CZARFACE & Ghostface Killah – “CZARFACE Meets Ghostface” review

This is the highly anticipated collab album between East Coast supergroup CZARFACE & the legendary Ghostface Killah. They first teamed up on the banger “Savagely Attack” off of CZARFACE’s self-titled debut back in 2013 but now almost a year after the trio’s collab album with MF DOOM titled CZARFACE Meets Metal Face, they’re following it up by doing a collab album with Tony Starks himself.

After the “Back at the Ringside” intro, the first song “Face Off” sees CZAR & Ghost really suiting the title over an eerie beat. The track “Iron Claw” tells their competition not to push them referencing former UFC Lightweight & Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn over an El-P inspired instrumental while the song “Czarrcade ‘87” is a CZAR solo cut where Esoteric & Inspectah Deck get confrontational over an ominous beat. The track “Powers & Stuff” reunite with Ghost to brag about their skills including a reference to 6-time WWE world champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Dave Bautista over an apocalyptic beat while the song “Masked Superstars” continues the lyrical themes of the previous joint over a more boom bap beat.

The track “Morning Ritual” has a somber beat & the storytelling is vivid, but I’m confused as to way Inspectah Deck doesn’t appear on it at all. The song “Super Soldier Serum” gets boastful over an electro-tinged beat while “The King Heard Voices” gets murderous over a perfectly fitting instrumental. The track “Listen to the Color” is another CZAR cut that could’ve been on any of their first 3 albums & before things close out with the “(Post Credits Scene)” outro, the final song “Mongolian Beef” is a lyrical onslaught with a doomsday-sounding beat.

From front to back, it definitely lives up to the hype. It could’ve been a little longer & used a couple features, but the production & chemistry between CZAR & Ghost is almost on par with DOOM’s.

Score: 4/5

Mcabre Brothers – “Tell a Friend” review

The Mcabre Brothers are a duo from the United Kingdom consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, England emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott alongside London emcee Milkavelli. Known for being members of Cult Mountain & the Children of the Damned, these guys made their eponymous debut in 2009 & followed it up with their debut EP Merry Critmass. Their sophomore effort Gonzo Lyricism was the last time we heard from the brothers & are back nearly a decade later with their 2nd extended play.

The title track sets the tone with a boom bap instrumental encouraging everyone to let their friends know the Mcabre Brothers are in effect again & after “Tie Die Sky” ruggedly talks about keeping it going until the job’s done, “Ring Back” featuring Black Josh works in more kicks & snares ending the 1st half comparing acid trips to an episode of the Discovery Global subsidiary Cartoon Network late night block [adult swim] hit series Rick & Morty.

“64 Bit” featuring Salar starts off the other leg of Tell a Friend with all 3 off them giving us witty video game wordplay over this industrial beat while “Flush” humorously talking about discarding mixtapes wack rappers are always passing out by making it go down the toilet. “No Chance” however wraps things up with this coldblooded boom bap instrumental dismissing the idea of any crew having the possibility of defeating them in a battle.

Ending the longest gap in-between releases so far, the Mcabre Brothers return after nearly 8 years for an EP making it clear as day for anyone listening to Tell a Friend they’ve returned & hopefully it won’t be the last time we hear them again. I’d still say their self-titled debut has the best production of all 4 projects Lee Scott & Milkavelli have done although I can appreciate the depiction of their style evolving over the course of an entire decade.

Score: 3.5/5

Sean Price – “86 Witness” review

Sean Price was a legendary MC from New York City who came up as a member of the Boot Camp Clik alongside Heltah Skeltah & The Fab 5. He released 3 classic solo albums before unexpectedly passing away in 2015 but now, Small Professor has decided to release Sean’s recently unearthed posthumous sophomore album & 5th album overall.

The album kicks off with “Bear Witness”, which is mostly a decent turntablism cut referencing WWE Hall of Famer William Perry. The next track is the original Heltah Skeltah mix of “Refrigerator P!” that appeared on Sean’s 2017 posthumous debut Imperius Rex while the song “LaToya Jackson” with Quelle Chris sees the 2 boasting about their rapping prowesses over an grimy boom bap beat.

The track “Midnight Rounds” with Elucid & Castle is loaded with battle bars over a militant beat & after the “P’s Theme” interlude, we go into the song “John Gotti”. Here, P teams up with AG da Coroner as well as Guilty Simpson & Your Old Droog to get murderous over an eerie beat.

The track “Think About It” sounds like it easily could’ve been on his latest Illa Ghee collab EP Metal Detectors & then the final original cut “Word to Mother” talks about how he’s the greatest over some haunting strings. This is followed by remixes of “John Gotti” & “Refrigerator P!”, which don’t really do much for me in all honesty.

Even though this is more like an EP to me, it is a solid listen. There are a few handful of redundant cuts on here, but most of this half hour experience is filled with the gritty lyricism & raw production that you’d usually expect from P.

Score: 3.5/5

Crimeapple – “Wet Dirt” review

WET

Crimeapple is an MC from New Jersey who’s been making some noise in the underground over the past year or so. Especially with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams that dropped on Halloween 2017 & his Big Ghost Ltd. produced debut album Aguardiente last March. However, he is now teaming up with DJ Skizz to deliver his sophomore album.

The album kicks off with the titular song, which talks about doing him over a boom bap beat with some haunting background vocals & piano chords. The next song “Pasteless” gets mafioso over a flute-tinged beat while the track “Springfield Power Plant” talks about his hustle over a classy beat. The song “Chuletas” is essentially a charismatic humble brag over a perfectly suiting instrumental while the track “Heavy Sativas” is filled with vivid drug dealer bars over an alluring beat.

“Skeleton Keys” continues the Scarface-esque lyricism over an eerie keyboard heavy beat while the track “Purple Rain” gets more introspective over a settle beat with some horns referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock. The song “Divine” is an acoustic cut paying tribute to his pregnant girl & then the album ends with “FFFeel Good”, which talks about how no one is on his level over soulful boom bap beat.

All & all, this is tied with Aguardiente as Crimeapple’s magnum opus. It could’ve been longer & could’ve used a couple features to break up the monotony but outside of that, Crimeapple continues to show that he’s one of the rawest dudes out right now as his lyricism has gotten sharper & DJ Skizz’s production on here suits him fantastically.

Score: 4.5/5

People Under the Stairs – “Sincerely, the P” review

The People Under the Stairs are a legendary hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of Thes One & Double K. They dropped a handful of great albums over the past 20 years like Question in the Form of the Answer, O.S.T., …Or Stay Tuned & their previous album 12 Step Program back in 2014. However, Thes One announced his retirement from music just a few months ago & now the 2 are now giving fans their 10th full-length album before officially disbanding.

Things kick off with “Encore”, which really sets the tone over some crowd cheering. The next track “Reach Out” is an emotional look-back at their career while the song “Let the Record Show” is a funky relaxation anthem. The track “Hard” talks about how they’re doper than ever with a perfect scratch-hook & a decent drum-beat while “The Effects of Climate Change on Densely Populated Areas” intellectually touches down on just that over a smooth beat. “The Red Onion Wrap” is a funky party anthem that goes over pretty well while the song “Redeemer” is charismatic crowd mover.

The track “Streetsweeper” gets on the battle tip over a sinister beat while the song “We Get Around” is about how they’ve always done what they did for their fans over a mellow beat. The track “Stars in the House” talks about their impact over a fittingly spacious beat while “Here, for a Good Time” is a predictable party banger. The track “Letter to My Son” is a Thes One solo cut that’s easily one of the most endearing moments on the album while the song “Family Ties” sees the 2 recalling memories with their families over a summery beat. The penultimate track “Dream Sequence ‘88” sees the 2 trading bars back & forth over a guitar while “The Sound of Memory” ends things fantastically with a soulful boom bap beat.

All & all, this was a great way for the duo to go out. There are a few cuts that I can personally do without because I feel like they’re either too predictable or blandly produced, but it really sounds like Thes & Double K took their time with it as it’s a mostly reflective & consistent final bow.

Score: 4/5

Jack Jetson – “Strange Cinema” review

This is the sophomore effort from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Jack Jetson. Introducing himself in 2012 off his debut EP High 5 & subsequent debut album The Adventures of Johnny Strange under Real Life Drama Records, he would go on to follow these up with his 2nd EP Lo 5preceding Eric the Red from the Creatures of Habit & NLP signing Jack to his own label Lost Scroll Records in addition to having his brother Illinformed produce Strange Cinema in it’s entirety.

“Go Get It” sets up shop by working in this triumphant boom bap instrumental talking about wanting to rule the world similarly to 魔ま人じんブウ of the ドラゴンボール franchise whereas “Strange World” takes a soulfully dusty approach to the beat speaking of pushing white bricks & nice whips. “Time Flies” continues the sampling of soul music throwing some strings in the equation to discuss life shit leading into the crooning “Overdose” talking about shaving haters off like Britney Spears infamously did.

Former 3-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion, 3-time TNA World Champion, ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 8-time WWE Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, HOG Tag Team Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Jeff Hardy gets referenced at the backend “4777” prior to Sean Peng & Smellington Piff joining Jack to talk about what “Paradise” means to them.

“Kandinsky” radiates a gospel-influenced boom bap atmosphere comparing himself to the abstract art pioneer Wassily Kandinsky just before “Flashing Lights” jazzily talks about being more elusive than camouflage soldiers hiding amongst the trees. “Creatures” has an eerier jazz rap flare to it talking about the earthquake upon the island of his mind’s eye “Spells” featuring Smellington Piff reunites the pair 1 last time referencing the late IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, WWE Intercontinental Champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Owen Hart.

The song “Vices” comes off feeling more of like a 62 second breather talking about seeing double while “G.O.D.” gets back to kicking some jazzy boom bap flavor asking if anyone’s ever seen a higher power in the flesh. “Gone” soulfully talks about leaving a place that he’s always considered home until this point while the delicately sampled boom bap crossover “High Ona Hill” recalls him rolling through some valleys off pill, “1 Day” wraps things up soulfully promising himself he’ll make it out of this funk he’s been in.

Rather than having Leaf Dog coming back behind the boards like The Adventures of Johnny Strange, it makes more than enough sense from my perspective to have his brother handle all of Strange Cinema’s beats since the follow-up rivals it’s predecessor 5 years earlier as well as further establishing Lost Scroll Records amongst the biggest forces in the UK underground. Illinformed’s boom bap production is more jazzier & soulful compared to Leaf’s, reserving the guests for only a couple of his NLP brethren so Jack Jetson can primarily shine by himself lyrically.

Score: 4/5

Joker Starr – “G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven)” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Slough, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Joker Starr. Dropping his debut mixtape Raw Spittage in 2011, he would go on to follow it up with all 3 of his previous full-lengths as well as 3 extended plays & a beat tape. London veteran Micall Parknsun being brought in to produce a vast majority of G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven) though had me intrigued regarding whether or not it could become Joker Starr’s most crucial statement yet as someone who appreciates Micall’s dexterity.

After the “Facing the Lion” intro, “There’s No God” combines some drums & a vocal sample to talk about certain people not seeing progress because they’re not ready for it including a jab at 2 Chainz whereas “Pay Cuts” after the “Tom & Jerry” skit works in some chimes responding to politicians thinking the people aren’t keeping score. “Gawd’s Black” featuring Micall Parknsun & OphQi later finds the trio teaming up so they can talk about black excellence

“Lawful Killing (Mark Duggan)” featuring Anyway tha God links up for a powerful collaboration remembering the man who was shot dead by police in 2011 over a boom bap instrumental just before Micall Parknsun hops on the mic again so he & Joker Starr can tell everyone to “Move Back Out the Way” over a weepy beat. “Pam Grier” featuring OphQi reunites the pair goes for a jazzier vibe talking about women who aren’t basic leading into the “Polygamy” skit.

Sarai Jazz appears for the soulful “Soul Tied” describing 2 romantic partners bound by their love for each other & after the “Limba Power” skit, “Idi Amin” embraces a jazzier sound talking about laying muhfuckas down. “Papal Bull” spends nearly a couple minutes revisiting the pro-black themes from earlier & the final song “Farrakhan” featuring Micall Parknsun preceding the “Bundo Devil” outro talks about bringing the essence back in the right direction.

Blood-Ren still contains some of the greatest songs Joker Starr has recorded, but G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven) marks a significant improvement above the likes of the Northborough Estate Project or MACKnificent in achieving what I had hoped to become the finest album of his career. Although he’s always had energy & personality, Micall Parknsun’s production matched with the brief list of guests each hone in on both of those characteristics to captivating results.

Score: 4/5

Westside Boogie – “Everything’s for Sale” review

Westside Boogie is a 29 year old MC from Compton, California who first broke out onto the scene in 2014 with his 1st mixtape Thirst 48, eventually following it up with The Reach exactly a year later as well as Thirst 48, Pt. II the year after that. This would eventually catch the attention of Detroit icon Eminem, who signed Boogie to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. He then gained even more exposure with a pretty great feature on “Dumb” off of Royce da 5’9”’s latest album Book of Ryan but now almost 9 months later, he’s ready to deliver to his full-length debut.

Things kick off with “Tired (Reflections)”, where Westside Boogie talks about what he’s sick of over a mellow beat. The next track “Silent Ride” talks about being detached over a flute-heavy instrumental while the song “Swapmeet” is an pretty, acoustic love ballad. The track “LOL SMH” talks about his baby momma over a smooth beat with a nice switch-up during the 2nd half while the song “Soho” with J.I.D sees the 2 talking about being sick of people tryin’ to be cool with them now that they’re famous over a banger beat. The track “Skydive” is another acoustic love tune while the song “Live 95” talks about being broke & the beat has a great vintage West Coast vibe to it.

The track “Rainy Days” with Eminem sees the 2 talking about not wanting to be forgotten over a monstrous trap beat from S1 & STREETRUNNER that kinda sounds like it was made during the sessions of Em’s latest album KAMIKAZƎ, but it’s still enjoyable. The song “Skydive II” is pretty much a reprise of the predecessor & while it’s not bad, but it should’ve been merged together with the first one because it seems so out of place standing by itself. The track “Whose Fault” reflects on the arguments he’s had with his baby mama over a somber beat while the song “No Warning” talks about his toxic attitude over a minimalist beat with some gloomy piano chords. The penultimate track “Self Destruction” talks about his ignorance over a nocturnal trap beat & then the closer “Time” with Snoh Aalegra is a corny duet about Boogie treating Snoh like a side-chick

Overall, this is Westside Boogie’s best work yet. The production’s more refined in comparison to his mixtapes & I feel like we get a greater glimpse of who he is. Definitely a solid beginning for Shady Records’ next big star.

Score: 3.5/5

Broom Man – “Spoof” review

Manchester, England, United Kingdom emcee Broom Man enlisting London jazz rap/boom bap producer Illinformed to solely produce his solo debut extended play. Someone who up until this point has yet to drop a collection of material under his own name, yet was introduced to him through his appearances on Cult of the Damned leader Lee Scott’s sophomore effort Stupid Poignant Sh!t. And considering that history, it doesn’t come as a shock for Blah Records to be the one who’s backing Spoof seeing the light of day.

After the intro, “BRM” hooks up a downtrodden boom bap instrumental so the Broom Man can lay out some gritty hardcore lyricism whereas “Safe Safe” works in some pianos mixed with kicks & snares to discuss his shit being pure. “Ovis” featuring Lee Scott finds the pair joining forces over a funky beat so they can talk about their egos driving them to places they didn’t want to go to just before “Astronope” brings some ominous chords in the picture discussing everything being fun & guns until getting stuck up for what you know.

“Monster City” maintains the boom bap vibes talks about being here to kick knowledge instead of lurking across the dance floors while “Kuato” after the “Quaid” interlude eerily speaks of opening our minds. “Zack Morris” gets back on the funkier tip instrumentally talking about being dafter trying to escape the fishnet & after the title track dustily makes it clear he could care less of appealing to a wider crowd, “Mr. Pope” featuring Bisk spends the concluding minutes of Spoof teaming up for a hardcore boom bap outro.

So it turns out the Broom Man began recording Spoof with Illinformed back in 2013 after he had recorded his verse for Stupid Poignant Sh!t until a devastating fire at the Blah Mansion in Blackburn, Lancashire convinced the label that the 22 minute recordings were destroyed & scrapped it. Thankfully, they were able to recover those lost sessions somehow someway & give the world his proper musical introduction outside of guest appearances the way it was initially conceived.

Score: 4/5

Drive-By – “4 the OG’s” review

Drive-By is a gangsta rap duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Anybody Killa. Both of whom the Insane Clown Posse signed to Psychopathic Records as solo artists in the early 2000s once juggalos began accepting their childhood friends Twiztid, dropping Pony Down in the fall of 2005 under the label that runs beneath the streets to fan backlash. Back on da Block & Run These Streets their own imprints Grundy Entertainment & Native World Inc., enlisting Majik Ninja Entertainment in-house producer Godsynth to fully produce their 4th extended play.

After the intro, “Fresh on the Scene” begins with a trap intro where Blaze & ABK are talking about pullin’ up lookin’ clean whereas “A Little Crazy” discusses the fact everyone has a bit of a looney side to them. “Black Dickies” reached the halfway point of the EP talking about being eastside family & after “In the News Again” discusses being wanted for criminal activity, “Shit Gets Real” takes a few minutes to explain what happens when things get serious. “Workin’ Girl” wasn’t that great of an outro however, falling flat as a club anthem.

Back on da Block & Run These Streets each have moments I find myself going back to more than Pony Down, but 4 the OG’s makes up for Drive-By’s lackluster debut over a decade ago with the best EP Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Anybody Killa have done as a pairing. Godsynth’s trap production paired with the lyricism toning down the gangsta rap & horrorcore elements in favor of a hardcore style, which I don’t consider that to be a bad thing.

Score: 4/5