent & Larry is stepping up his pen-game tremendously. At this rate, his album with Uncle Al could be a future classic.

Score: 3.5/5

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Donnie Menace – “Chainsaws & Boomsticks“ review

Donnie Menace is a 34 year old MC/producer from Stratford, Connecticut who emerged in 2008 off his debut mixtape The Threat & as the leader of the Nitebreed collective. Then came his full-length debut Wrath of a Menace a couple years later, which was followed up with his 2nd tape The Threat 2: Audio Sickness & his sophomore effort Bonded by Chaos. But considering that Russian-American horrorcore veteran Scum signed Donnie to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & his mentor dropped S.O.S.’ debut Blame Us last weekend, it was only right for him to deliver his highly anticipated LSP debut.

“Talk to the Boomstick” is an organ/boom bap infused opener mixing the wicked shit some some braggadocio whereas “Who Slashed Ya?” is a cool lil horrorcore rendition of the classic Biggie joint “Who Shot Ya?”. “Around Here” returns to the boom bap warning that you should’ve never popped up near his parts, but then the “Theatrikill” remix with J Reno & Lex the Hex Master has the same verses & a new instrumental from Donnie himself that lives up to the O.G.

Meanwhile on “Violating”, we have Donnie over some chilling production talking about people looking at him like he’s Satan himself just before the Nitebreed comes together for the dusty “Brude” to talk about how you’re gonna find out what really happens when titans clash likening themselves to The Brood consisting of Gangrel alongside WWE Hall of Famer, former 11-time WWE world champion, 14-time WWE tag team champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE United States Champion Adam Copeland and former 2-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, TNA World Champion, 4-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 9-time WWE tag team champion Christian Cage. “Do You Hear Me Now?” ruggedly calls out his detractors, but then Scum tags along for the grotesque “I’m Choppin’ ‘Em Up” talking about dismembering bodies.

“Low Life” brings back the organs & dusty drums to look back on his success thus far while “Devil in Me” with Claas & Smallz 1 goes into trap territory confessing they don’t know how much longer they can hold their stress inside them. “The Executioner” gets in his storytelling bag with a hair-raising beat while the penultimate track “I’m a Creep” by the Nitebreed is a rowdier cut confessing they can no longer deny being creeps. As for the “Luv 2 Kill” remix with Mr. Grey & M.M.M.F.D., it’s a great closer & my favorite remix of the 2 throughout the album

LSP’s been making a whole lotta noise in the underground this year & the Nitebreed leader’s debut with the label proves that he fits right in with everyone else over there. The production is a step up from his last outing, Donnie himself sounds hungrier than he’s ever been & the performances from the just about every feature that he takes with him for the ride are on par too.

Score: 4/5

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Internet Money Records – “We All We Got” review

Internet Money Records is a record label & producer collective from Los Angeles, California founded by Taz Taylor. Their full-length debut B4 the Storm celebrates it’s 2 year anniversary at the end of the month & even though it was a disappointment for me personally, the singles they put out prior to their debut EP over here intrigued me enough to go into it optimistic that it would be better than their last effort.

“$2k in the Soda” by Lucki is a triumphant opener talking about only pulling up to Los Angeles for the drink whereas “She Want Some More” by Ken Carson & Lil Tecca takes a cloudier route thanks to Outtatown describing bitches who can’t get enough of them. “On Me” by Destroy Lonely works in a rage beat talking about staying strapped while the song “No Handoutz” by Yeat is a fun successor to “Twizzy Rich” off his full-length debut Up 2 Më. The penultimate track “Codeine Cowboy” by Lil Yachty incorporates some synthesizers thanks to Rio Leyva talking about how he hasn’t slept in a week & “Falsetto” by Tecca closes out the EP on a spacious note going into detail about his ride or die.

Coming away from We All We Got, it definitely lived up to my expectations & is without hesitation the best project that the Internet Money crew has put together yet. This time around, the production that they bring to the table dabbles with more modern sounds like hypertrap & the performances from the guests are a lot more consistent than they were almost 2 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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Diamond D – “The Rear View” review

Diamond D is a 54 year old MC/producer from The Bronx, New York who came up as a mentor of Jazzy Jay. He would then form the D.I.T.C. collective alongside Lord Finesse & Showbiz in ‘92 only to put out his classic full-length debut Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop shortly after. D went on to drop 4 more albums & a couple mixtapes of his own but now that it’s been a year & a half since Gotham gave us their acclaimed self-titled effort, he’s back in effect for a 6th album.

After the Chris Rock intro, the first song “Life’s What You Make It” is a symphonic opener to the album produced by Focus… talking about never saying your word’s your bond & breaking it whereas “Live My Life” takes a groovier approach encouraging to let him glow. Westside Gunn tags along for the guitar-driven “Faithful” getting in their mafioso bag leading into the title track bringing back the strings thanks to Nottz taking about feeling so free.

Meanwhile on “Godly”, we have Diamond D over some dusty drums & pianos confessing that’s exactly how he’s feeling just before Dre comes into the picture for the classy “Neva Settle” talks about keeping their eyes up & that they gotta get it. After the “Joe Crack” interlude, “Ouuu” mixes some lavish keyboards & a crooning vocal loop reminding that nothing can stop you as long as you listen to your heart prior to the synth-laced “Smoke Sumthin’” dedicating a banger to all the chiefers out there.

“The Wrong Thing” comes through with a more smoother aesthetic getting on the more romantic side of things, but then the Posdnuos-assisted “Flying High” delivers a charming banger about being the hardest. The song “The Man’s Swift” returns to the boom bap spitting some braggadocio while the penultimate track “The Scorn” with KP laces some horns talking about wanting the chicken & there isn’t any other like them. “Inertia” however serves as a mystical finisher saying all he honors is his balls & his word.

As much as I admired The Diam Piece & it’s sequel for primarily focusing on Diamond D’s production skills, I’d still recommend giving The Rear View a shot for those who missed hearing him on the mic. A couple weak features here & there, but the production is a lot more laid back with more slower tempos & the man himself sounds rejuvenated lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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Ty Farris – “Fluorescent Mud” review

This is the 7th full-length album from Detroit emcee Ty Farris. Coming up under the name T-Flame, he was featured on a lot of projects throughout the mid-2000’s until the very end of the decade where he started to put out solo stuff at a prolific rate from Tyrant to Room 39. He just dropped his 3rd EP Moments of Mayhem back in March produced entirely by Italy’s very own Slim 1 & has decided to recruit Switzerland’s very own Sebb Bash for Fluorescent Mud.

“Bashing Heads” is a chaotic opener declaring himself as the main event & his opposition as the undercards whereas “Mental Tats” takes a morbid route talking about how this the meeting of the Gods. “Crown Us” works in some strings talking about how sometimes you lose battles before the crown comes & after “The Homie Van” interlude, “Where’s the Garbage Can?” lividly calls out anyone who wants to step up to him for being wack referencing the recently departed former アイアンマンヘビーメタルチャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall. Meanwhile on “Deadly Dialogue”, we have Ty over a wavy instrumental talking about being prepared for such leading into Estee Nack tagging along for the tense “That Simple” telling everyone in their path to face the music.

“Con Uno” solemnly talks about being one of the greatest to ever do it & the “Destinations” interlude, “Feed the Kids” has this incredible vocal sample addressing poverty while the song “Can’t Candy Coat It” atmospherically confesses he only writes what. The penultimate track “Condominium Crack Dealers” with Planet Asia incorporates some organs getting on their hustler shit & the horn-laced “Immortalized” finishes the album by talking about his legacy.

The more that Ty drops a new project, the further that he cements himself as one of the most consistent MCs in Detroit today & Fluorescent Mud is no exception of that. Sebb Bash whips up some of his best production yet & T-Flame’s gritty yet ear-grabbing bars pretty much exemplifies the point that he made during the last joint. Can’t wait for the 5th & final installment of the No Cosign, Just Cocaine series.

Score: 4/5

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Devereaux & DJ Chunk – “Another Day in Hell” review

This is the new collaborative EP between Devereaux & DJ Chunk. One of whom is a producer from Florida & the other being Ouija Macc’s official tour DJ coming straight out of Utah, but have both been taking the underground by storm together in recent years as part of Chapter 17 Records. And to celebrate the Gathering of Dreams going down earlier this month, Dev & Chunk are joining forces to take you through Another Day in Hell.

“What You Got” by Shaggytheairhead is a rowdy opener talking about knocking out those who be sneak dissing them whereas “Chasing Monsters” by Baker Ya Maker & Damien Quinn works in a meditative trap beat talking about trying to find the shine. “Life in Prison” by Darby O’Trill & Ouija Macc bombastically calls out the pigs while the song “Mind Ain’t Right” by Řezník morbidly talks about how crazy he is. The penultimate track “Fro Curse” by A-F-R-O dives into boom bap territory with some rugged battle bars & “Don’t Listen to Them” is a dark instrumental outro with some killer cuts.

In comparison to the Moonlight Monster House project that Chunk did with Shaggytheairhead being a cool little remix project, Another Day in Hell is all original material & happens to be my personal favorite of the 2. Devereaux reminds everyone why he’s currently one of the most in-demand producers in the underground at the moment, the guest performances are consistent & Chunk is a monster with the turntables.

Score: 4/5

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