Chuckklez – “Horrors from the Unstable” review

Here we have the sophomore effort from San Jose, California emcee Chuckklez. Emerging on Halloween of 2018 with the full-length debut A Mind of Evilness, he would later sign to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & I even got to meet him in person at Fright Fest a couple years back. For his official LSP debut however, he’s tapping in with DJ Ill Sprite to produce Horrors from the Unstable in it’s entirety & putting it out on Friday the 13th to coincide with labelmate Mikahl Lawless’ own sophomore effort The Snuff Gremlin.

After the intro, the first song “Welcome to the Carnevil” is a grim trap opener giving y’all a glimpse of the horror show whereas “The Eater of Worlds” further emphasizes a heinous atmosphere instrumentally making people’s blood curl with the sickness. “Bloody Chainsaw” gives me a bombastic trap vibe to the beat likening himself to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre antagonist Leatherface just before “I See Dead People” featuring Razakel finds the 2 unable to get the images of corpses out their heads.

“A Scary Story” keeps it going by admitting that the sins of his life feel like they were ripped right out of a horror flick surrounded by hatred & vengeance while “Don’t Sleep” heinously talks about everyone looking at a bastard of 100 maniacs promising to reveal who the real face of horror is. “Furious & Dangerous” has some cool Memphis undertones simultaneously experiencing feelings of both fury & peril, but then “Gore Hounds” featuring Doc Gruesome & Donnie Menace goes trap metal comparing themselves to vicious dogs.

Sinizter joins Chuckklez on “Let the Bodies Burn” screaming over trap production that he wants to see all y’all go up in flames after throwing a molotov while “Murder All the Time” pulls from trap metal once again talking about going on killing sprees. “The Last Laugh” is this organ-trap hybrid flexing the very thing that he gets in the end while “Darker Side” featuring Kung Fu Vampire finds the 2 talking about how they’ll never see it coming when the darker sides of themselves get reintroduced.

“Going Mental” angrily boasts that he’ll murder any instrumental that comes his way while the bass-heavy “Possessed Mode” featuring Bloody Ruckus talks about being possessed by demons. “Crime Scene” featuring VLNC is another trap metal cut with them catching bodies while “Hell’z Bells” takes us a trip to the fiery depths of eternal Hell itself. “Nameless Grave” ends the LP with a 5 minute closer pleading his headstone to be left nameless to hide his shame.

The LSP roster has been experiencing an exponential growth in recent years & Chuckklez’ follow-up to A Mind of Evilness surpasses it’s predecessor by amplifying everything that makes him right at home with the Denver gore hop powerhouse. DJ Ill Sprite’s production is a refinement of the San Jose emcee’s debut 6 years ago, the features are mostly on point & Chuckklez himself puts his Horrors from the Unstable on full display.

Score: 4/5

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Mikahl Lawless – “The Snuff Gremlin” review

This is the sophomore effort from York, Pennsylvania rapper Mikahl Lawless. Signing to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz a couple years ago, he made his full-length debut a few months later with Gangri-La & shortly after teamed up with MC Welchs for a collaborative EP called Carnevil. However to celebrate with the 2 year anniversary of his record deal, it makes absolute since for Mikahl to celebrate by unleashing The Snuff Gremlin on Friday the 13th & have it coincide with labelmate Chuckklez’ own sophomore effort Horrors from the Unstable fully produced by DJ Ill Sprite.

“Maybe Another Life” is this trap intro flexing that everyone wants a piece of the demonic spirit within him & losing all reason whereas “No Angel” talks about embracing his demons & asking for strength in the flames he’s feeling. “Hit the Deck” fuses trap & gangsta rap advising to drop to the ground as he lets shots ring out from his heater that is until “Let It Go” embraces the trap metal sound hoping y’all see the other side after tonight.

Scum joins Mikahl on “When I Think About It” coming clean that it excites them when thinking of some day reading of a couple people that they wish death on getting what’s coming to them just before the dejecting “Finding Distance” admits that he doesn’t feel like people want to get to know him. The anthemic title track aggressively represents his crew for 2 & a half minutes leading into the sample-driven “After Everything” saying that if he has to take a soul, he’ll go there.

“Kreepin’” brings back the trap metal vibes assuring that you’ll be purified through the flames of Hell itself & catchin’ him lurkin’ through his hood while “Relationship A.D.” takes 125 seconds to talk about his murderous tendencies. “Dead” mixes elements of rage & horrorcore in an interesting way teaching that sometimes blood has to be spilled to find your footing while “My Haunted House” talks about The Wraith carrying him from all his pain.

The song “Smiley” pushes further towards the encore of The Snuff Gremlin by giving everyone a dose of the very psychosis that he so happens to suffer from while the cloudy penultimate track “Low” talks about being persecuted like no other when he used to represent the confederate flag & Insane Clown Posse had a highlight on their debut album Carnival of Carnage called “Fuck Your Rebel Flag”, but I digress & mean absolutely no disrespect by mentioning that. The closer however “Bleed Out” ends on a trap metal note justifying his demons.

Some in the underground wicked shit scene are reasonably quick to dismiss Mikahl as a juff for the whole rebel flag thing & even putting that aside, I was still open-minded enough to go into The Snuff Gremlin expecting to get a better understanding of who he is artistically & I can say that there are improvements over his debut. The production’s more versatile whether it be trap, trap metal, cloud rap & a hint of rage to suit the horrorcore & gangsta rap lyricism that the east coast artist delivers.

Score: 3.5/5

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Autumn! – “##B4B2MR” review

Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn! preluding Back 2 My Roots with his 22nd EP. Gaining traction off all 21 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 2 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 just delivered a sequel to Solitary in the spring & You Never Was Mine over the summer, but is surprise-dropping ##B4B2MR ahead of the main course.

“Something New!” starts with a psychedelic, self-produced plugg intro talking about not doing any 9-5s since his money be ridin’ tryna show his girl some new shit while “Laws of Power!” works in some synthesizers to talk about 10 rules that he lives by daily. “Both Ways!” heads for a cloudy trap direction instrumentally likening his hoes to Cullinan doors since they’re bisexual flexing that he’s still talkin’ hot & “Did It Again!” finishes the EP by keeping it atmospheric promising that this is only the beginning for him.

Wick’s last couple offerings Solitary 2 & You Was Never Mine were both welcomed to mixed feedback having less of a plugg emphasis to them focusing more on pop rap, trap & Chicago drill containing highlights that demonstrate his artistic range. However considering Back 2 My Roots’ title & the prominent plugg direction he goes for on this prelude, these are huge indications that Autumn!’s next body of work will mark a return to form to the sound that blew him up.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lateef the Truthspeaker – “Experimental Slap” review

Oakland, California emcee Lateef the Truthspeaker tapping in with Nick Andre for his official sophomore effort. A member of the Quannum Projects collective in addition to their subgroups Latyrx alongside Lateef & the Chief and The Mighty Underdogs, his first few solo mixtapes Ahead of the Curve including Truth is Love & Truth at Sea were all decent ahead of his official 2011 solo debut FireWire surpassing them in quality. 13 years later, he & Nick got more of an Experimental Slap for the underground.

“Show Love” is this sample-driven trap opener demanding his flowers considering that he’s been in the game for 3 decades already whereas “Tic Tac Toe” taking a much calmer route instrumentally relying heavy on drums talking about holding his own. After the first of 3 “Slap” skits, “Things Never Seen Before” psychedelically reminds everyone that he’s the coldest with the pen while the bassy “Watch What You Say” featuring Phesto from the Hieroglyphics subgroup Souls of Mischief puts everyone in their place.

As for “California Sober”, we have Lateef putting it down 7 times for the struggle on top of a playfully fun beat that Nick cooked up just before “Snake Bite” featuring the late Zion I frontman Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse airs out every last individual who happened to turn a blind eye to them. “Guns 2” featuring Jumbo & nOOdy Oddy after another “Slap” skit serves as a sequel to a 2018 joint picking up right where the predecessor left off leading into “Freed Up” featuring Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse setting out to convert nonbelievers.

“Started Dreaming Again” featuring Aima the Dreamer pairs both of them talking about their recent dreams of coinciding within them starting to feel their pens while the crooning boom bap “Waiting on My Time to Come” featuring the late Blackalicious frontman Gift of Gab eerily expresses the self-awareness of his demise quite possibly coming soon. After the final “Slap” skit, “Not Asking” feels like a cool homage to one of my favorite groups A Tribe Called Quest while “Last Night” featuring Slug takes it back to the basement talking about how ain’t nobody tryna eat off your peace.

Latyrx gets together with Baba Zumbi, Casual of the Hieroglyphics crew, The Grouch of the Living Legends & finally Lil B the Based God formerly of The Pack for a sequel to “Life is Awesome” showing their gratitude regarding the way life’s been treating them at this point in all of their careers & “Almost as Blue” finishes Lateef’s long-awaited follow-up to FireWire with this heartfelt tribute to Baba Zumbi, who passed away in the summer of 2021 following the 48 year anniversary of hip hop culture’s formation.

Mostly made during the pandemic, Experimental Slap was made during a time of great change, turmoil & personal revelation composed with fun and love as well as terror & tragedy. It’s emotional, intelligent & irreverent & while we’ve never really been for the drama. And there is in fact some drama because this album is a reﬂection of the time it was recorded. Personal & political. Intense polarization & isolation, coupled with extreme communal connection & service. Humanity in the face of death.

Score: 4.5/5

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Roy Wood$ – “Rolling Stone” review

Roy Wood$ is a 28 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Brampton, Ontario, Canada whom Drake signed to OVO Sound a decade ago already. He has since gone on to release a total of 3 full-length studio LPs & 3 EPs, with the most notable of the handful being the 2015 debut EP Exis & of course the debut album Walking at Dawn the following winter. Following the sophomore effort Say Less, his output since then has been welcomed to generally mixed to negative responses across the spectrum & I wanted to go into his 4th EP open minded.

“Solo” is this mediocrely melodic trap opening talking about the way this bitch be freakin’ him whereas “She Don’t Care About My Name” feels like a throwback to his earlier stuff from the atmospheric instrumental to the heartbroken lyrics explaining that this particular romantic interest could give a fuck less of getting to know him more. “Rockstar Baby” hooks up some pianos & hi-hats to talk about his new chick being so down while “Outside” hops over a generic trap beat tryna take this woman out of the party.

The song “Hold Still” reaches the starting point of Rolling Stone’s final leg by heading for a cloudy direction instrumentally & laying these thirsty ass lyrics on top of it prior to “Bring It to the Room” hilariously ripping off The Weeknd, who Drake almost signed to OVO & fell out with him after dissing on the We Still Don’t Trust You highlight “All to Myself” this spring. “Nobody Else” featuring 03 Greedo ends the EP talking about a woman who doesn’t want anyone else loving her & Greedo going the hardest.

My opinions on some of the OVO artists’ latest output including Majid Jordan’s 4th album Good People named after the singer/producer duo’s original moniker or Naomi Sharon’s debut album Obsidian & namely PARTYNEXTDOOR’s 4th album PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 haven’t really changed, but Rolling Stone has to be the most underwhelming body of work that the camp has put out in a while. The production is generally subpar & Roy himself sounds like as if he’s uninterested for at least 60% of the time.

Score: 2/5

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Dax – “From a Man’s Perspective” review

This is sophomore full-length studio LP from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada rapper Dax. Working as a janitor before blowing up after dropping the single “YourWorthIt.org” with Hopsin in the summer of 2018, this was followed up with his debut EP It’s Different Now shortly after & the I’ll Say It For You EP under the Strange Music subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment. Pain Paints Pictures was one of the worst debuts of this decade & 3 years later, he’s returning From a Man’s Perspective.

The title track starts with a melodramatically cloudy opener talking about wanting to be with this individual for the night whereas the acoustic “Took My Heart Out” whines about not wanting to use his heart anymore & comes off as sappy than genuine. “Place of Peace” works in a guitar & some fingersnaps telling his significant other than he wants to go to her for peace while “A Real Man” talks about what this woman wants not being legitimate.

“Soldier” featuring Tom MacDonald ends the first leg with a tedious far-right propaganda joint which is odd because neither of them are from the United States just before “To Be a Man” takes a laughable shot a county rap & it’s not Darius Rucker’s fault. “Lonely Dirt Road” mixes cloud rap & pop rap escaping to a place where no one knows, but then “You’re the Problem” tries to gaslight his critics saying their dislike for his music comes from a reflection of theirselves.

The penultimate song “Diary of a Man Trying” nears the conclusion of From a Man’s Perspective talking about trying to move on GPSing all his thoughts even if they wind up leading him to places that’ll hurt him & finally, “I Hate That I Love You” ends the album by dissing the mother of his child as if he’s Eminem in the late 90s/early 2000s, who has always been an influence to Dax except that he exemplifies Em’s worst traits to a new level.

From the moment that Falling in Reverse put out Popular Monster this summer up until now, I wasn’t sure if there could be a hip hop album that could match the metalcore offering in terms of being unlistenable & Dax sure enough manages to do it with a month left in the year. The production is mediocre & his subject matter delivered From a Man’s Perspective feels trite than sincere. Tyler, The Creator’s 7th album Chromakopia does a significantly better job of providing introspection than this.

Score: 0/5

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C. Ray – “Ray Al Ghul” review

Pasco, Washington emcee, singer/songwriter & producer C. Ray releasing his 5th EP on Bandcamp without any warning. Notable for Twisted Insane signing him to Brainsick Muzik over a decade ago, he would go on to become one of the label’s biggest artists dropping a total of 8 full-length studio albums along with his last 4 EPs & a mixtape in almost 14 years. But with the 2-year anniversary of both Ray Day & Know0n3 approaching this upcoming spring, Ray Al Ghul has finally returned.

“Oblivion” begins with an apocalyptically self-produced instrumental clarifying that he doesn’t even speak without contemplating whereas “N.T.T.S. (No Time to Stop)” brings more of a general trap flare to the beat talking about how he don’t have time for slowing down. “In My Bag” works in some horns & hi-hats making way for him to get in his element for 3 & a half minutes ahead of “Here We Go” making it known not to fuck with him.

Meanwhile on “All That”, we have C. Ray expressing his dislike for everything being all cap over more trap production while “Hold Up” talks about never hanging with heroes & fighting to make it out a deep hole. “Bombay” pulls from reggae for a weed smoking anthem while “Halo” featuring Jag mixes g-funk & trap layin’ low whilst being in the clouds. “Watching” ends the EP with a hardcore boom bap heater reserving some of the hardest bars for last.

Light Born has quickly become my favorite full-length in C. Ray’s discography since he initially put it out a year & a half ago, but Ray Al Ghul maintains that high level of quality revealing itself as his best work since & his finest EP yet. His production pulls from boom bap to trap or even both g-funk & reggae music to lesser extents demonstrating his versatility as a performer with his flows & captivating lyrics.

Score: 4/5

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Siete7x – “Stucc in the Hole” review

This is the 2nd mixtape from Compton, California up-&-comer Siete7x. Breaking out in 2019 off his debut mixtape Ccut from a Blue Cloth in the summer & later the full-length debut Compton Soul Child that same winter, he returned last fall off the sophomore effort Long Live My Therapy & recently had a verse on “dodger blue” off Kendrick Lamar’s latest album GNX couple weeks ago. Keeping that same energy, he’s striking while the iron’s hot on Stucc in the Hole.

After the “3704” intro, the first song “Make It Out” starts the mixtape by hopping over a solemn trap instrumental to discuss making it out of the trenches whereas “Feelin’ Me” featuring Bino Rideaux” takes the synth-trap instrumental talking about letting him pick his girl’s brain. “Trynna Make Away” has a bit of a cloudy trap edge as he addresses needing a way just before “Dive In” featuring Kalan.FrFr produced by Blxst fuses pop rap & trap in an enjoyable fashion.

“Make It Right” brings an acoustic trap flare to the table as he does whatever he can to make it up to this woman that he’s been seeing leading into “Anybody” featuring Sietegang Yabbie talking about both of them not simply being any other dudes out here. “Tell Me What You Know” brings back a stripped-back trap vibe wanting this chick to come clean with him regarding everything she knows, but then “Keep Going” featuring Kalan.FrFr playfully talks about the checks being nonstop.

Lil Bean & Siete team up on “Auntie Baby” warns not to trust any of these lames out here since they stay cappin’ in their music while “Only 1” featuring Lefty Gunplay shows ‘em somethin’ when the beef cracks off. “Up Late” featuring AD finds them tryna touch $1M while “All My Life” featuring Wallie the Sensei talks those envying them because of the cash flow. “Who Can I?” featuring RJmrLA gets on more of a raunchier tip topically & “Real True Story” admitting it’s been hard for him to focus for a couple minutes.

Siete7x’s sophomore tape here comes off the biggest guest appearance of his career applying further pressure out in the streets of Compton telling his story along with hoping to become a leader in his community & uplift the youth. I very much appreciate the entire concept of everyone involved trying to make it out of the hole they’re stuck in, except the features take up roughly half of it with their performances being either hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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Real Psycho – Self-Titled review

Real Psycho is a superduo consisting of Los Angeles, California emcee B-Real as well as Queens, New York emcee/producer Psycho Les. One of whom is notable for being the frontman of Cypress Hill & the other being 1/2 of The Beatnuts. After only collaborating with each other a couple times in the past off songs like “Fuck ‘Em If They Listenin’” & the Robosonic-produced “High Like”, they’re getting together for an official full-length debut album.

After the titular intro, the first song “Doin’ What You Never Did” starts with a jazzy boom bap instrumental talking about never falling off whereas “Laugh 2 Da Bank” hooks up this mind-altering beat for them to talk about puttin’ in the work that they do & eventually cashin’ out. “What We Came to Do” featuring Too $hort unites the trio for them to aptly tear the party up prior to “You Might Know Us” warning your arms will get broken if you touch them.

“Put That Work In” featuring Son Doobie finds all 3 of them linking up for 4 minutes talking about showing y’all how it be done while “Excuse Me” goes for a generally old school vibe to the beat making this joint feel like it was taken straight from a mixtape. “Once in a Lifetime” has a quirkier instrumental talking about how you’ve haven’t seen this freshness previously just before “This Goes Hard” featuring Big Twins & Demrick lets off hardcore lyricism in their own unique styles.

Reaching the conclusion, “Timbos” hooks you Eric Bobo’s signature percussion flexing that he be tiptoeing around in the titular brand of boots while “Lyrical Hammers” embraces a rap rock sound reminding us that they be hanging around henchmen. “Stay Calm” brings a psychedelic boom bap flare suggesting to relax as they spark the bong & “Kitty Kat” for a closer feels underwhelming tackling the theme of sex in an uneventful manner.

For all the hardcore Cypress Hill & Beatnuts fans, I have a pretty good feeling that you’re gonna come away from Real Psycho’s debut with an enjoyable side project from both veterans. Psycho Les hasn’t lost a step with his production game attesting to The Beatnuts being underappreciated behind the boards & his chemistry with B-Real on the mic flows very well during 45 & a half minute experience.

Score: 4/5

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Pro Dillinger – “Dirtwave 2” review

This is the 8th full-length studio LP from Haverstraw, New York emcee Pro Dillinger. A member of the Umbrella collective as well as 1/2 of The Steiner Brothers, he has released a total of 5 mixtapes along with his last 7 albums & even 7 EPs. Favorites include the Finn-produced debut Pray for My Prey, the Machacha-produced Dirt Don’t Hurt, his 3rd EP MOSFoul, the Sting vs. Flair collab EP with Mickey Diamond & the Steiner Brothers’ eponymous debut. Dirty Work celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary earlier this summer & the dirtiest of the Umbrella brought Sean Kelly back to handle production for Reasonable Dirt much like Forever Foul & more recently the Futurewave produced Dirtwave becoming his most acclaimed work to date. Keeping the latter in mind, both parties are now getting back together for a sequel.

“Heavy Heart” sets the tone with this cutthroat boom bap opener talking about how everyone else can’t ball with him & the rest of his squad whereas “Play the Game” works in more kicks & snare cautioning that the smoke’s gonna bide up. “Outside” featuring Shordie brings the pair together over an uncanny instrumental telling us what it’s like where both of them come from, but then “Stay Moving” passionately advises to keep it pushing.

Eto joins Pro Dillinger on “Honourable Activities” warns that your best friend could actually be your enemy in disguise & to never snooze while “New Sneakers” returns to the boom bap figuring out where to return the shots that were sent his way. “Mind My Business” somberly addresses those skating around the noise instead of not being there for it just before “Church Socks” featuring Bub Styles & Chubby God delivers a 3-minute hardcore joint.

“Bigger Picture” properly sets the tone of Dirtwave 2’s final moments hopping over this groovy beat to talk about the game being full of pussies this day in age calling the whole block broke since they ain’t chasing paper & “Pray 2 God” wraps it up with this drumlessly cloudy loop praying to the Man Above for him to bring Pro Dillinger’s enemies back because of the battery in his back at this point in his career.

Dirtwave last month surpassed everything that the Haverstraw lyricist had done in the past & the sequel as one would’ve anticipated going into it amplifies every single thing that made the predecessor so enjoyable whether it would be Futurewave’s superb production or the Umbrella’s dirtiest MC taking it up another notch with the pen for a half hour.

Score: 4.5/5

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