ApolloRed1 – “ApolloRed1 vs. the World” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper ApolloRed1 preluding his debut mixtape with his 3rd EP. Starting out a year ago off his full-length debut The Summer I Turned Red along with his first couple EPs Villain & Vamp Diary, his last EP Tantrum in March was enough to have his cousin Playboi Carti make him the newest member of the Opium Records roster & dropping a Midnight Blassic this spring. In preparation for his debut mixtape Demon Heart Radio, he’s preluding it with ApolloRed1 vs. the World.

“No Running” is a rage-inducing opener produced by Clayco talking about having whole rounds for their opps whereas “Benz Muhfucka” featuring Protect with co-production from OPM BABI & n9ck finds the pair assuring you won’t catch them leaving the house strapped. “Riot” continues to rep the hypertrap influences thanks to Goxan for an ode to the New York stop of Opium’s upcoming Antagonist Tour while “Contraband” talks about putting it this shit on command over a 16yrold, Bakkwoods & Rafmade instrumental.

Meanwhile on “Loaded Diper”, we have ApolloRed1 over more rage beats to discuss him still poppin’ pills & hopping out the van leading into “ARP” talks about the rifle doing exactly what he tells it to do over an Ayelavish! beat. “Profit” uses a flow reminiscent to Future’s confessing to fucking up the financial gain just before “Bad Bitch Fetish” featuring 9 Vicious teases their upcoming collab tape YVLFN.

“10:03” starts the final leg of ApolloRed1 vs. the World by talking about not wasting his money at the Magic City strip club Jermaine Dupri named his comeback album from last month after prior to “headed2thesky” promising to put the world in his girl’s hands over a Trgc instrumental. “Vamp Language” featuring Destroy Lonely was the perfect choice of a last minute guest appearance as they get on top this Bugz Ronin beat to talk about speaking in vampire.

Putting a bigger emphasis on the Chicago drill & plugg styles than Midnight Blassic did earlier this spring, ApolloRed1 vs. the World might seem like a homage of Lil Uzi Vert’s greatest tape on the surface only to get a collection of trap & rage tracks that rival ApolloRed1’s inaugural release under Opium several months ago. The production expands on the artistic potential that began flourishing post-Tantrum giving more reasons to validate his signing.

Score: 4/5

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WTM Scoob – “Life’s the Baddest Bitch” review

No sign of Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Scoob slowing down with his 4th EP of the week & his 12th overall. Formerly a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career started in 2019 with his first few EPs Good Kid as well as When You Coming Home & A Beautiful Drug. Couple more EPs Euphoric Effects & Don’t Be Proud came out ahead of his acclaimed debut album I Went to Plu2o, which was later followed by his first couple mixtapes Scoob & Sydney Tour the World and Unreleased Wav alongside Big Heart Small World. I’ll Neva Sell My Soul alongside Yellow Willow & Sydney have all dropped this week, explaining why Life is the Baddest Bitch.

“2 Brothers” works in a flute sample & some 808s talking about having a way to make it out the streets alive whereas “Finger Bowls” replies to those asking where he’s been by answering “in another Benz” bringing a more boisterous vibe. “Let’s Do It” hold up some pianos & hi-hats being down to break bread & shop all day but once “I Got New Money Go Get Sum” flexes his fresh loaf over a cloudy trap instrumental, “Photo” finishes with a Detroit sound outro talking about his life being ferocious.

Sydney remains my favorite extended play of the small handful WTM Scoob has released on SoundCloud this week, but Life is the Baddest Bitch would be a close 2nd without hesitation. Nolo 2000’s production sticks out amongst some of the finest batch of beats compared to it’s predecessors meshing the Detroit sound, cloud rap, trap & some instrument samples for Scoob to warm up for a release party he’s playing in less than 3 weeks as a birthday gift to fans.

Score: 4/5

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LIFEOFTHOM – “Driving Blind” review

New York emcee LIFEOFTHOM enlisting seasoned talent manager, producer, DJ, songwriter, audio engineer & record executive Plain Pat to produce his debut mixtape. Introducing himself off his first couple EPs Thomas & Robot Jesus, he would go on to release 3 more in Floor 11 as well as Room 44 & Cocotaso respectively. However, the singles that we got teasing Driving Blind & learning that the former KIDS SEE GHOSTS manager was solely handling all of the production.

“Wasted” was a passionate choice of an opener talking about risking it all for a plate & wanting a lot of stacks whereas the highlight “42nd St.” featuring Lørd Skø takes a jazzier yet soulful approach instrumentally representing the uptown. “Hands” featuring Wiki proves to be another favorite clllaboration of the 4 working in more sampling stripping the drums to talk about being the boss type while “Overthinking” tackles the theme of analysis paralysis.

Meanwhile on “Hittas”, we have THOM over a soulfully cloudy beat talking about the lesson that every journey has to have the kind of people who’ll stick knives in our backs just before “Night” hooks up a drumless guitar so he can get married to the game. “Cadillac” featuring jev. & Wiseboy Jeremy pairs the trio for a funky ode to luxury vehicle division of the General Motors Company while “Jeep” takes a more cavernous approach to the beat talking about his obnoxiousness.

“G.T.F.O. (Get the Fuck Out)” starts the final leg of the tape by addressing the people who want to see him out of bounds while “Lost in Vegas” featuring Swavay talking about being the type to snatch phones & log into finstas. “XO Tour Life” jumps over a boom bap instrumental with pianos speaking of money always coming his way & “Jumpin’ In” finishes the most important entry of LIFEOFTHOM’s discography leaping up out the edge of his seat for $100.

Reinventing the classic New York sound by blending classic boom bap rhyme schemes together with genre blurring melodies, Plain Pat helps take the meticulously thoughtful pen & use of experimental cadences/flows that’s skyrocketed LIFEOFTHOM’s popularity to a completely different stratosphere with no shade intended towards those early extended plays. Driving Blind’s refreshing production is unlike any of Thomas’ earlier work & firmly stands behind the homie Lørd Skø in helping pave a bright future for east coast lyricists.

Score: 4.5/5

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WTM Scoob – “Sydney” review

Already got the 11th EP from Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Scoob. Formerly a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career started in 2019 with his first few EPs Good Kid as well as When You Coming Home & A Beautiful Drug. Couple more EPs Euphoric Effects & Don’t Be Proud came out ahead of his acclaimed debut album I Went to Plu2o, which was later followed by his first couple mixtapes Scoob & Sydney Tour the World and Unreleased Wav alongside Big Heart Small World. Yellow Willow dropped literally an hour ago & he’s already turning up the pressure with Sydney.

“WYA? I Wanna See U RN!” opens with a cloudy, 108 seconds trap intro talking about wanting to see his lover while the pluggy “U Know U Important to Me” reminds her of how much she means to him. “Girl Ask God 4 Forgiveness” quirkily advises the woman he’s addressing to seek redemption from the higher power & “mo ho’s than santa :(“ talks about having too many hoes.

For those of you who loved the way WTM Scoob heavily embraced the cloud rap/plugg styles all over Peach Wolf almost a year ago, it’s highly plausible that you’re gonna enjoy Sydney the most out of all 3 extended plays we’ve gotten from him these past 60 hours. Production-wise, it’s a lot similar to the previously mentioned EP from last Thanksgiving & the subject matter has a stronger focus around love.

Score: 4/5

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WTM Scoob – “Yellow Willow” review

Another day & another EP from Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Scoob marking the 10th in his discography. Formerly a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career started in 2019 with his first few EPs Good Kid as well as When You Coming Home & A Beautiful Drug. Couple more EPs Euphoric Effects & Don’t Be Proud came out ahead of his acclaimed debut album I Went to Plu2o, which was later followed by his first couple mixtapes Scoob & Sydney Tour the World and Unreleased Wav alongside Big Heart Small World. I covered Peach Wolf around Thanksgiving time last year & 10 months later, Yellow Willow has arrived in time for fall.

“Grimace Shake” was a tropical choice of an intro talking about chopping it up with God to wash away all of his sins while “She Called Me Weird About a Year Ago” takes 39 seconds to recall a woman referring to him as a weirdo 12 months ago. “Tom Izzo” references the iconic Michigan State Spartans basketball coach of the same name over a reversed sample & “Fly Ass Kid Puffing w/ an Angel” experiments with sample drill for almost a minute talks about smoking weed with messengers of God.

Only 48 hours since I’ll Never Sell My Soul dropped, WTM Scoob celebrates the fall by releasing an extended play that’s almost 10 minutes shorter than the predecessor from the end of the weekend coming close to the LP he dropped the summer. The production’s a bit more experimental than I had expected since most of his music’s catered to the Detroit sound, but he nevertheless uses the salix lutea as a briefly enjoyable metaphor for vitality.

Score: 3.5/5

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jev. – “LONERWRLD 2” review

Ontario, Canada emcee jev. returning 15 months since his full-length debut to release his 4th EP. Introducing himself off The Color Grey. as well as LONERWRLD & The Samurai’s Monologue., he received his biggest breakthrough yet last summer off the studio LP when angels cry. emphasizing the jazzy boom bap portions of his style ditching the underlying trap influences throughout a portion of his early material. Preparing for 2nd album, we’re getting a sequel to LONERWRLD.

“Annie.” featuring Hillari soulfully opens the EP with both of them rapping about a violent kind of love while “I Love You, jev.” spits acid over a boom bap instrumental. “Jamaican Cuisine.” produced by Conductor Williams of the Griselda Records in-house production trio The Heartbreakers is my favorite track here getting automatic with the flow while “Megatron.” goes for an industrial hip hop going at the asses of his competition.

The song “God, My Big Homie.” begins the final leg of LONERWRLD 2 talking about the Lord above being a good friend to him over the course of his entire life while “Runitup.” admits that something in his cups causing his words to slur a little. “Truth.” finishes the extended play with sampling soul music throwing some kicks & snares into the picture going on a mission for the team.

Assuming that we’ll get jev.’s sophomore effort in 2026, the continuation of LONERWRLD slickly takes both sounds that it’s predecessor employed couple years ago this month & substitutes the consciously abstract lyricism for secondary influences of neo-soul & trap in addition to experimenting with newer flows that he successfully tries out.

Score: 4/5

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Detroit Ché – “Chizzy” review

This is the 2nd EP from Detroit, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, actress, model & creative director Detroit Ché. Releasing her debut single “Talk My Shit” over a decade ago, she released her debut EP Chénges in the summer of 2017 & returned last spring with a new single followed by another one couple months later. Both of which make the final cut of Chizzy, which has been getting co-signs from local veteran Miz Korona currently working on her forthcoming EP Travel in Peace dedicated to her mother.

After the intro, the self-produced “Lambo (Go Get It)” is a Detroit trap opener with some bells & pianos talking about nobody doing it like here whereas “Hugsz” takes an eerier approach instrumentally chilling in the corner where the love at dissing the frauds. “Hit Different (Money Phone)” sticks to the Detroit sound advising against calling the phone she uses to make money with back & after the “Mama Chizzy” interlude, “Super Ché” reaches the halfway point of the EP talking about charging up.

“Toobi” starts the 2nd act of the EP with a cutthroat Detroit trap beat cautioning that her crew don’t know how to act just before “1234567 (Too Feddy)” talks about people asking her suspicious questions. “Detroit Chizzy” blends strings & 808s to show the city who the real boss is while “Koi” asks why would she stop when she has more to say. “Pretty from the D” closes Chizzy by talking about not being anything like these other bitches rapping.

It’s been 8 years since Detroit Ché had to make some Chénges in her life & her comeback effort Chizzy stylistically adapts to the Detroit sound as opposed to the mellowness of that debut EP. It’s similar to what Boldy James did with Hommage earlier this spring in terms of a seasoned local MC proving that they can do what they best over that incarnation of trap & succeeding to end the 3rd quarter of the year.

Score: 4/5

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iam3hard – “World War III” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper iam3hard. Coming up in 2023 off his first couple of extended plays Down 2 Win & The Bandlab Beast, his 3rd EP Dissimilar Prevalence produced by Whyceg succeeding his full-length debut The Bandlab Bandit has become his most celebrated work & the sophomore effort WDF 3HARD followed a couple months later. Before I Sign & Willing to Die For both resulted in 3hard signing to Cegular Records, making his debut for the Sony Music imprint with 3x Harder & has been prepping for World War 3.

“Bearcoat” produced by Goxan starts off with an dark plugg opener talking about hanging out the window with a suppressed firearm whereas “Black Glock” hooks up a bell-heavy plugg instrumental from Whyceg painting imagery of the gangsta lifestyle running up carrying that specific type of gun on him. “Meds Works” takes a cloudier trap approach thanks to SOULJASPIRITS talking about Cegular doing fuckboys badly while “TSR” boasts of him spearheading the way for artists to get signed.

Nearing the end of the 1st half, “Ford Focus” incorporates some strings & 808s boasting the kind of whip he’s getting head inside of just before Trgc goes for a terror plugg vibe talking about never spinning the music of a rat whose mixtape isn’t selling very well. “Micro Jackson” finishes the 2nd quarter flexing that he & the rest of the squad gotta stay classy when pulling up to the clubs while “The Service” shifts towards a dark plugg sound talking about him still servin’ his housing projects.

“Wet Em decently gives off a more traditional plugg atmosphere continuing to hit listeners with more gangsta rap lyricism, but “What” felt like a better attempt at it despite its 96 second brevity. “Bob the Builder” gets referenced almost a couple months after J.I.D said he’d put a bullet in the general contractor while “Southlake” featuring 2sdxrt3all recaptures the synergies of their collab EP Burn the Booth Down.

The song “On Gangy” winds down World War 3’s final minutes hopping over a plugg instrumental talking about really having it out the pavement while “Shrek & Donkey” wraps things up talking about being more pissed off than the titular character of the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal division DreamWorks Animation’s flagship franchise & his best friend ahead of the upcoming 5th installment set to hit theaters in the summer of 2027.

3x Harder marked a huge improvement in quality compared to iam3hard’s earlier material & not only has he already outdone himself, there’s a pretty good chance World War 3 will be coming in conversations regarding 3hard’s greatest material much like it’s predecessor joining both Babystaydown & Pradabagshawty in further establishing Cegular Records to be a prominent plugg label. The plugg, dark plugg, terror plugg, cloud rap & trap production feels unparalleled compared to the last album & the same can be said regarding the Atlanta artist’s gangsta-lenient themes.

Score: 4/5

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WTM Scoob – “I’ll Neva Sell My Soul” review

Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Scoob is back with his 9th EP. Formerly a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career started in 2019 with his first few EPs Good Kid as well as When You Coming Home & A Beautiful Drug. Couple more EPs Euphoric Effects & Don’t Be Proud came out ahead of his acclaimed debut album I Went to Plu2o, which was later followed by his first couple mixtapes Scoob & Sydney Tour the World and Unreleased Wav alongside his last EP Big Heart Small World. Didn’t get the chance to cover his sophomore effort Peace of Me this summer, but the concept of I’ll Neva Sell My Soul grabbed me almost immediately.

“Lean” starts with an intro borrowing from the dirty south a bit talking about sippin’ codeine whereas “Scoob Fame” talks about these pussies & hoes being unable to take shit from him. “Kount Up” hazily advises against fixing shit for these lames since they’ve been broke all of his life leading into the “Feel the Love (Bristol Heartbreak)” instrumental interlude.

The song “Training Day” begins the final act of I’ll Neva Sell My Soul with a cloudy trap beat talking about how if it ain’t 1 thing, it’s another while “U” opens up regarding his blowup & having too much to lose. “Scoobyness” finishes the EP by talking about the habits he picked up from growing up in the habitat that he was raised in with his cup being so dark, he could be a black activist.

For an 18 minute EP recorded in 2020 sometime prior to WRLD Tour’s debut mixtape WRLD Tour Mafia or Die the succeeding summer, it would’ve felt fully complete if WTM Scoob had rapped on “Feel the Love (Bristol Heartbreak)” but either way he digs up a small handful of gems made around a time when the world was completely shut down making a promise on wax that he won’t ever sell out.

Score: 3.5/5

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La Reezy – “Lareezyana Shakedown” review

New Orleans, Louisiana based emcee/producer La Reezy self-producing his 4th EP. Introducing himself in 2023 off the full-length studio debut Reeborn, he would go on to follow it up with the debut EP We All Need Help as well as both Welcome to La Reezyana & Pardon Me, I’m Different earlier this year. The latter 2 have been drawing a lot of eyes on him within these past several months, which ultimately resulted in Lareezyana Shakedown unlocking a version of himself that even he didn’t know was ready to take the spotlight.

“Nolia Clap” begins with a cross between drumless, chipmunk soul & rap rock talking about the rocket being ready to go off whereas “Hardheaded” takes a jazzier vibe instrumentally talking about how he should’ve listened to his parents & now he has to solve it himself. “Move” featuring Da1TopNoch is the only song I could do without here despite the beat stylistically throwing it back to the late 90s dirty south while “Tiana Anthem” takes a backseat vocally for 67 seconds.

“Bad Man” works in some more sampling of soul music openly confessing to his mother that he’s not a good person while “Catch the Groove” closes the greatest musical statement of La Reezy’s career as of this very moment with a crossover between drumless & chipmunk soul talking about recently turning 21 in the current political climate of our country with some strings during the hook & I relate to it since I personally turned 21 at the end of 2017.

Receiving co-signs from the same weekend after former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed & even Juvenile of the Hot Boy$ himself, Lareezyaa Shakedown conceived during a 5-beats-in-a-day challenge sharpens his artistic dexterity coming off the same weekend local former AEW World Tag Team Champion, FTW Champion, DEFY World Champion, the inaugural NWA World Television Champion & NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints ending the longest reigning NXT North American Champion Oba Femi’s nearly 9-month reign as NXT Champion at the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s developmental NXT brand’s No Mercy III in addition to the inaugural NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan succeeding the current TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Ash by Elegance’s brief reign as TNA Knockouts World Champion and inaugural AEW World Tag Team Champion, 3-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion, アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, the inaugural 2-time PWG World Champion, 6-time TNA X Division Champion & 3-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian ending former TNA World Champion Steve Maclin’s inaugural reign as TNA International Champion at Victory Road XIX.

Score: 4.5/5

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