Author: legendswillneverdie

Just a 29 year old guy who passionately loves hip hop culture & music as a whole

Insane Clown Posse – “The Naught” review

Detroit horrorcore duo, Juggalo Championship Wrestling founders & the longest reigning 2-time JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions Insane Clown Posse have officially unveiled their 17th studio LP & the final Joker’s Card of the 2nd Deck. Consisting of JCW Commissioner Violent J & the shortest reigning JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion Shaggy 2 Dope, many don’t know that 3 other members came & went during the first 5 years of the group’s inception. Not only would The Duke of the Wicked & the Southside Strangla go on to create seminal wicked shit albums like The First 6, they also gained an extremely loyal fanbase in the process & their self-owned Psychopathic Records became an independent hip hop powerhouse as the label’s roster continued to grow until they wanted to focus more on their own legacy. Commemorating the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos or the Gathering of Legends kicking off tomorrow & The 2 Day War between JCW & Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) beginning later this weekend, The Naught will explore the afterlife in a concept differing from The Wraith’s exhibitions of Shangri-La & Hell’s Pit.

The title track produced by Shaggytheairhead after the intro opens with a trap song breaking down the titular character’s meaning whereas “Watch Me” reunites with longtime collaborator Mike E. Clark talking about the wicked shit splitting your shit up throwing it back to the Bang! Pow! Boom! & The Mighty Death Pop! days instrumentally. “Everybody Dies” moves forward with a 6-minute rap rock-influenced Violent J solo cut picking up where Everybody Rize” off my 3rd favorite Joker’s Card The Amazing Jeckel Brothers left off just before the semi-boom bap influenced “Happy Fun Day” uses wordplay for the Duke to ask what exactly others find wrong with him in having bloody fun referencing former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, ECW World Television Champion, IWGPタッグチャンピオン, WCW Hardcore Champion & 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion Bam Bam Bigelow. 

“Only Wicked Shit” goes for an EDM trap direction thanks to Brian Kuma so both of the clowns can represent their style of music they’ve been making for over 3 decades & after the “Flashback” skit, “Dead Kelly” blends these bells & hi-hats together to tell the story of the titular character. Shaggy 2 Dope getting his own track with the carnivalesque “Here We Go” looking to tear the place down alongside the rest of his hatchet family while the playfully humorous “Cinnamon Pigtails” describes a tale of Violent J meeting a woman on Instagram who turned out to be a catfish.

Devereaux helps ICP dabble with trap metal on “I’m Still Breathin’” talking about their gratitude of being alive despite the chaos in the world while “Pop Out” continues the 2nd half of The Naught with another 2 Dope solo joint that DJ Clay makes more trap oriented than the last one angrily making the speakers jump while the disco rap-inspired “Throw ‘Em Up” after another “Flashback” skit talks about throwing your hatchets up. Violent J responds to 1 Man Kru’s disses these past couple years by calling him a “Softy Pillow Man” using a prominent tuba within the beat leading into the occult “I’m Fallin’” talking about them thinking no one should try to die.

Expressing some kind of resolution from the conflict inferred from the rest of The Naught, the iconic Toto single “Africa” gets heavily sampled throughout “While It Lasts” ending the 2nd Deck of Joker’s Cards structured similarly to “Low” off Fearless Fred Fury where the Duke’s singing during a good bulk of it & Shaggy drops off a brief rap verse. Wasn’t one of my favorite songs off FFF personally but “While It Lasts” is conceptually stronger than “Low”, basically talking about enjoying the time we all have on this planet.

Common complaints regarding Yum Yum Bedlam from what I’ve heard amongst juggalos is that it felt like a mixtape than a Joker’s Card or the producer tags, neither of which I had any issues with personally because I appreciated it being the first female character in the Dark Carnival mythology & it’s themes of loyalty. The Naught however has to be my 3rd favorite Card of the 2nd Deck, with #2 being Bang! Pow! Boom! & of course The Mighty Death Pop! at #1. The production feels like a throwback to the carnival sound even with Kuma & Mythic Mindz finishing the 71% that Mike E. Clark had yet to complete because of him moving & the clowns themselves answering the question of if one was ever alive at all if there’s no afterlife when we die.

Score: 4.5/5

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Hariroc – “The Squidfather” review

This is the sophomore effort from Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper Hariroc. Known for being an extensive collaborator of Lil Tony, he would go on to fully produce the Troc & Swaggbaggs extended plays for Tony in their entireties preceding a debut album of his own Indalment last summer welcomed to moderate reception. 13 months have passed & The Squidfather has returned to bless the plugg subgenre of trap compiling almost 30 tracks recruiting more notable names than previously.

“Restart the Wave” by Lil Tony begins with a piano & some 808s talking about not being able to name a single person who’s pulled his cork whereas “We Don’t Like U” by Teflon Zay hops over these ethereal synthesizers & skittering hi-hats to poke fun at Will Smith slappin’ Chris Rock. “Trap Ain’t Workin’” by RRoxket proves to be a favorite of mine from the pluggy beat to the lyrics trollin’ his opps when he smokes weed while “Backwood Baby” by Pradabagshawty talks about using Swishers as of late to roll his shit.

One of the weaker cuts on here in my opinion goes to “Celibate” only because of 1900Rugrat wasting this insane ambient plugg instrumental until “Biting My Swag” by Babystaydown makes up for it by airing out his grievances towards everyone who be coping his aura & trying to make it their own. White Friends” by PCF Manman weighs things down again using a clumsy flow for roughly 104 seconds prior to “I Think” by Protect saving us once more talking about putting techs all over his body.

“SV” by 4eRedd & IsoBkae carried the plugg vibes forward joining forces so they can discuss not moving so loosely while “Bummy Scam” by Teflon Zay & Zone1eriic trades the mic back-&-forth with each other talking about using their Glocks to make their opps drop dead in the middle of a mall. “Hitmaker” by Yksteexy goes ambient plugg again feeling like he’s gonna be taken out for the things he won’t say while “Foxes” by Aobtrey & Fox BD dropping 1 comatose verse after another.

Nino Paid joins Lil Tony on “Threw Up the Drank” ending the 1st half of The Squidfather explaining they changed due to them not wanting to go back being broke & swervin’ while “From the Ground Up” by Cayo begins the 3rd quarter using this raw ass instrumental to talk about building this shit from the dirt skyward. “Yo Favorite Rapper a Hoe” by ApolloRed1 advises not to shed a tear if he’s ever killed while “Strike in Clayco” by Rx Yp picks up from there puttin’ belt to ass.

“So Much on My Mind” by Luhh Dyl, Seddy Hendrinx & Warhol.SS comes together to cloudily talk about doing things legitimately this time while “Kel Tec” by Double XL references Spider-Man 3, which was by far the worst entry of the Sam Raimi trilogy. “Man Up” by RW 5 talks about having to mature himself after he came home from prison like any other responsible person would do while “Turkey Neck” by GetRichZay & SSG Splurge wakes up daily to get a bag or 2.

Jripey takes the mic during the pluggy “Super Fly” talking about making songs for fun instead of charting while the ambient plugg “Watch My Back” by Day 1 Lil Willie looks back at a time where he told someone to trust to look out for him only to be betrayed. “Snakes” by TopOppGen moves forward running up in cribs without knocking beforehand while “Homie Hopper” by tana talks about taking down whole entire gangs by his lonely & asking where these individuals were when he was broke needing them.

“Stop the Cap” by Raqbaby pleas for these phony muhfuckas to cut out all the bullshit fibs they spewin’ while “Fake Percy” by Blo talks about throwing up due to taking percocets that weren’t even legitimate. “Chris Vec” by Lil Tony & 1900Rugrat reflects over the times they were down bad having nobody fuck with them but prior to the “Free Beat I Love Y’all” compositional outro, it only makes sense for Hari to approach the mic himself for the last song “Close with God” talking about fighting his demons.

Becoming a fan of his last fall through joints like “On Same Shit” by Babystaydown or “Living Room” by Pradabagshawty & “Ganger” by RRoxket, I had expectations of The Squidfather hoping that it would be an improvement above Cegular Records founder Whyceg’s sophomore effort Cegregation a few months earlier & that’s what I sorta got even if this is only better by a very slight margin. Hariroc’s production centered around plugg, cloud rap, ambient plugg & dark plugg sticks out amongst the best he’s ever made except the guest-list can be inconsistent at times a lot like Cegregation’s.

Score: 3/5

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Brennan Jones – “Brennan” review

This is the 2nd EP from Jacksonville, Florida recording artist Brennan Jones. Originally known as a fashion influencer on the Meta Platforms-owned Instagram social media platform, Edward Skeletrix would later inspire him to pursue a music career & released an eponymous debut EP 11 months ago to mixed results despite a couple standout tracks including “Crispy” & “wawawawawa”. However, I went into Brennan hoping he would capitalize on his full potential with more consistently brief musical opus the way his breakout single “Fashiontrappin'” did.

“in frontofmygranny” starts with a 97 second cloudy trap intro talking about pulling out a whole stack with his grandmother near him whereas “young & restless” promises to have crews hit if they dare fuck with him over a PROJECT4PLAY beat. “Brush It Off My Shoulder” dismisses the pressure surrounding him for the past year & after the cringey “she suck on the dick like a dick” line on “Fashion Shit” despite the nocturnal instrumental, “Lick Yo Tattoo” produced by Toom of Vanguard Music Group ends with Brennan talking about being the man.

As much as I want to like Brennan Jones’ newest extended play & the one we got from him almost a year ago because loose singles like “Affairs” or “Jewelry” still make fine examples of his artistic potential, Brennan isn’t that much better unfortunately & it’s a bigger disappointment when you take in consideration of him being independent now. The production is somehow a step down from the last project ditching the dark plugg, rage & experimental hip hop undertones in favor of conventional plugg & cloud rap with Brennan drowning so heavily in his influences to the point where it’s distracting.

Score: 2.5/5

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Tezzus – “Backrooms” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus coming off his new Søufside collaborative EP with Percaso only a week ago to put out his 4th solo EP. Introducing himself with his first few EPs Hard2Kill as well as Hellraiser & Everyday’s Halløween, his debut mixtape Tezzus Khrist last holiday season would significantly elevate his profile locally as did the handful of appearances he made on The XA Tape earlier this year. Another weekend later & Backrooms arrives merely hours following its announcement.

“Back” opens with a horn-laced trap instrumental fearing nobody talking because he rules whereas the rage-inducing “Rich Gang” takes a couple minutes to boast his wealth. “50 Cities 50 Nights” featuring Boofinesse works in some 808s to talk about only trusting the money leading into “10th Grade” goes for a hypertrap vibe again calling himself a Guitar Hero the way he rocks stages. “Øh My Gød” by the Uy Scuti Bøyz ends the EP with both of them suggesting for others to come to grips with their successes.

Continuing to prepare for his debut album & the sophomore effort done in the styles of R&B & phonk respectively, Tezzus diverts from the Søufside journey that was embarked on merely 7 days ago & releases a 5-pack clocking in at 11 minutes that’s still worth your time even if it it’s a minor step down from Tezzus Khrist. The production here ditches the secondary tread & plugg influences of his debut tape to focus more around trap & rage and the few guests do their job of keeping the same energy.

Score: 3.5/5

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Timbo – “Perfect Imperfections” review

Timbo is a 26 year old rapper from Louisville, Kentucky notable for being the eldest son of Mobstyle Music founder Bukshot. The latter of whom you may be familiar with either through his solo material or his memberships with groups like The Underground Avengers, The Horde, The Berzerkers, Cabal & Double Dragon spanning in a nearly 3 decade career. Following his dad’s footsteps, none other than MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 has locked in with Timbo for the latter’s official debut EP.

“Silence” opens with a cloudy ratchet instrumental talking about being the type to refrain from wasting his time on some minimal bullshit whereas “Duck Down” throws it back to The Neptunes’ late 90s sound feeling like he’s had enough with all the questions getting thrown towards his direction. The jazzy trap crossover “Ordained” finds himself flexing that no one can fuck with him & the lo-fi “Cool Breeze” advises not to come at him unless it’s purposeful.

It’s a bit different in sound compared to what we’ve gotten out of Mobstyle Music for nearly 3 decades at this point, but Timbo’s inaugural body of work makes an impressive introduction as to who he is both artistically & personally dissecting his Perfect Imperfections over MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7’s expectedly detailed production carrying on his father’s legacy by coming to his own.

Score: 4/5

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Dro Kenji – “The End of Nothing 2” review

Summerville, South Carolina rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Dro Kenji is back for his 3rd EP. Signing to both Internet Money Records & 10K Projects not even 365 days after he began making music, he has since put out 7 full-length studio LPs along with a couple EPs & a mixtape. The End of Nothing earlier this summer marked a return to form after experimenting with rage beats & a sequel’s here 6 weeks later.

“Fade” made for an emo rap intro confessing to his lover that he feels as if his heart’s beating I it of frame & the fear of showing how he feels whereas “Stay Focused” finds himself maintaining his concentration asking if he does too much when he’s off the drugs. “Outlandish” talks about never leaving his romantic interest stranded & wanting her to fall in love while “Plug’s House” poses the question of his authenticity being legit or not.

The End of Nothing 2’s final leg starts with “Joggin’”, where Dro hops over a melancholic guitar with more hi-hats talking about running to the bread. “Hookup 4 Anything” looks to start a catastrophe with his partner & realizes he possibly knows her more strongly than himself prior to “Annoying” getting to the bottom of whether or not he’s aggravating her.

Dro Kenji’s previous EP at the beginning of the summer welcomingly took it back to his emo pop rap/trap roots after experimenting with rage beats on Valentine’s Day, but I came away from The End of Nothing 2 liking it only slightly less than I did the predecessor. He’s topically sticking to his bread & butter which isn’t a criticism, except the production on here compared to the original End of Nothing doesn’t catch my attention similarly.

Score: 3/5

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Amaarae – “Black Star” review

Amaarae is a 30 year old singer/songwriter from The Bronx, New York by way of Accra, Ghana independently releasing her 2017 debut EP Passionfruit Summers followed by the 2020 full-length studio debut The Angel You Don’t Know through her own label Golden Child Entertainment. The latter of which caught Interscope Records’ attention, who signed her for the highly praised sophomore effort Fountain Baby & looks to raise the stakes even higher with the 3rd LP becoming the most personal of them all.

“Stuck Up” opens with a reference to Spike Lee ahead of his upcoming A24 Films neo-noir crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest coming to theaters next weekend whereas the boldly audacious “Starkilla” sings about serving ketamine, cocaine & ecstasy. “ms60” contains one of my favorite instrumentals on the album from WondaGurl responding to those calling her stuff like bitch, villain & a controversial diva while “Kiss Me Thru the Phone 2” featuring PinkPantheress samples “Thong Song” by Sisqó for a homage to Soulja Boy.

As for “B2B”, we have Amaarae singing about bisexuality sampling “Maybe” by Toni Braxton just before “She’s My Drug” heavily interpolates “Believe” by Cher asking if one believes in love when sobered off the drugs. The lead single “Girlie-Pop!” however excitingly blends Jersey club, dance-pop, tamborzão, alté & alternative R&B embodying the feeling of a kiss from your favourite person in the world.

“S.M.O. (Slut Me Out)” combines dance-pop, gqom, Bacardi Burger-Highlife, Detroit techno, electro & hiplife for a cross between Donna Summer & Control era Janet Jackson while “Fineshyt” makes for the 2nd & final track to be produced by BNYX of Working on Dying sings about her bisexual experienced wanting to buying the woman she’s currently in love with whatever kind of clothes she wants on top of the inability of leaving her by herself.

To get the 4th quarter’s clock winding down, “Dove Cameron” calls back to her previous LP singing about people referring to her as “Fountain” & showing off all the money she’s been making while “Dream Scenario” goes alternative R&B desiring for her lover to tell her what they want. “100drum” finds herself confronting the familiar feeling of paranoia brought on by an unnamed adversary & “Free the Youth” ties it all up by singing about not getting too pumped because she’s fucked up.

Familiarizing myself through her collaborations with the likes of KAYTRAMINÉ or Janelle Monáe to Bas & Childish Gambino, the 2nd major label offering in the Amaarae canon playfully embraces her Ghanaian heritage. It’s production leans heavier towards dance-pop & electronic dance music compared to Fountain Baby additionally pulling further inspiration from funk brasileiro, alternative r&b, house, alté, pop rap, African music, Afroswing, gqom, Bacardi Burger-Highlife, Detroit techno, electro, hiplife, Jersey club, tamborzão & alté to confidently explore her identity as an artist & as a woman.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ethel Cain – “Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You” review

Ethel Cain is a 27 year old singer/songwriter, producer & model from Tallahassee, Florida releasing 3 EPs building up towards her widely received full-length studio debut Preacher’s Daughter. Her most recent EP Perverts a week into 2025 already ranks right behind the new Roc Marciano EP The Coldest Profession produced by DJ Premier for the greatest extended plays of the year, continuing her hot streak with a sophomore effort & a couple teasers in the midst of the rollout.

“Janie” gets the ball rolling on the LP with an endearingly profound tribute to her best friend of the same name whereas “Fuck Me Eyes” after the “Willoughby’s Theme” composition sings about Holly Reddick over a combination between synthpop, dream pop, ethereal wave, synthwave & big music. “Nettles” the lead single masterfully blends Americana, singer/songwriter, ambient Americana, slowcore & alt-country feeling a burden of life post-graduation leading into the “Willoughby’s Interlude”.

To start the 2nd half, “Dust Bowl” delves deeper into the ambient Americana vibe feeling like she’s already broken a death pact that she made back in the 8th grade while “A Knock on My Door” gives off a heavier singer/songwriter direction questioning herself for the first time since the current relationship she’s involved in began. “Tempest” after the “Radio Towers” instrumental piece samples “Doe Hunting” for the only moment where we get a look at Willoughby’s perception & “Waco, Texas” references the infamous Branch Davidians siege 3 decades previously.

Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You predates the events of it’s predecessor traveling back almost 4 decades earlier revolving around his & girlfriend’s adolescence, raising the stakes regarding Ethel Cain’s artistic potential both Preacher’s Daughter & Perverts began revealing. Slowcore’s most gifted songwriter of the modern era minimizes the dream pop influences of her debut production wise to experiment with ambient music, post-rock, Americana, ambient Americana, synthpop, ethereal wave, synthwave & big music.

Score: 4.5/5

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Gunna – “The Last Wun” review

College Park, Georgia rapper Gunna releasing his 5th studio LP. Beginning over a decade ago off his debut mixtape Hard Body, he would eventually catch the attention of local phenomenon Young Thug just 3 years later & would go on to sign to his 300 Entertainment imprint YSL Records. However it wasn’t until the release of his debut EP Drip or Drown & his 4th mixtape Drip Season 3 in late 2017 & early 2018 respectively where Gunna’s profile increased significantly. Drip or Drown 2 though was a mediocre full-length debut & W.U.N.N.A. (Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic) wound up being one of the best trap albums of 2020, but the 4th & final installment of the Drip Season mixtape series aged like milk. A Gift & A Curse and One of Wun were both mediocre in their own ways & The Last Wun looks to officially complete his YSL/300 deal.

“many nights” was a derivative trap intro with a chill guitar melody talking about letting his hoe count up his racks millions of times whereas the cloudy “let that sink in” produced by Turbo explains that your shit doesn’t bend or break when you’ve built everything off faith. “just say dat” talks about singles becoming outdated with the continuously adapting state of the music industry leading into the half-baked pop rap joint “gp”.

NASH of Internet Money Records’ instrumental on “sakpase” stood out to me staying connected to the checks with pounds of cake leading into “at my purest” featuring Offset saving the best of 5 collaborations for the very beginning talking about their influence being valuable. “biting my game” accompanied by an acoustic trap instrumental vents over other artists jackin’ his style when nobody post-2022 has really done so while “prototype” responds to Thug tweeting for him to stop actin’ like they’re friends online.

“w.g.f.t. (we gettin’ fucked tonight)” featuring Burna Boy finds the pair uniting for a moody pop rap song breaking down sexual themes once again as does “forever be mine” featuring Wizkid, except both of them are talking about being one of a kind compared to the ex-boyfriends of the women they’re currently seeing. “again” works on some pianos & hi-hats expressing his desire to make love again while “endless” tries to insert himself into the “GOAT” convo when his post-prison material has been mid.

Nechie links up with Gunna for “i can’t feel my face”, which makes me appreciate “ADDYS” more comparison from the beat to the performances of both artists while “podcast” gets the 2nd half of The Last Wun going by talking about getting back up on his feet again after being down bad. “club house” simultaneously likens his bank account to a goldmine & wanting to be paid in full while “Satisfaction” featuring Asake ironically doesn’t feel very satisfying musically.

“fuck witcha boy” goes for a smoother trap vibe instrumentally talking about wanting to take a helicopter so he can fly out to Punta Cana while the generically atmospheric “on me” suggests that men shouldn’t be trusted, willing to take it a step further & putting it all on himself. “rare occasion” brings some refreshing synthesizers into the fold referencing the greatest QB of all-time & 7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady while “made for this shit” talks about the days when he used to pray to reach the heights he has.

Meanwhile on “c.f.w.m. (can’t fuck with me)”, we have Gunna over a country trap hybrid flexing that he’s untouchable when his last couple duds & his falling out with Young Thug both proving otherwise while “what they thinking” tries to figure out what the bitches around him want & what other guys around him are thinking. “showed ‘em” kinda gives me deja vu of “Do Better” except it’s not as profound, except the amount of money he has doesn’t change him snitching.

“won’t stop” addresses the whole Alford plea situation from his perspective promising not to stop making music while “him all along” talks about steadily chasing his goals & staying strong with all the motions he’s been going through. “Got Damn” didn’t even make the final cut, but I’m glad it wasn’t included because it wasn’t even that memorable of a trap/pop rap single.

8 months ago when Lil Baby got divisive feedback for W.H.A.M. (Who Hard as Me?), I didn’t have any hopes left of The Last Wun outdoing that or It’s Only Me since the production department of Gunna’s music has been gradually declining in the last 26 months other than Turbo. And whatever’s next for him following the YSL deal ending, it’s difficult to tell whether or not he’ll make anything of Drip Season 3 or W.U.N.N.A. (Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic)’s bar of quality ever again.

Score: 2/5

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