Mars – “Murder” review

Mars is a horrorcore veteran from Pittsburgh, California that made his debut in 1998 with S.I.D.S. (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). He would go on to drop 2 EPs in the mid-2000s, a mixtape in 2012 & his sophomore full-length entitled Glockcoma just a couple years ago. But with a new studio album Locked Up a Broad set to drop next month, Mars is warming the fans up by enlisting Bvne to produce his 3rd EP.

The opener “Small Sacrifices” is mostly a 2 minute hypnotic trap beat, but the first actual song on here “Never Get Rich” finds Mars venting about doing shit himself over a cavernous beat. The track “Undercover” gets murderous over a nocturnal beat while the song “Whiskey” talks about an ex over an acoustic trap beat. The track “Shit List” lyrically is self explanatory, but it turns out super fresh. Plus, I love the vocals in the background of the instrumental.

After the “Solicitation” skit, we go into the song “Cum Closer”. Where Mars & Koshir get flirtatious over a hyphy beat. After the “Collect Call” skit, the penultimate track “Christine” talks about a chick with the same name over a blissfully cloudy trap beat. The EP then finishes off with “In the End”, where Mars talks to his significant other over a country trap instrumental.

This is a nice little appetizer before the main course in November. Mars seems to step out of his comfort zone a lot more on this thing & I think it’s a really dope change of pace for him. Bvne’s production really does a great job in helping him with that too. It definitely has me looking forward to Locked Up a Broad even more.

Score: 3.5/5

CMPND – “Eagle Court” review

CMPND is a hip hop trio from Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom consisting of Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G. All 3 of which are lyricists in their own right & Wundrop in particular being their in-house producer. Introducing themselves 6 months previously, the group has already been making enough waves to the point where the historic Hove underground imprint High Focus Records agreeably realizing they’d be a great for the label & signed them in time for their full-length studio debut album to arrive a month after Zack Sabre Jr. ended 棚橋弘至’s reign as RPW British Heavyweight Champion.

The title track produced by none other than Wundrop talking about what it was like for them growing up in the very housing complex that made CMPND who they are whereas the 3rd & final single “E.W.A. (Eagles With Attitude)” gives middle fingers to the feds, including an awesome shoutout to Jeru the Damaja too. “Solid Air” has a more hypnotic trap vibe instrumentally talking about being more sinful than symbols just before “Whatuplayin@” acknowledges the word around the streets of their greatness.

“Illeagle Court” featuring Hutch shifts towards a cloudy boom bap direction to the beat cautioning that shit really goes down around their neck of the woods leading into “Home Runs” featuring Verbz marking the first of 2 appearances from the latter admitting that they still can’t find peace out in the streets. “U Know We Fly” talks about being crazier than Warner Bros.’ flagship franchise Looney Tunes while “Arjun Robben” ends the 1st half boasting to be the Ps who don’t do Qs.

Kicking off the 3rd quarter, “Dusty Ivory” returns to the boom bap confessing they shouldn’t rule the world because of the self-awareness of barely being responsible for their own actions while “Flight 370” dissects the Malaysia Airlines Flight in March of 2014 that infamously disappeared. “Instant Wins” gives off secondary influences of psychedelic music down to the slurred chorus talking about being ahead of the pack while “Paraphrase” featuring Verbz finds themselves keeping their heads above the hemisphere.

“Silence in Court” begins Eagle Court’s final leg explain explaining that we’re all corpses of our former selves in the grand scheme of things yearning for new lungs & company while “Purpatrait” talks about breaking rules despite not playing games. “Hindenburg” featuring Dirty Dike, Fliptrix, HERBiCiDE, Nuphzed & Stinkin’ Slumrok comes together for a 7 minute posse cut where Dike, the High Focus CEO himself & Slumrok shine the most while “Days to Daze” ends with an introspectively soulful outro.

Taking the title of CMPND’s inaugural LP after the blocks of flats all 3 members met & grew up together, these guys bring a whole new vision & aesthetic to the forefront devoid of outside distractions & influences only marking the beginning of a bright future under High Focus Records. Whether it be Wundrop’s production influenced by boom bap as well as grime & UK drill in addition to his critical social commentary or Vitamin G’s multi-syllables & Kemastry’s unpredictability, the new era of UK hip hop has already arrived.

Score: 4/5

Danny Brown – “uknowhatimsayin¿” review

Danny Brown is a 38 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan that got his start as a member of the Rese’vor Dogs in the mid-2000s. He would go onto form the Bruiser Brigade in 2010, dropping his debut album The Hybrid the same year. This resulted in him signing with Fool’s Gold Records & delivering a near perfect sophomore effort XXX the next year, which was followed up with Old in 2013 as well as his 2016 magnum opus & Warp Records debut Atrocity Exhibition. Fast forward 3 years later, he’s delivering his highly-anticipated 5th full-length album & has brought on Q-Tip to oversee it.

“Change Up” talks about never selling out over a hypnotic instrumental from longtime collaborator Paul White while the next track “Theme Song” is a dedication to the suckas over a gorgeously weapy strong sample. The song “Dirty Laundry” showcases his clever lyricism over an off-kilter instrumental from Q-Tip while the track “3 Tearz” with Run the Jewels gets careless over a psychedelic instrumental from JPEGMAFIA.

The song “Belly of the Beast” talks about drug use over a misty instrumental that later builds up as suspenseful near the end of the final verse while the track “Savage Nomad” talks about going at his competition over an Alchemist-inspired instrumental from Playa Haze.

“Best Life” talks about living good over a boom bap beat sampling Tommy McGee’s “To Make You Happy” while the title track talks about keeping it moving over a disco-esque instrumental. The song “Negro Spiritual” not only finds Danny charismatically showing off over a funky instrumental from Flying Lotus & Thundercat, but Peggy does the best Pharrell impression ever on the hook.

The penultimate track “Shine” talks about getting what’s his over a gargantuan boom bap beat & then the closer “Combat” with both Q-Tip & Consequence finds the 3 talking about how all 3 of them have come a long way over some jazzy horns.

While this obviously isn’t a masterpiece like Atrocity Exhibition, it’s still a fantastic album. It’s pretty much a more mature version of The Hybrid with grander production & you can really hear how much Danny’s pen game has stepped up since then.

Score: 4.5/5

Dr. Syntax – “Wallop” review

London, England, United Kingdom producer Pete Cannon handling the beats for Banbury, North Oxfordshire emcee Dr. Syntax’ 8th studio LP. Notable for co-fronting The Mouse Outfit, the latter made his solo debut Self Taught in 2003 followed by 5 more full-lengths along with a mixtape & 4 extended plays. Personal favorites include the Pitch 92-produced Evidence, Killer Combo!, Elaborate Anoraks & Let’s Talk. All of which Pete Cannon solely produced, so him coming back behind the boards for Wallop wasn’t too much of a shock.

“Fine” begins talking about being content with the way everything’s going over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Right About Now” featuring Joe Burn aggressively finds the pair getting impulsive on top of this UK drill beat. “Life Force” brings the kicks & snares back in effect suggesting those on the same vibe as him are either reading his thoughts or sharing his exact entity prior to “Classic in the Making” jazzily talking about the chemistry he & Pete have.

Illaman saves my favorite guest verse for “Differently”, discussing how both of them are unique beasts of their own category just before the dance-inspired “Body” kicks off the 2nd half making a bunch of references to the human anatomy for 109 seconds. “Mayhem” continues from there boasting jewels & a group of individuals wilding out for the night finding out the hard way while “Do What U Like” featuring Dubbul O talks about engaging in things that bring us joy.

“Somnambulant” featuring Riksi decently links up so they can get on their A-game & seizing the day regardless of whether it’s been good or bad while “Killah” goes for an EDM direction advising any opponent who wants to step up in a battle to improve their game considering that he’ll send muhfuckas back to school. The title track appropriately ties up all loose ends with a somber trap mood instrumentally talking about the impossibility of being unimpressed by what they’re doing.

Not only does Pete Cannon’s production feel varied throughout the half hour compared to what he & Dr. Syntax have previously done, but so does the subject matter & that’s an important factor in what makes Wallop a suitable experience regardless of the fact they’ve already given us 3 consecutive bangers over the course of 5 years. I however would disagree with putting Let’s Talk above it & the features occasionally stood out.

Score: 3.5/5

Joey Cool – “Old Habits Die Hard” review No

Joey Cool is a 33 year old rapper from Kansas City, Missouri that first gained attention as a long-time affiliate of local independent hip hop powerhouse Strange Music, releasing a total of 4 mixtapes & a studio album on his own before Tech N9ne decided to officially sign him to the Snake & Bat just about 2 years ago. He made his official Strange debut last May with his self-titled sophomore effort & as we approach the last quarter of this decade is coming around the corner, he’s back with his 3rd full-length album.

It all kicks off with “King Coolie”, which talks about his newfound success where some luxurious keyboards from Burna Music. The next song “Turn It Down” flexes over a dark beat from Leonard DStroy while the track “Pieces of Me” talks about being broken over a gloomy beat from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7. The title track talks about maturity over a downtempo electro beat while the song “I Got Dat” talks about the things he has over an atmospheric beat.

“‘Til Further Notice” with Krizz Kaliko sees the 2 claiming their spots to the throne over a grimy trap beat while the song “C.w.d.B. (Coolie wit da Bitches)” speaks for itself over a banger beat. After the “Put the Swank On It” interlude, the track “Come On” is a rowdy club banger while the song “Stop That” with King Iso sees the 2 going at studio gangsters over some twinkling bells & heavy bass.

The track “Decisions, Decisions” gets self-explanatory lyrically over a psychedelic beat Kato while the song “Remedial” with JL finds the 2 claiming themselves to be just that over a gritty instrumental. The track “Speak on It” with Emilio Rojas sees the 2 telling their naysayers to talk smack to their faces over a moody trap beat from Suli4Q while the song “Bye Now” is basically Joey saying he ain’t got tolerance for foolishness over a keyboard instrumental from Info Gates.

“I Can’t Remember” with UBI sees the 2 talking to this chick they thought they saw at the club the night before referencing 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 over a woozy instrumental while the song “Above Average” with Maez301 sees the 2 getting lavish over a blissful beat. The track “Throw It” with Godemis finds the 2 tossing dollars & getting laid over an abrasive beat while the song “Head Case” with Stevie Stone sees the 2 wanting all the smoke over a somber beat with some rubbery bass.

The track “You Ain’t Know” talks about being in the middle of the map over a cavernous beat while the song “Bet It All” with Tech N9ne, JL & Zoo gets celebratory over a hyphy beat. The album then finishes with “Violent Contradictions”, where Joey pours his heart out over some low ranged piano chords.

Personally, this is tied with the self-titled album as Joey’s best work yet. In contrast the previous album being a proper introduction to a wider audience, he comes off as more mature this time around & I really welcome & respect that of him.

Score: 3.5/5

Skyzoo – “Retropolitan” review

Skyzoo is a 36 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York that first gained attention in 2006 with his 9th Wonder debut album Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. This was followed up in 2009 with The Salvation & then the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck the following year. Then after taking 2011 off, he came back with his 3rd & final Duck Down album A Dream Deferred. Zoo would go on to form his own label First Generation Rich Inc. & make his debut on there with Music for My Friends in 2015. He would then drop the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth under Mello Music Group the following year, but would go back to dropping projects on FGR at the beginning of last year with In Celebration of Us. But almost 2 years later, he’s teaming up with MMG once again for his 8th full-length album & has enlisted the revered Pete Rock to produce it from front to back.

After the “Men Like Us” intro, we go into the first song “Glorious”. Where talks about how he’s just that over a boom bap beat with a soul sample & some horns. The track “Truck Jewels” with Pete sees the 2 getting fly over a woodwind infused instrumental & the song “Carry the Tradition” with Styles P lyrically needs no further explanation, but I really like the claps in the beat a lot.

The track “Homegrown” talks about keeping it just that over a funky instrumental while the song “It’s All Good” is a positivity anthem with an instrumental that was made during the illmatic sessions. The track “10 Days” finds Rich Porter talking to Azie over a euphoric instrumental while the song “Richie” is vice versa over a boom bap beat with some keyboards.

The track “Penny Jerseys” reflects on his block over the same sample that Gang Starr used for “The Planet” while the song “1 Time” finds Zoo paying homage to a number of things over a smooth beat. The penultimate track “Eastern Conference All-Stars” with eLZhi & Griselda Records is an triumphantly epic posse cut & then the album ends with “The Audacity of Dope”, where Sky comes through with a bar-fest over a soulful boom bap beat.

Personally, this is the man’s best work to date. You can really tell that he & Pete Rock took their time in crafting a near perfect love letter/wakeup call to NYC & a nonchalant chemistry.

Score: 4.5/5

Ameer Vann – “EMMANUEL” review

Ameer Vann is a 22 year old rapper from Houston, Texas who came up as one of the original members of the most beloved hip hop boyband of this decade: BROCKHAMPTON. He played a key-role in their SATURATION trilogy in 2017 but last spring, he was kicked out of the boyband for sexual misconduct allegations. I said this in my review of BROCKHAMPTON’s latest album GINGER & I’ll say it again right now, but his removal from the boyband was a decision that is still polarizing by many to this very day. Ameer completely disappeared after his dismissal, but now he’s coming out of the shadows with his 2nd EP.

It all kicks off with the title track, where Ameer vents about his inner demons over a rubbery bass-line from Cool & Dre of all people. The next song “Pop Trunk” compares & contrasts his past & present self over a generically cloudy trap beat while the track “Glock 19” gets violent over a syrupy instrumental. The song “Los Angeles” has a dark hip house beat from Hit-Boy that’s somewhat interesting, but the lyrics & the tone of Ameer’s voice sound like they come from a place of bitterness. You didn’t lose your friends to fame, you lost them because of your actions. The penultimate track “Sunday Night” talks about drug use over a comatose instrumental & then EP then finishes off with “Plastic”, which pretty much sounds like an unfinished demo.

And that’s the thing: For a comeback that a lot of people including myself were waiting for, the results are pretty lukewarm. It’s probably his darkest work yet granted, but it’s so 1-dimensional & monotonous. Even the beats that Cool & Dre and Hit-Boy bring to the table are just so basic, that it’s disappointing. If Ameer continues to make anymore music in the future, he can certainly do better than this.

Score: 3/5

JPEGMAFIA – “All My Heroes Are Cornballs” review

JPEGMAFIA is a 29 year old rapper & producer from Baltimore, Maryland that made his debut in 2016 with Black Ben Carson. A solid album at that, but it wouldn’t be until the beginning of 2018 where he dropped his critically acclaimed sophomore effort Veteran. Which I personally regret not reviewing when it first came out, because it truly revealed Peggy as a fresh new face in the experimental hip hop scene. But as we’re about to enter the final quarter of 2019, the man‘s hitting us with his 3rd full-length album.

The hilariously titled opener “Jesus Forgive Me, I’m a Thot” finds Peggy praying for a number of things over a somewhat cloudy instrumental while the next song “Kenan vs. Kel” finds him attacking his enemies over a dreamy beat that later has an abrasive switch-up. The track “Beta Male Strategies” is pretty much a jab at keyboard warriors over a psychedelic instrumental & after the trippy “JPEGMAFIA TYPE BEAT” interlude, the song “Grimy Waifu” talks about murder over a gorgeous acoustic instrumental.

The track “PTSD” talks about the titular mental disorder with a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time women’s champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Trish Stratus over an atmospheric yet glitchy beat while the song “Rap Grown Old & Die x No Child Left Behind” talks about a life cycle referencing KO-D無差別級チャンピオン, DDTエクストリームチャンピオン, 2-time PWG World Champion, 5-time PWG World Tag Team Champion, ROH World Television Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion & NXT Champion Sami Zayn over a distorted boom bap beat. The title track finds him bragging over a spacious beat while the song “BBW” talks about his success over a mellow beat.

The track “PRONE!” finds Peggy talks about snitching a chaotic beat that switches into something more soothing for the outro while “Life’s Hard, Here’s a Song about Sorrel” is a 1 minute interlude where Peggy sings pretty beautifully.

The track “Thot Tactics” needs no further explanation over a meditative beat while the song “Free the Frail” talks about shit being outta his hands including a reference to former 7-time NWA World Tag Team Champion Chris Harris over an slow yet infectiously atmospheric beat. The track “Post Verified Lifestyle” continues to address his newfound fame over a dreamlike instrumental while the song “BasicBitchTearGas” is an awkward 1-minute cover of the iconic TLC joint “No Scrubs”.

The next track with Buzzy Lee is a decent remix of the “DOTS FREESTYLE” that Peggy did with Kenny Beats for The Cave. The “BUTTERMILK JESUS TYPE BEAT” is mostly this wavy interlude & then the album finishes off with “Papi I Missed You”, where Peggy talks about racism over a spacey beat.

This is easily the man’s best work to date. The production is more creative & Peggy shows his versatility a lot more on this one from his angry rapping to his catchy & melodic singing.

Score: 4.5/5

Conway the Machine – “Look What I Became” review

This is the sophomore album from Buffalo, New York emcee Conway the Machine. Who rose to stardom with his brother Westside Gunn & their label Griselda Records just a few years ago. Last we heard from Conway was in July when he dropped the song “Bang” with Eminem, which is the lead single to his upcoming Shady Records debut God Don’t Make Mistakes. And to prep us for it, he’s releasing Look What I Became independently.

The album kicks off with “No Women No Kids”, where Conway gets mafioso over a haunting Alchemist beat. The next song “Hawks” attacks his biters over an intoxicating instrumental & after the “RIP Owen” interlude, the song “Tito’s Back” is just pretty much Conway & Benny the Butcher showing off their chemistry over a Daringer beat with some eerie keyboards.

The track “Black Spoons” gets back on the mafioso tip over a demented DJ Muggs beat while the song “Vino D” with Dave East & Jim Jones pays tribute to Conway’s friend with the same name over a boom bap beat from JR Swiftz. The track “Half of It” talks about his success over an organ-inflicted trap beat from Rick Hyde & then after the “Bells Palsy” interlude, the closer “You Made It” pays tribute to his mother over a relaxing beat from Statik Selektah.

This is a fantastic prelude. Couple tracks I could’ve done without, but the beats are mostly grimy & Conway’s lyricism just keeps progressing with each new project he drops. Definitely looking forward to his major label debut coming soon.

Score: 4/5

Ghostface Killah – “Ghostface Killahs” review

7670549 Ghostface Killah is a 49 year old MC that came up as a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He’s easily the most consistent member of the group with albums like Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids, 12 Reasons to Die & Sour Soul just to name a few. He just dropped his Big Ghost Ltd. produced comeback The Lost Tapes about a year ago & to commemorate it, he’s teaming up with Danny Caiazzo to release his 15th album.

After the intro, we go into the first song “Me Denny & Daryl”. Where Ghost gets murderous with Method Man & Cappadonna over an instrumental with the vintage Wu-sound. The track “Burner to Burner” with Inspectah Deck & Cappa sees the 3 going at their competition over a grimy guitar lead while the song “Flex” speaks for itself over a mellow instrumental. After the “News Report” skit, the song “Conditioning” finds Ghost goes back at his competition over a flute-heavy instrumental.

“Fly Everything” with Shawn Wigs & Sun God of course finds the 3 boasting over a lavish instrumental while the song “Party Over Here” is a bland club banger. The song “Pistol Smoke” with Shawn Wigs of course spits that gun talk over a suspenseful beat & after the “Revolution” skit, the song “New World” gets conscious over a funky bass-line.

The track “Waffles & Ice Cream” featuring Cappadonna is a modern bastardization of the iconic Raekwon joint “Ice Cream” while “The Chase” with Sun God is pretty much a boring remake of “Run” off of The Pretty Toney Album. The album then closes out with “Soursop”, where Ghost links with Masta Killa & Solomon Childs to deliver a painfully trite reggae fusion.

Not sure what else to say, this is just so average on all fronts. The Wu will forever be all-time favorite group & Ghostface is defiantly the most consistent member, but the beats & the lyricism on this new album are so mediocre. However my biggest issue with this album is that it sounds rushed, as it’s only 33 minutes long. Hopefully, he’ll take his time with the next album.

Score: 2.5/5