Conway the Machine – “Organized Grime 2” review

Conway the Machine is a 40 year old MC & entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York who blew up in late 2015 as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher. Ever since the trio have rose to prominence, they’ve had hip hop on lock by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets on top of boom bap production kin to that of RZA & Havoc in their music. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & just dropped his Shady Records-backed sophomore effort God Don’t Make Mistakes back in February, which is the most personal he’s ever been. But to celebrate his freedom from Eminem-owned Interscope Records imprint, La Maquina is reuniting with Trillmatic Goods to host his 10th EP.

After the rock-tinged intro, the first song “Chop 22” kicks off the EP with a lavish Mephux instrumental with Con declaring he’s still on go time whereas the soulful “Phone Call” produced by Detroit’s very own Apollo Brown talking about earning everything he has from hustling. Rome Streetz tags along for “Murder He Wrote” to advise you don’t push them backed by a ghoulish boom bap beat from Hobgoblin leading into Benny the Butcher & Flee Lord coming into the picture for the cloudy “Marathon” talking about running it on the blocks.

After the “Intermission” interlude, the 2nd half of the EP starts off with the cinematic “State” reminding that he’s the illest rapper alive just before the organ-laced “From the Bottom” reflecting on coming up from nothing. The penultimate song “Soul Cry” with T.F. finds the 2 over some horns talking about never capping & prior to the turntablism outro, “Keep Up” with Vic Spencer ends the EP on a jazzy note pointing out that they can’t keep up with them.

Organized Grime is one of the best EPs that Conway has ever put out in my opinion & I happen to think this sequel is even better than it’s predecessor. In comparison to the much more personal approach that God Don’t Make Mistakes took, Con sounds a lot more rawer lyrically & some of the best producers in the underground currently went as hard as he did behind the boards.

Score: 4.5/5

Bishop Nehru – “Heroin Addiction” review

Bishop Nehru is a 25 year old MC/producer from Nanuet, New York who started out dropping a couple beat tapes before emerging in the underground off the solid debut mixtape Nehruvia. His profile would only begin to increase in 2014 by signing to Mass Appeal Records & form the duo NehruvianDOOM alongside the late MF DOOM, putting out an overlooked self-titled effort together that same fall. Bishy would leave Mass Appeal a couple years later to drop 2 full-lengths Elevators & My Disregarded Thoughts on his own, both of which I look at as some of the best shit he’s ever done. However for this 3rd album of his, Kelz Scott has decided to base it around his experience with trying heroin.

“HELLo” opens up the album by ominously welcoming listeners to a land of corruption whereas the title track cavernously talking about being at the highest trying to escape. “The First Hit” takes a more hazier approach proclaiming that he’s losing his shit leading into “Sun Showers” talking about being prepared for the rain outside over a minimal instrumental with a soft vocal sample throughout that I actually find to be a nice addition to it.

Meanwhile on “World of the Gods”, we have Bishy seeing through the façades on top of a shrilling beat just before “TheScornEmperor” mixes some keys & synths to attack his detractors. “Can You Feel My Soul?” has a twangier vibe talking about how amazing it is once you start to heal the spirit while the song “Abandoned” goes full-blown trap expressing his desire to advance & not be deserted. The penultimate track “Is It Okay If I Wanna Die?” takes a turn into cloudier territory opening up about his thoughts of suicide & “Goodbye.” closes out the album well with it’s forlorn instrumental & Bishy bidding farewell due to how he’s feeling inside.

Ever since this album was announced, Bishop has been accused of doing it all for the clout which is ridiculous considering that he’s always had elements of conscious hip hop throughout his career. That being said, solid tape. I wish some cuts were a little longer, but whole idea of Heroin Addiction is well conceived & I appreciate how much his production game has evolved in the last decade.

Score: 3.5/5

Rick Hyde – “Stima” review

This is the 9th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Rick Hyde. One of the flagship artists on Benny the Butcher’s very own MNRK Music Group imprint Black Soprano Family Records, he would go on to drop the impressive full-length debut Plates at the beginning of 2019 after warming everyone up with his first 7 EPs a feature-studded sequel last summer that was preluded by an EP of it’s own. But coming fresh off that, Ricky’s still applying pressure by releasing Stima.

“Who Am I?!” opens up the EP with a chipmunk soul banger properly reintroducing himself to the world whereas “Y Bother Talkin’?” works in some operatic vocal loops to declare no mercy on the weak minded. “Arrivederci” takes a more sinister approach in terms of sound dissing the wankstas leading into the braggadocious “La Spina”, which goes into somewhat of a more futuristic direction with the instrumental.

Meanwhile on “Like This”, we’re treated to a dusty yet raw B$F posse cut describing what real d-boys look like while the song “Ms. Young” gets on his hustler shit & the beat here is kinda similar to that of “Lemon” off Conway the Machine’s classic debut From King to a God. The penultimate track “Poza” with Rome Streetz finds the 2 over a brassy Alchemist instrumental belittling their competition & “Perspective” finishes it off on a glossier note talking about where he’s at now.

For an EP, I’d say Ricky delivered some of the best work of his career with Stima. In comparison to his last album, I really admire how he decided to step it up in the production department & tone it down on the features so he remind everyone that he can undoubtedly hold it down on his own because some of his best pen-work pops up here.

Score: 4/5

Your Old Droog – “YOD Stewart” review

Your Old Droog is a Ukrainian lyricist by way of Brooklyn, New York who caught my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut & many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, he’s reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close & TIME. He just his incredible 5th EP YOD Wave produced entirely by Nicholas Craven almost 3 months ago at this point & is following it up in the form of a 6th EP.

“Nightmares & Dreams” is a psychedelic opener produced by Conductor Williams talking about appreciating the simpler things in life whereas the drumless yet atmospheric “Mind Your Business” saying we’re better off if we don’t stick our noses where it don’t belong. “I Knew You Was a Bitch” works in some pianos to call out an ex of his leading into “Toxic Love” being a more abstract cut detailing how poisonous this woman was to him.

The song “Love & Basketball” mixes in a soul sample & a guitar to describe his new bitch while the penultimate track “Go to Sleep” has a jazzy boom bap flare to it thanks to Tha God Fahim talking about staying home some days to cash out. “The Ballad of Krutoy” ends the EP with some organ melodies admitting that he feels like crying sometimes even though the tears won’t just come out.

Although I find YOD Wave to be more superior, that’s not to say YOD Stewart isn’t worth checking out for those who fuck with Droog as much as I do. The production takes it back to the more abstract vibes of some of his more recent work & I admire how personal the lyrics tend to be during it’s short runtime.

Score: 3.5/5

Ramson Badbonez – “Fusion” review

This is the 13th studio LP from Highbury, North London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to High Focus Records in 2013 making his debut for the label with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th & Death Mask would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint to warm reception. However with Fusion now becoming the 6th, he’s looking to go in a different direction stylistically.

“Alpha” produced by Jehst begins with a hypnotic ode to one of my all-time favorite Nas tracks “The World is Yours” whereas “Lift Off” goes for more of a hip house vibe courtesy of Ghosttown making the place “Jump” like Kris Kross did. We get a horn sample mixed with drums & bass to give the fans “What Ya Need” prior to the synth-heavy “Rap Bio”solemnly swearing that nothing can compare to his output through a biography on his career.

As for “Blame”, we have Ramson over a hypnotic beat talking about his country’s education system failing the youth hence why he can’t blame them leading into “Hoodflix” featuring Datkid & Truemendous on the remix finds the trio looking back at their upbringings over a Telemachus instrumental. The experimental trap-tinged title track gets in his storytelling bag describing the dark streets of London while “Beat the Odds” takes a few minutes to talk about achieving what many deemed impossible.

“Just Say…” kicks off the 4th quarter of Fusiontalking about the real calling the frauds on their bluff, wanting nothing more than them to back off & cut their bullshit while “Roll On” dabbles with grime suggesting not everyone was made to be a rapper when that couldn’t be any more factual. “Could’ve Been You” featuring Confucius MC advises to never hold a grudge because time flies rather quickly until “Omega” wraps things up with a bombastic 5 & a half minute outro letting those who fucked up around him know what they’ve done.

Some of the mixed reception I was seeing towards Fusion going into it had a me a little worried that it could be Ramson Badbonez’ worst album but now that I’ve finally gotten a chanced to sit down & break it down, I wouldn’t say it that’s bad personally. The production’s more experimentally genre blurring than what we’re normally used to hearing from him dissecting the many highs & lows that took him from a life running the roads to documenting his own experiences.

Score: 4/5

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TR Dee – “Trapped in My Bag 2” review

Ypsilanti, Michigan rapper TR Dee coming off his full-length debut with his 3rd mixtape. Notable for being 1/3 of the ShittyBoyz alongside Babytron & Stanwill signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also began carving a path for himself as a solo artist off his first couple tapes Trapped in My Bag & Made for This ahead of his debut album M.I.P. (Most Improved Player). Ahead of him teaming up with Detroit producer Danny G on Crunch Time later this fall, we’re bearing treated to a Trapped in My Bag sequel.

The title track references 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena whereas “Scam Vet” talks about the continuous grind being his only motivation even after the label deal over a Danny G beat. “Jimi Hendrix” samples “Lady (Hear Me Tonight)” by Modjo to admit that he feels like a rockstar while “NBA” flips “Basketball” by Kurtis Blow for some sharp wordplay about the sport.

Both former NXT Women’s Champion, 6-time WWE women’s world champion & 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné and WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin get referenced on “Johnny Test” prior to “Watch the Cats Race” reuniting the Dookie Brothers.

“T.Y.B.” (Take Your Bitch)” works in some sampling reminiscent of the Afrika Bambaataa single “Planet Rock” to flex about stealing women from other guys while “Late Night Shenanigans” talks about what he does during the evening. “Rick & Morty” shouts out the Discovery Global division Cartoon Network owned [adult swim] hit series of the same name just before he takes a moment to “Pledge Allegiance to the Grind”.

Pro Football Hall of Famer “Dan Marino” talks about feeling like the greatest Miami Dolphins player of all-time after landing in Miami while “Ni Hao” featuring Stanwill ends the first half of the mixtape with them trading verses with one another for a few minutes. “Give It to Me” talks about his head coach status since he doesn’t play game & still being the same kid with the fro while “Highlights” refers to Joe Swanson from the Fox Corporation’s flagship property hit series Family Guy.

“Winnin’ Team” produced by Jakesand suggests that people come & get it with THHL since the Dog $hit Militia’s internationally known while “Porch Pirate” talks about being up early to catch a package over another noteworthy Jakesand instrumental. “Lotta Bands” featuring AK Bandamont unites both of them so they can discuss their riches while “TreDee” corrects people who’ve been erroneously calling him by that name.

We have TR Dee on “No Reply” ghosting a woman who’s been texting him saying she doesn’t perform oral while “Millionaire” references 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.

“Bin Laden” talks about getting back up like it’s nothing whenever life knocks him down while “Living Legend” responds to the notion that D$M is trash because of the ShittyBoyz’ name, which I can further confirm. “Hidden Gem” talks about his gang only knowing to shoot & repping the squad for eternity while “Wait Yo Turn” dismisses the type who’re all bark with no bite.

Fueling my anticipation for Crunch Time even further whenever the time for that comes, TR Dee of the ShittyBoyz crafts a sequel to the mixtape that properly gave the world an idea of what he could do all by himself & Trapped in My Bag 2 feels like an acceptably worthy sequel to the original Trapped in My Bag. It’s longer than the predecessor, but the sample choices within production for this style of trap remains creative & the Dog $hit Militia lieutenant gets in his element once more.

Score: 4/5

Buckshot – “I’m the Boss” review

Buckshot is a 47 year old MC/producer from New York City coming up in the early 90’s as the frontman of the trio Black Moon & the Boot Camp Clik collective along with for founding one of the most beloved record labels in all of hip hop Duck Down Music with the assistance of his business partner Dru Ha. Not only would The B.D.I. Thug & Backpack Travels become the only 2 solo albums he’s put out to date, but Hanif Alwin al-Sadiq would also form a duo with 9th Wonderdropping 3 full-lengths together & a collab effort with KRS-One called Backpack Skills. But in light of him getting into the NFT game, he’s celebrating by dropping a debut EP.

After the “UPG” intro, the first song “Hey” opens up the EP with a dramatic boom bap instrumental from none other than Da Beatminerz going at the throats of anyone who dares to step up to him in a battle whereas “Come Take a Ride” goes into funkier territory with talking about cruising around at night. “Your Choice” laces some pianos written towards a ride or die bitch leading into “Roll My away” taking a more lavish route & the storytelling throughout Buckshot’s verses painted is very eloquent. The song “Dear Daddy” takes it back to boom bap range talking about his father while the penultimate track “1 Nation” spaciously declaring that it’s time to connect. “Thug Life” ends the EP with a bass guitar-infused tribute to 2Pac.

Considering how much I enjoyed Black Moon’s comeback effort Rise of da Moon a few years back, I was definitely interested in how The B.D.I. Thug would deliver with this EP given how long it’s been since Backpack Travels & it’s definitely worth the listen for any Boot Camp fan. In fact, I’d consider to be some of the best solo material he’s put out yet. Rather than just being lazy & compiling primarily songs that’s been already previously released like Snoop Dogg did with Metaverse: The NFT Drop, we’re getting all new music from the one who gets the job done & he still sounds great on the mic after being the game for almost 3 decades.

Score: 3.5/5

Madchild – “Super Beast” review

Madchild is a 46 year old MC from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada coming up as part of the trio Swollen Members & the founder of Battle Axe Records, but would be until 2012 when he officially broke off solo with his Suburban Noize Records-backed full-length debut Dope Sick. He would later go on a hot streak of follow-ups including Lawnmower Man, Silver Tongue Devil, the Evidence-produced The Darkest Hour & Demons. But even though he went into a more trap direction on The Little Monster LP a year & a half ago ago, the results of that stylistic change weren’t all that interesting & the sequel he dropped 3 months later spring The Little Monster LP 2 was slightly better. Shane & Shane 2 both took a more personal approach with the sequel enhancing the seriousness of the predecessor, but is returning 6 months later in the form of his 10th album.

“The Beast” is a horn-laced boom bap opener produced by C-Lance calling himself a damn dirty ape with the .38 whereas “Blood on the Carpet” works in a guitar to take aim at his competition. “Swamp Monster” keeps the boom bap rolling with an chilling vocal sample thrown into the mix talking about how some things never change & after the first interlude, the instrumental that “Bat Phone” delivers sounds ripped straight from the Adam West incarnation of Batman declaring himself the most devious in hip hop.

Meanwhile on “Skeleton”, we have Madchild over what sounds like a Godzilla flip challenging anyone to bring the smoke to him just before “Bad Thoughts” has a quirky tone to the beat talking about being a lunatic his whole life. “Nostradamus” takes a more dramatic route saying he can see the future & after the 2nd interlude, “Arson” mixes some pianos detailing pyromania.

The track “Scattered” keeps the keyboards intact admitting he still needs darkness despite being in God’s light while the penultimate song “Problem Child” has this relaying vocal sample throughout declaring himself as such. After the 3rd & final interlude, “Bang” closes out the album with a trap cut talking about how life is awesome.

For those of you who weren’t feeling the trap influences that were present on Madchild’s last few albums, I think you’re gonna like Super Beast a lot more. The production primarily takes it back to his boom bap roots & the same goes for the aggressive lyricism as well.

Score: 4/5

Jerry – “Entitled” review

Jerry is a 31 year old MC, producer & music video director from Trenton, New Jersey who came up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. Jerry would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. But after taking 5 & a half years off to focus on his personal life, Jerry is finally returning with his 4th EP.

“Everyday” sets off the EP with Jerry over some crooning boom bap production from Jeff Wootton & Ging talking about always staying on the grind whereas “People Change” is a MellowHype reunion taking a more minimal trap route addressing his growth as a person. The song “Into Someone” works in an acoustic guitar to get in his romance bag while the penultimate track “We Never Knew” finds MellowHype reuniting once more accompanied by a cloudy trap beat spitting some braggadocio. “Again” ends the EP with yet another acoustic ballad singing about a bitch who’s crazy.

This dude has been off the radar even longer than Kendrick & it’s not my favorite solo effort that he’s done, but it’s very much respectable. I appreciate Jerry trying to expand as an artist & not only do I find how he does it to be solid, but I also knew he’d have some shit to get off his chest lyrically about where he’s at now in life given that he’s been gone for a minute & he delivers.

Score: 3.5/5

Whitney Peyton – “The Audacity” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Philly emcee Whitney Peyton. Rising to prominence in the underground in 2007 & off her full-length debut The Remedy only a few years after, she would go on to release 3 albums as well as 2 mixtapes & 4 EPs all in the last 12 years. Last we heard from her was a couple months before the pandemic broke out when she dropped Alpha under Suburban Noize Records & that just further cemented her status as a force to be reckoned with. But now in light of her starting up her own label Alpha Howse, she’s returning in the form of The Audacity.

“Give It Gas” opens up the album with a suspenseful trap instrumental talking about being back in her ways whereas “Ding Dong” goes full-blown Detroit trap to deliver a party anthem. C-Mob tags along for the cloudy “Suck It Up” produced by Godsynth reminding us all how important mental health is with both MCs putting their own perspectives out there just before the Mega Ran-assisted “Don’t Even Ask” takes things into more braggadocio territory & the instrumental that Godsynth brings to the table here in comparison to the joint we heard earlier has a much more vibrant aesthetic to it.

Meanwhile on “Outta My System”, we have Whitney Peyton on top of a trap beat from C-Lance surprisingly talking about flushing an ex out leading into Reverie coming into the picture for the thunderous “Slippin’” to declare that you’ll never catch them taking Ls. “Over & Over” works in some impressive rock influences talking about being a puppet to her own emotions while the actual closer “Bad Bitch” with Melissa Marie take it back to the MySpace days in terms of sound for the ladies to go wild too. We are then treated to “On My Way to Phoenix” off of Bag of Cat Tricks’ last EP Milk & Vodka as well as the “Give It Gas” remix as bonus tracks.

I’ve been wondering for the last 2 years how Whitney would follow-up what I consider to be her finest hour & I think this new album just further proves that she’ll find great success with Alpha Howse down the line. It’s really cool to hear how every cut has it’s own different vibe & lyrically, she still sounds as hungry as she did in ‘09 when she was starting out.

Score: 3.5/5