Curren$y & Larry June – “Spiral Staircases” review

This is a new collaborative EP between New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y as well as Vallejo, California rapper & songwriter Larry June. Both of whom began their careers 2 decades ago each, crossing paths on a number of tracks in recent years like “Sunday Morning Drive” or “Vintage Haze” to name a couple. They’re also known for their own individual projects produced by one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist, who’s bringing them together to walk up a set of Spiral Staircases.

“Stars on the Roof” opens up with a rap rock instrumental talking about how real shit gets & the streets making them move at a different speed whereas the only single “Everything Allocated” goes for a boom bap direction referencing WWE Hall of Famer Koko B. Ware. “Drive Alone” brings a drumlessly jazzy vibe to the table talking about feeing high & low leading into the title track discusses their player statuses.

The song “Palo Santo” smoothly starts the final leg of Spiral Staircases looking back at going from chasing their freedoms to taking the money & fame while “2.P.I.G.” brings the boom bap vibes back 1 last time suggesting to focus on winning since no one will save you. “Empty Pages” featuring The Alchemist however sends off the EP with all 3 of them spitting hardcore verses without the need of a hook over a soul sample playing the game hard to the max.

Sucks we won’t ever get a sequel to Fetti because of Freddie Gibbs having beef with Curren$y for some reason but as much as I enjoyed Life’s Beautiful with 2 Chainz a little over 12 months ago, I’d have to prefer Spiral Staircases between the 2 collaborative efforts. Alchemist’s drumless jazz rap production compliments Spitta & Larry June’s calm flows whilst both of them hit us with a chemistry that makes the most absolute sense.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Baby Keem – “Ca$ino” review

This is the sophomore effort from Carson, California rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Baby Keem. The younger cousin of Kendrick Lamar, he went on to drop 4 EPs & a couple of mixtapes with Die for My Bitch being the one that helped boost his popularity to the point where he rightfully earned a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. His full-length debut The Melodic Blue under pgLang & Columbia Records continued to excel his artistic potential, returning after 5 years for a trip to the Ca$ino.

“No Security” produced with Danja & FNZ begins with a drumless sample talking about preferring to have his gang beside him than a bodyguard whereas the title track comes through with a 2-parter that Cardo cooked up speaking of being somewhat deranged at this point in his career. “Birds & the Bees” flips “Honey Honey” by Feist showing a more romantic side to Keem leading into “Good Flirts” by The Hillbillies poking fun at Young Thug’s leaked phone calls with Mariah the Scientist.

Things go for a chipmunk soul vibe on “House Money” sampling “You Know the Feeling” by Steven Wightman to talk about fearing no one when he steps in the party just before “I’m Not a Lyricist” channels his inner André 3000 over a piano instrumental. “$ex Appeal” featuring Too $hort of course finds the 2 taking it to the Bay stylistically for a more raunchier approach topically until “I Do Love You” by Billy Stewart gets chopped up for the “Highway 95” sequel.

“Circus Circus” splits itself in 3 halves addressing his family dynamics whilst blending some braggadocio while “Dramatic Girl” feels more like a Che Ecru & Sam Dew song since Keem only handles the hook, although he & Sounwave do a fine job of sampling “Kids” by MGMT for the upbeat R&B detour. “No Blame” samples “I Never Learnt to Share” by James Blake to finish our Ca$ino tour talking about his difficult upbringings & not blaming his mother for it.

I appreciate that Baby Keem got more personal with Ca$ino, but I wouldn’t put it above The Melodic Blue & firmly believe that he has the capability of making a project that’ll top both albums even if some people like to ignorantly dismiss him as a nepo baby. It’s more pop rap sounding than the predecessor although the alternative R&B & trap elements are maintained, adding some more ratchet & chipmunk soul undertones than previously & getting more conscious than hardcore.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Trapmat Savior – “Scottie Trippin’” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee Trapmat Savior is back for his sophomore effort. Emerging a few years ago off his solo debut EP To Riches & Peace along with DozaTrap’s eponymous debut EP, he would later follow it up in September by releasing a few more EPs Kirby along with I Could Tell only a week apart & Still Grinding. Nicholas Craven & Mike Shabb both produced his widely received debut 1st Coming near the end of 2024, running it back with solely Craven for Scottie Trippin’ roughly a whole year & a half later.

“Last Night’s Soda” hops over a drumless loop to get things going talking about his soldier status & being built for this shit whereas “Grin” takes the boom bap route instrumentally working in some synthesizers to flex that his pockets are thicker than his girl. The lead single “Pillz” hooks up a guitar sample mixed with kicks & snares talking about grinding 24/7 leading into “Close Enough” embracing a chipmunk soul vibe so he can discuss this title run he’s been on.

We get more synths on “Bittersweet Taste” speaking of taking no Ls because he’s learned from all of his mistakes & after the “Cherry Garcia” interlude, the 2nd & final single “B!tch” featuring Mike Shabb finds the 2 teaming up over a slick beat to talk about women. Forest N/A joins Trapmat on top of some strings referencing the original “Space Jam” & boasting of the way they be stretching the bar just before “Brunch” incorporates a vibraphone admitting he doesn’t take it personal when they take a lot after him.

“Dust” rounds out 3rd with a victorious instrumental talking about going double or nothing while “Scouts” featuring Forest N/A & willjxmes brings the trio together to explain that shit gets hotter than the south in addition to it seeming like they signed for a small amount when that couldn’t be any further from the truth. “Otis” sends off the album pouring his heart out about the blood, sweat & tears he’s been put into pushing his music over some exuberant piano chords.

Still Grinding 2 was ok compared to 1st Coming & the same can be said regarding that Knockout Mafia collaborative EP with Monsi, but I was fairly confident about Scottie Trippin’ was going to be a huge improvement over both of those extended plays & that unsurprisingly happens to be the case. We get a few guest appearances unlike 1st Coming with Shabbo’s being my personal favorite of the 3 accompanying Trapmat Savior over Nicholas Craven’s sample-lenient production style for another excellent LP.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Autumn! – “Kickoff” review

Here is the 23rd EP from Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn!. Gaining traction off all 22 of his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 4 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Wick delivered a sequel to Solitary in addition to You Never Was Mine & ##B4B2MR in 2024, looking to Kickoff a new era after recently going Back 2 My Roots & embracing the Rolling Stone lifestyle.

“Massaging Seats!” talks about his girl trying to find a spark in him when love doesn’t live inside him in the 1st place over a colorfully self-produced instrumental whereas “Grok!” combines pop rap, trap, rage & cloud rap comparing himself to the AI chatbot created by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk. “Houstatlantavegas!” however reaches the halfway point sampling the Drake track off So Far Gone & turning up the 808s to talk about a hoe familiar with all 3 cities.

“That’s a Fendi!” gets the other leg of the EP going by shifting towards a pluggnb vibe making it clear that he can be found in the backseat of a Maybach with all of his homies that were beside him on Day 1 still being here while “Uknowigotit!” explains that he doesn’t need anyone around him because he has money. The closing track & lead single “party4u!” samples “party 4 u” by Charli XCX to finish Kickoff, talking about going from rocking Gosha to all black Wraiths unless he’s inside of a Ghost.

It’s already been confirmed that Autumn! next move involves dropping 2 singles back-to-back ahead of his next full-length & Kickoff gives me the impression of this next LP will be a melting pot of all the sounds Wick has explored over the course of his career. That said: I being a fan of his music since earlier this decade hope he pulls off the styles of pluggnb, pop rap, trap, rage, cloud rap & alternative R&B a lot better than he does here because I didn’t enjoy it as much as the improvements Wick had made to Rolling Stone last fall.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Chetta – “highatus” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta celebrating Valentine’s Day with his 23rd EP. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a few summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch. $crim of the $uicideboy$ produced the overlooked Sacrifice & Sabotage a couple years ago, following that with Can’t Replace Me & Mix with Poison to say highatus.

“Plaza Drive” was a self-produced trap intro with a Memphis twist talking about grabbing the yellow tape after dropping bodies leading into “Messy Hoes” continuing to depict another day in the life of a gangsta. “Burn This City” combines a vocal sample & some 808s so he can talk about abusing drugs while “Downbad” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of partying inside a hearse. “Desert Storm” cloudily talks about many artists moving in circles these days & “Too Rich to Rot” concludes with him advising everyone to move aside when war breaks out.

If you’re like me & celebrating another year of being single this Valentine’s Day weekend, you’re probably gonna find yourself enjoying highatus a lot more than the divisive reception Mix with Poison got last summer although I’m in the minority of liking that previous extended play a lot more than most. His emo-tinged gangsta rap lyricism over his own production taking elements of Memphis rap, cloud rap & trap are still enough to satisfy who know what they’re getting themselves into.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Ouija Macc & 8corpses – “IN4NO” review

New collaborative extended play between Ouija Macc & 8corpses. The latter of whom has been making waves in the underground wicked shit scene straight outta Oakland, California since 2022 while the other hails from Las Vegas, Nevada putting it down for Psychopathic Records since the fall of 2017 & forming the Chapter 17 Records subsidiary of the label that runs beneath the streets in 2021. To celebrate Friday the 13th however, they’re teaming up to drop some IN4NO a week away from Luciano Family Enterprises becoming JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions during episode 73 of JCW Lunacy after previously crossing paths on “Hits”.

“Wicky Wicked” starts with both of them hopping over a cold-blooded trap instrumental from none other than Devereaux referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion, 8-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, The Crash’s inaugural Mundial Pesocompleto Campeon & アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン Rey Mysterio whereas “Kinfolk” featuring Darby O’Trill finds all 3 of them teaming up so they can talk about being psychos going wherever the wind blows. “Puppeteer” blends industrial hip hop & boom bap refusing to put up with any more bullshit leading into the closer “Molotov Mobbin’” having fun using some incendiary weapons.

Haven’t heard a whole lot of 8corpses’ stuff truthfully, but listening to his performances throughout IN4NO gives me an understanding as to why Ouija Macc would work with him even if this isn’t one of my favorite collab projects or anything. The production primarily handled by Devereaux is an improvement above Ouija’s previous collaborative effort Came2kill! with Sinizter last summer & comes full circle after 8corpses opened for the C17 CEO numerous times over the years.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Buddah Bless – “Buddah Bless the Streets” review

Buddah Bless is a 34 year old producer, songwriter & former rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who I began paying attention to in the late 2010s through his extensive collaborations with Quality Control Music when the label was at their prime. He would also go to produce for many other artists like the late Young Dolph or his cousin Key Glock & Megan Thee Stallion to name a few, following the footsteps of 808 Mafia co-founder TM88 a little over 2 months ago & kicking off a brand new series of albums by curating his very own solo debut.

“Same Soldier” by Hunxho & Skooly was a decent trap intro with both of them talking about remaining the same as they were when they finally made it out of poverty leading into “Owe Me” by Kodak Black being one of the latter’s better songs I’ve heard in a while speaking of controlling his anger & thumbin’ racks. “From the Trap” by Skooly & UFO Toon finds the pair talking about where they both come from while “I Feel Good” by 41 isn’t much better despite shifting towards a New York Drill sound.

I would’ve liked the single “See the World” a lot better if Bossman DLow was taken off of it since I don’t mind either Big Sean or 2 Chainz’ verses leading into “Toxic” by Big Fredo & Kodak Black taking a more raunchier approach topically than “Owe Me” do & Fredo’s verse was the weakest of them both honestly. “On Arrival” by Tre Loaded mediocrely talks about being the one to hop out the car & he isn’t even the driver while “Scared AF” by UFO Toon feels more off-the-cuff than his 1st appearance.

“Guinea Pig” by Smokepurpp was another song that I truthfully enjoyed more than others talking about being a big stepper while “Can’t Pretend” by Trinidad Jame$ dismisses the idea of playing it cool with weird hoes, corny A&Rs & these bitch ass dudes who have no money. “All She Got” by Skooly would be the best of the 3 contributions he makes personally talking about sex once more while “Buyers” surprisingly finishes the album with Buddah Bless himself rapping over his production suggesting he could retire off the money he made producing for other artists.

Sadly as much as I wanted to enjoy Buddah Bless the Streets because I’ve always considered him to be talented behind the boards, I found myself underwhelmed by a great majority of Buddah Bless’ full-length debut & it makes me hope that the next installment of installments depending on how long he plans to span this whole saga out will be much more enjoyable in my opinion. His beats aren’t the problem at all, it’s the inconsistency from the guests a great deal of the time if anything.

Score: 2/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Converge – “Love Is Not Enough” review

Converge is a metalcore band from Salem, Massachusetts consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, almost everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind during my sophomore year of high school & The Dusk in Us have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & they’re back after almost a decade for their 11th studio album.

The title track combines their signature metalcore sound with elements of both mathcore & thrash metal explaining that love won’t do much to fend off the scavengers whereas “Bad Faith” explores the concept of helplessness after witnessing a friend suffering in the midst of a horrible situation beyond his control. “Distract & Divide” takes 91 seconds to express Jacob’s frustrations regarding modern society while “To Feel Something” confesses to being overwhelmed by his own fears, insecurities & stressors to the point where he feels numb to everything.

“Beyond Repair” takes a more compositional approach to reach the halfway point of the LP although it might be the weakest track here, but “Amon Amok” continues the excitement by talking about taking what they deserve & life presently feeling like there’s a whole bunch of demons running around. “Force Meets Presence” explores the concept of 2 different things that forever expand without choosing a winner leading into “Gilded Cage” making some commentary towards the pharmaceutical industry, the opiate epidemic & how it’s tied to so many other things.

The song “Make Me Forget You” winds down Love Is Not Enough‘s last 10 minutes or so observing everything we’ve let slip by as well as silence persisting where memories used to live while the 2nd & final single “We Were Never the Same” blends metalcore with atmospheric sludge metal & post-hardcore to conclude the full-length expanding the previous track’s concept in the sense of Jacob becoming self aware of reaching at the end of the line & it’s too late, coming to terms with him trying to be a better person.

This fall will mark a quarter of a century since Jane Doe became the greatest metalcore ever recorded, so it’s only right Converge celebrates with an album I must confess to enjoying more than The Dusk in Us although I wouldn’t put it above You Fail Me or All We Love We Leave Behind & Axe to Fall. The production in terms of primary & secondary influences is almost similar to Love Is Not Enough‘s predecessor except the post-hardcore undertones are being swapped it in favor of hardcore punk & Jacob makes a clear statement about us needing more than positive relationships & emotional affirmation to survive humanity’s darkest forces closing in on us.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

RJ Payne – “Cinematic Payne” review

New surprise EP & the 20th overall from New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 2 dozen mixtapes as well as well as his last 19 EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilounder Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, reuniting with Drega33 for a sequel to Triangle D’or called Cinematic Payne.

“Cinematic” starts with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about sending those who crash out on him straight to the hospital & killing everyone’s favorite rappers while “Bambino” swaps out the vocal sample in favor of some strings bringing a clip beside him to clear the whole block. “Effuse” talks about mastering the game of Russian roulette because he was born to play leading into “State of Mind” explains how great it is to make money even if his job isn’t the best.

The song “Jealous Pride” winds down Cinematic Payne’s final moments by talking about how sad it is muhfuckas will do anything for fame these days & that not changing anytime soon the way he sees it while the drumlessly crooning “Iran” looks to break whole crews apart since all these cornball artists have been teaming up. “Flying End” concludes the EP with 1 last boom bap beat talking about taking those who get way too close to him within seconds almost like a mini-date.

Granted I didn’t cover Leatherface 4 or It Feels Good 2 Win & Winning Ain’t Enough, I was fairly certain Cinematic Payne would become the most I’ve enjoyed RJ Payne’s music since Sinnerz produced by Cartune Beatz considering all those projects were received mixed-to-positively & it did live up to those expectations thankfully. If you’re a fan of the Beautiful Payne series in particular, RJ’s distinctly complex penmanship paired with Drega33’s production minimizing the drumless influences of Triangle D’Or will potentially satisfy you.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

RMC Mike – “Lover Boy Mike” review

Brand new EP & the 5th overall from Flint, Michigan recording artist RMC Mike. Signing a joint deal with Rio da Yung O.G. & Peezy’s own labels M.I.N.E. Entertainment & #Boyz Entertainment alongside EMPIRE Distribution, his first couple EPs Rookie Season & Sophomore Season established himself as in the Detroit trap scene until his full-length studio debut Junior Season elevated it further. Ghetto Season was a good debut & the sophomore effort Senior Season left me on the fence, boasting after a trip to The 6 that nobody can do it Like Mike & now introducing us to Lover Boy Mike.

“Clap Back” sets up shop with a lowend beat talking about smashing from behind & that he acts fat despite not being all that big whereas “Fine Shit” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. embraces the Flint sound fully so they can big up how beautiful the women beside them are. “S.T.A.B. (Shake That Ass Bitch)” comes through with a quirky Flint trap anthem catered towards the strip clubs while “Lil Booties Matter” talks about his appreciation for females who’s asses aren’t the biggest.

To get the 2nd half going, “Is We” featuring Louie Ray confronts the ladies in mind to ask if they’re officially in relationships or if they’re being played just before “Slow” featuring Jiggs Ent & Tiera Santoya cloudily finds the trio getting raunchy. “Where They At” instrumentally takes a more boisterous approach talking about him looking for hoes & after “Punch In” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. improves above “Fine Shit” to let their back-&-forth chemistry shine, “Kensington” combines pianos & 808s to end the EP so he can boast that he’s the one.

I don’t see myself coming back to Lover Boy Mike as much as The 6 or Like Mike considering both of those have quickly become amongst his most celebrated material as of late, but I have to give it up to RMC Mike for making an entire extended play themed around his sensual side in preparation for Valentine’s Day weekend. Even if a couple of the guests punched under their weight, Mike keeps his wild sense of humor in tact & the Flint/Detroit trap production’s more luscious than usual.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!