Kevin Gates – “Chained to the City” review

After being released from prison at the beginning of the year, Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates has been laying low ever since. However, he is now officially returning to music out of the blue with a 3-track EP. The first song “Changes” vents about his success as well as his conviction over a gloomy trap beat while the 2nd track “Vouch” is his rags to riches story over a bouncy beat. The EP then finishes with “Let It Sing”, where Kevin gets confrontational over a thunderous beat.

I’ve been waiting for Kevin to make his official return to music & while it isn’t perfect, it goes to show that he’s still one of the best in the trap scene. I wish he added on about 2 more tracks, but the production bangs & he sounds more focused & passionate than ever before

Score: 3.5/5

André 3000 – “Look Ma No Hands” review

With today being Mother’s Day, former OutKast member André 3000 is coming out of the blue with a 2 track EP. The first track “Me&My(To Bury Your Parents)”, where 3 Stacks sings about memories of being with his mom at a grocery store & driving to a football game with his dad over a somber piano from Kevin Kendrick. The other one is the title track, which is just a beautiful 17 minute free jazz instrumental.

I always thought The Love Below would be the closest thing we’d ever get to an André 3000 solo project, but this EP was a pleasant surprise. I wish it was more than just 2 tracks, but it goes to show that he’s still a very talented singer & producer to this very day

Score: 4/5

Playboi Carti – “Die Lit” review

Playboi Carti is a 21 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & model from Atlanta, Georgia who released out 3 mixtapes & an EP under the original Sir Cartier moniker until becoming an affiliate of the A$AP Mob & signing to Interscope Records for an eponymous 4th mixtape to high acclaim although it took a while to click for me personally. Either way, his full-length debut studio album almost entirely produced by Pi’erre Bourne had my anticipation & wanted to give it a fair listen.

Things start off with “Long Time”, where Carti talks about how he hasn’t had shit in forever & that it took that long to get where he’s at now over a chilled out video gamey beat from Art Dealer. The next song “R.I.P.” is about sex over a bass-heavy instrumental from Pi’erre (who produced all but 5 tracks on here) but interestingly, he brushes off the mumble rap wave several times during the final verse. The track “Lean 4 Real” with Skepta talks about the titular drug over an eerie instrumental & the song “Old Money” gets braggadocious over a bouncy yet atmospheric Pi’erre beat.

The track “++* love hurts **+” with Travi$ Scott sees the 2 comparing themselves to rockstars over a down-tuned instrumental while the song “Shoota” does have an upbeat trap instrumental from Maaly Raw & the Lil Uzi Vert feature is just ok, Carti’s verse was way too short. The track “Right Now” featuring a verse from Pi’erre Bourne near the end is a spacey strip club anthem & the song “Poke It Out” with Nicki Minaj gets back on the braggadocious tip over an Atari-esque beat.

The track “Home (KOD)” is about a loyal bitch over a wavy beat while the song “Fell in Luv” with Bryson Tiller is a moody love tune. The track “Foreign” gets braggadocious over some crazy synths & the song “Pull Up” gets confrontational over a murky yet bouncy beat. The track “Mileage” with Chief Keef gets sexually playful over a dreamy bass-heavy beat, but the hook is annoying.

“FlatBed” is pretty decent 3-minute freestyle over some rubbery bass & keyboards while the song “No Time” with Gunna is about how they can’t vibe with lames over a cloudy Don Cannon beat. “Middle of the Summer” feels more like a Red Coldhearted song since he takes up most of it & “Choppa Won’t Miss” with Young Thug talks about killing everyone over a bouncy accordion beat. The penultimate track “R.I.P. Fredo (Notice Me)” featuring Young Nudy is a dedication to Fredo Santana & the closer “Top” is pretty fun, but it doesn’t sound fully fleshed out.

Aside from a couple redundant tracks, this is a serious contender for best trap album of the year. The cloudy trap production is vibrant (especially Pi’erre’s contributions) & surprisingly more experimental in a sense. Also I will say that Playboi Carti isn’t one of the most lyrical rappers out right now, but he’s always been a very energetic & he has progressed as a performer.

Score: 4/5

Ski Mask the Slump God – “Beware the Book of Eli” review

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After much anticipation, Floridian SoundCloud sensation Ski Mask the Slump God is finally releasing his 3rd mixtape to spite his former management. The tape starts off with “Lost Souls”, where he & Rich the Kid compare themselves to Elder Scrolls over a beat that reminds me of a Southern hip hop hit during the Early 2000s. The next song “Run” gets confrontational over a murky Timbaland beat & Ski Mask’s flow on here is insane! The track “SkiMeetsWorld” talks about sex over a clever Boy Meets World sample & not only is Timbaland’s production on “Worldwide” spacey, but Ski’s continuous references to the Nationwide insurance company is pretty funny.

The track “Throwaway” with Ronny J sounds unfinished & sonically, it gets really annoying quickly. Especially with the hook. The song “With Vengeance” with Offset gets braggadocious over an eerie Timbaland, but the hook is badly sung in my opinion. The track “CoolestMonkeyInTheJungle” with SahBabii gets sexual over a sinister Murda Beatz instrumental & it’s absolutely hilarious. Especially with the references to Quagmire & Honey Nut Cheerios. The next 2 songs “Suicide Season” & “DoIHaveTheSause? (The Bees Knees)” are filled with yet more sex bars, but the first of the 2 has a bland beat & the other has a tedious hook. The track “Geekin’” gets back to the braggadocious tip over an twangy guitar/trap beat & “Child’s Play” while short, is super abrasive & fun. The the penultimate track “Bukakke” with Rich the Kid is a fine display of their chemistry over a chaotic beat while the closer “Dapper Dan” rapidly flexes over a bass-heavy beat.

As a whole, this was just as average as his last mixtape YouWillRegret. The production is certainly better, his rapid-fire flow is even more exciting & he sounds as charismatic as ever. However, he REALLY needs to make some of his songs longer because it really comes off as rushed to me. If he takes more time with his next project, I truly think it could become his magnum opus

Score: 3/5

Royce da 5’9” – “Book of Ryan” review

With PRhyme 2 being released just a month & a half ago, renown Detroit underground MC Royce da 5’9” has now delivered his long-awaited 7th full-length album. The first song “Woke” after the intro references WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant over a Key Wane instrumental with some eerie choir vocals in the back. After the “My Parallel” skit, we go into the song “Caterpillar”. Here, Bad Meets Ǝvil reunites to tell the audience pretty much what Mark Jackson told Steve Kerr a few years ago over a hard hitting vibraphone instrumental from S1.

The track “God Speed” talks about making it of the hood over a smooth mR. pOrTeR instrumental while the song “Dumb” with Shady Records’ latest signee Boogie sees the 2 talking about the current state of the music industry over an S1 instrumental that sounds like something Dr. Dre & Scott Storch would’ve made together in the Early 2000s. After the “Who Are You” skit, we go into the song “Cocaine”. Here, Royce reflects on his dad’s issues with the drug over a murky DJ Khalil beat. The track “Life is Fair” talks about an ungrateful woman from his childhood over a heavy piano-Fuse instrumental while the song “Boblo Boat” sees Royce reminiscing about family trips to amusement parks & J. Cole reflecting on growing up in North Carolina over a soulful Cool & Dre instrumental.

The song “Legendary” talks about his status in the game over a bass-heavy electro instrumental from mR. pOrTeR while the track “Summer on Lock” with Fabolous & Jadakiss is filled with braggadocious bars over an eerie beat. The song “Amazing” reflects on his old neighborhood over a blissful beat while the track “Outside” vents about his fears over an atmospheric DJ Khalil instrumental. The song “Power” talks about his family’s alcoholism over a piano/bass heavy instrumental from Boi-1da & after recalling an childhood incident at a basketball court during the “Protecting Ryan” skit, we go into the track “Strong Friend”. Here, Royce reflects on his past alcoholism with some dramatic strings & funky bass.

The song “Anything/Everything” gets conscious over some jazzy piano chords while the penultimate track “Stay Woke” thanks his Bad Meets Ǝvil cohort Eminem for his sobriety while also reminding us how dope he is during the 2nd half of it over an orchestral Ging & !llmind instrumental. The album then finishes with “1st of the Month”, where Royce gets with T-Pain recalls how happy they would be when they used to get welfare checks during the 1st day of the month over a luscious piano instrumental. Overall, this is tied with Street Hop as Royce’s magnum opus. It sounds focused & passionate, the production is organic & we are truly getting Royce at his most personal point blank period with each track

Score: 4.5/5

Joey Cool – Self-titled review

After being affiliated with Strange Music for several years, Kansas City MC Joey Cool finally signed to the label in October of last year. Now, he’s releasing his first full-length album with them. The album opens perfectly with “The Rhythm Lounge”, where Joey gets hungry for success over a tuba-heavy lounge music-inspired instrumental from Info Gates. The next song “Hard” with JL & Tech N9ne sees the 3 getting braggadocious over a decent trap beat while the track “I’m the Plug” has a nice bass heavy instrumental & the concept isn’t bad either, but the hook is kinda annoying.

The song “Change Your Life” is basically Joey’s success story over an eerie MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 instrumental while the track “Under Pressure” is about how he’ll never fold over some horns. The song “Handle of Jack” is an ode to alcohol over a relaxing beat and the track “Fall” is about Joey staying up when people try to bring him down over an atmospheric trap beat from Seven with some rubbery bass. The song “Divine” is a smooth sex jam while the cleverly titled “Stranger Things” with Ubiquitous gets conscious over a somber beat.

The song “Life Lessons” talks about never taking Ls again and I love the synthesizers on here. The track “One, Two” with the CES Cru sees the 3 talking about they have things they need to do over a gritty instrumental and the song “Secure the Bag” intelligently touches down on the subject of money over an abrasive beat. The track “Bottom Bitch” with Breaking Bad News talks about grinding over a settle beat & the closer “Family” tells intriguing stories his relatives over a gloomy trap beat.

As expected, this is Joey Cool’s best work to date. He sounds more passionate, hungrier, his lyricism is sharper and the instrumentals are some of the best he’s ever been given. A truly exciting new member of the Strange family and I’ll definitely be looking forward to more of him in the future.

Score: 3.5/5

Desiigner – “L.o.D. (Life of Desiigner)” review

Ever since appearing on the 2016 XXL Freshman Class & rushing his New English mixtape shortly after, New York rapper Desiigner has been laying low ever since. However, it was announced out of the blue Thursday night that he had returned with with his 1st EP.

The EP starts off with “Priice Tag”, where he gets braggadocious over a video gamey trap beat from Ronny J. The next song “Tonka” has an instrumental with an eerie atmosphere to it, but the songwriting is lazy. Especially during the hook & the 2nd verse. The track “After Party” is a generic club banger while the song “Pop iiT” is pretty much a poor man’s “Mask Off” albeit with a spacey beat. The song “Destiination” sounds like a leftover from Future’s last album HNDRXX while the track “LA to New York” does sound charismatic & fun, the songwriting is yet again lazy. The EP finally finishes with “HOOD”, where he talks about seeing another day over a moody beat

This is definitely better than New English, but it’s still pretty bad. Not only did it take way too long to come out but even 2 years after he blew up, the production is generic trap & Desiigner himself still sounds like a poor man’s Future

Score: 1/5

Janelle Monáe – “Dirty Computer” review

Almost 5 years after delivered her last modern classic The Electric Lady, modern R&B creative genius Janelle Monáe is finally returning with her 3rd full-length album. Things start off with the title track, where she sings about her man picking her up from the ground over some harmonious background vocals. The next song “Crazy, Classic, Life” talks about wanting to live her life over a bouncy atmospheric instrumental while the track “Take a Byte” gets playful over a synth-funk instrumental. After the “Jane’s Dream” skit, we go into the song “Screwed”. Here, Janelle & Zoë Kravitz sing about partying over a spacey yet bouncy beat. The track “Django Jane” is a full-blown rap song about feminism with a moody beat while the song “Pynk” continues these feminists themes with a fantastic interpolation of the classic Aerosmith song “Pink”.

The track “Make Me Feel” talks about bisexuality over a Prince-like instrumental while the song “I Got the Juice” with Pharrell sees the 2 getting freaky over a bouncy beat from Skateboard P himself. The track “I Like That” is basically Janelle addressing the rumors of her sexuality over a luscious trap beat while the song “Don’t Judge Me” expresses concern of her man only loving her for her disguise over a settle instrumental. After the “Stevie’s Dream” interlude, we then go into the penultimate track “So Afraid”. Here, Janelle expresses her fear of loving this man over an acoustic yet druggy instrumental. The album then finishes off with “Americans”, where Janelle gets conscious over a beat that’ll make you wanna dance.

As a whole, this is yet another damn near perfect album from one of the most creative forces in R&B today. The production is beautiful, it’s well written & it sounds immensely focused as ever before

Score: 4.5/5

Coops – “No Brainer” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Coops. Introducing himself in 2013 off his full-length debut What Do You See? to mixed reception, the sophomore effort Lost Soul would be more positively received & the last album God Complex at the beginning of the previous year would be released to moderate feedback although it did catch the attention of High Focus Records. The latter wound up signing Coops & he’s ready to make his official debut under the historic Hove, East Sussex underground imprint with a No Brainer.

“Timing” starts us off hopping over a cloudy, self-produced trap instrumental talking about pissing on all of his enemies & getting money whereas “Dreams (All Mine)” takes a moodier vibe to the beat wanting to hear the love of his life moaning when he shouldn’t be calling her whatsoever. The 3rd single “What You Want” psychedelically promises his girl that he’ll tell her everything she’d like to hear leading into “Wrongs & Rights” talking about how he’s never known an ordinary life because he’s an extraordinaire.

Meanwhile on “Heartbreaker”, we have Coops over these pianos & hi-hats from Talos admitting that he should’ve warned this woman from the get go of him being good at breaking hearts just before the 4th & final single “Jetpack” talks about not wanting to stay broke because he comes from absolutely nothing. “L.O.V.E.” goes for a synth-heavier vibe instrumentally asking if those listening can feel the melodies prior to the 2nd single “Bob Dylan”cautions he’ll still kill anyone he doesn’t like despite chillin’ like a villain.

“Mac n’ Cheese” continues to delve deeper down the 2nd half No Brainer returning to the boom bap trying to feed some of that good ol’ fashioned soul food to the public & nobody doing this music shit the way he can but after “Respect” jazzily suggests that those around him should learn & show admiration towards his musical accomplishments in the past 5 years, “Think About It” vividly details him having 3rd degree heartburns due to a woman he’s no longer speaking to stealing his heart like it was a burglary.

The song “Constellations” continues to discuss the themes of love knowing this person would find their way similarly to an asteroid hurdling itself towards the globe while “Pass the Mic” featuring Fliptrix, Leaf Dog & ReXx finds the quartet over a vintage boom bap beat trading hardcore bars with each other, with Flip & Leaf’s contributions sticking out more than ReXx’s in my opinion. The lead single “That Jazz” closes by combining jazz rap & boom bap saving some of the most charismatic performances for last.

Showcasing the versatility of Coops’ craft containing many sounds & moods over the course of 41 minutes, No Brainer represents the different approaches when he was creating his High Focus debut nearly reaching the same caliber of Lost Soul in addition to offering a little something for everyone & displaying everything which makes him a good signing for the label. The production ranges from more experimentally modern soundscapes to hardcore traditional boom bap & Coops himself travels beyond the mundane in favor of uncharted territories.

Score: 3.5/5

Ugly God – “just a lil something before the album…” review

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With his debut album coming soon, Indiana comedy rapper Ugly God is delivering a prelude EP out of the blue. Keep in mind that this is 4 tracks & almost 9 minutes long so therefore, this’ll be a very quick review.

The EP starts with Leave a Tip, where he charismatically talks about flexing on his ex-girlfriends over a cloudy trap beat with some eerie synthesizers. However, I didn’t care all that much for the Splash Drexler verse. The next song “BITCH WHERE MY HUG AT” hilariously reflects on an old girlfriend over a piano-trap beat & the penultimate track “Tropics” gets braggadocious over a spacey beat. The closer “WEWANTALLTHESMOKE” is about him pulling up on you over a cloudy beat, but it’s too short just like with the the other 2 tracks I mentioned.

While I did enjoy The Booty Tape, this was just ok. Ugly God has a great sense of humor (unlike Lil Dicky) & the cloudy trap production is as much fun as it was on his mixtape, but the last 3 songs didn’t sound fully fleshed out to me. Regardless, I’m still excited to hear his full-length debut

Score: 3/5