MIKE – “Pompeii” review

Here we have the 9th studio LP from Livingston, New Jersey emcee & 10k Global founder MIKE. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut mixtape Winter New York, he would continue to make a name for himself by churning out 4 more tapes as well as his previous 6 albums & 8 EPs full of amongst the finest abstract hip hop that you’ll hear within the last decade. Standouts include May God Bless Your Hustle, War in My Pen & even the Wiki collab effort Faith is a Rock entirely produced by The Alchemist. Burning Desire, Pinball, its sequel & Showbiz! have all become acclaimed for their own different reasons too & he looks to raise the stakes by having the Surf Gang produce Pompeii.

“The Fall” comes out the gate jumping over an Evilgiane beat to talk about swerving the most overseas whereas “My Worst (Rebuke)” takes a more psychedelic approach instrumentally admitting that he’s gonna do everything he did at his lowest once more. “Da Bid” featuring Jadasea joins forces for a 2-parter produced by Harrison & Earl Sweatshirt talking about wearing their hearts on their sleeves just before “NOT 4TW” featuring Anysia Kym cloudily speaks of no longer paying attention to those copying because it ain’t for free.

An early favorite would have to be “The Pope” from the euphoric beat to the calmly delivered lyrics about staying remote leading into “Afro” him recollecting the craziness of how much love has passed. The lead single “Minty” blends plugg, trap, cloud rap, lowend & plugg taking jabs at supposed gangstas who take talents off LinkedIn just before Niontay provides my 2nd favorite guest appearance on “F.E.A.R.”, spitting hardcore verses back-to-back without the need of a hook.

“Tampering” only clocking at 73 seconds long is a shame considering that I really enjoy the plugg instrumental talking about having to interfere with a hoe while “Shutter Island” happens to be the exact same length talking about trusting lies & bloody swords over a beat that somewhat reminds me of Odd Future’s early output. “Back LA” featuring Na’Kel Smith links up so they can speak of living in danger while the 2nd & final single “Back Home” passionately talks about dismantling systems.

Earl joins MIKE for “Kirkland”, saving would I personally considered to be the best feature for last to wind down the last few minutes of the album discussing keeping it simple when doing it big while “#FREE #MIKE” talks about the surprising revelation that even his haters are happy his crew’s around & not changing up on family. “Man of the Month” spends the last 3 minutes explaining that he bled for his dreams to be lived out over a Niontay instrumental despite the other half of it being a simple outro.

Both entries of the Pinball series & Showbiz! all contain some of MIKE’s greatest tracks like “On God” for example, but my favorite song on the latter “Belly 1” exponentially raised my expectations for Pompeii & it sure enough isn’t too far behind May God Bless Your Hustle or Burning Desire for a spot in the top 3 of his entire catalog. The Surf Gang’s production emphasizes the plugg undertones of Pinball II, additionally sprinkling hints of cloud rap & ambient plugg to reflect on the destruction of civilization as we know it.

Score: 4.5/5

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Coyote – “Machetes & Micheladas” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Los Angeles, California duo Coyote. Consisting of the Morales brothers LadiesLoveGuapo & Ricky Blanco, they went on to gain traction in late 2022 off their debut album Thicker than Water noted for its witty punchlines & East coast influences. Their 2024 sophomore effort L.Aliens quickly became their breakout project to the point where people were recommending to me & easily understood the appeal, coming off yoteLAndia to have Statik Selektah fully produce Machetes & Micheladas in it’s entirety a month after Penta became the new WWE Intercontinental Champion and 24 hours away from current AAA Mundial Mixtas Parejas Campeon Lola Vice becoming the new NXT Women’s Champion.

After the “ApeXzibit” intro, the first song “Gimme a Hell Yeah!” featuring Conway the Machine joins forces over a boom bap instrumental to spit hardcore gangsta lyricism whereas “No Rest for the Wicked” ruggedly talks about there being a blizzard outside. “Whippin’ Cream” featuring The Psycho Realm brings both groups together for a mafioso single discussing the paper just before “Blasphemy” talks about looking to trade narcos for vitamins & fish oils.

“Love Me Love Me Not” keeps the boom bap vibes going admitting that they’re unsure & after the “Shoebox Money” interlude, the actual “Shoebox Money” track itself featuring Sirrealist goes for a jazzier direction talking about getting what they deserve. “Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes” featuring Curren$y soulfully gets on some real life shit topically while “Letter to My Son” featuring Berner gets the 2nd half going talking about fatherhood.

John Solo’s appearance on “Cali Dreaming” was ok despite the soulful beat & the love they have for their hometown but after the “Welcome to America” interlude, “What’s Peace?” featuring Locksmith & R.A. the Rugged Man finds the quartet taking a more conscious approach to songwriting. “Kid Named Johnny” simultaneously gets in their storytelling bags & continue to demonstrate Statik’s ear for sampling while “I.D.K” talk about only having winners surrounding themselves.

“Cortez on My Feet” featuring Lil Mr. E nears towards the end of Machetes & Micheladas with a nostalgic boom bap flavored sneaker anthem of their own while “Fuck Everybody” featuring Daylyt aggressively embodies that “Fuck the World” mentality the late 2Pac was on. “Church” hooks up a crooning vocal flip making a bunch of witty religious references while “Huff & Puff” sends it all off with a jab at the people who get their egos hurt by their presence.

Being a fan of these guys for a couple years already, the teasers we’ve gotten ahead of Machetes & Micheladas gave me all the confidence of LadiesLoveGuapo & Ricky Blanco topping both L.Aliens & yoteLAndia. Lo & behold: They begin the 2nd quarter of 2026 with what’s undeniably the greatest thing they’ve ever made. Statik Selektah’s jazzy boom bap production is a huge improvement over Coyote’s last couple of full-lengths, the guest list is filled with heavy hitters & the Morales brothers themselves are in top form.

Score: 4.5/5

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Swae Lee – “Same Difference” review

Swae Lee is a 32 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Tupelo, Missouri who began his career as part of Dem Outta St8 Boyz alongside Bobo Swae as well as Lil Pantz & Slim Jxmmi. The latter of whom would stick by him following the departure of the other 2 members & signed to Mike WiLL Made-It’s own label Ear Drummer Records in tandem with Interscope Records as the duo Rae Sremmurd not too long afterwards. His subsequently made his solo debut in 2018 dropping Swaecation to mixed reception, returning 8 years later for a sophomore effort.

Tomato/Tomáto” produced by 30 Roc wasn’t actually that bad of an intro referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, the inaugural 6-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Kurt Angle whereas “No Call No Show” featuring ΠΔV continues with this mediocre pop rap cut.

Ging jumps behind the boards on “Everyone Wants” addressing someone who has what the rest desires while “The Gospel” hops over a cloudy Turbo instrumental to talk about being on autopilot. “Mural” featuring Jhené Aiko comes together for an R&B duet singing of their awareness regarding bad bitches needing someone to treat properly leading into “Side Eye” telling a woman he took to Santa Monica that she can’t expect him to ask her hand in marriage.

“E Off Emotion” locks in with both Mike WiLL Made-It & Pluss for a trap soul ballad singing that he’ll blow all the racks with his romantic interest while “Suitcase” featuring French Montana felt like an underwhelming note to end the 1st half on, addressing the type they’d put away. “Don’t Even Call” featuring Rich the Kid doesn’t start the other leg of the album any better despite the reference to UFC CEO Dana White, but “Flammable” kicked off the whole rollout experimenting with rage & missing the landing.

The tropical vibes of “FAV / ANNA” are merely passable even if I can’t say the same for this story he tells regarding a chick who he assumes left a man in shambles & after singing about a female who’s “Sneakier” than most leaving the final verse completely open over a Chopsquad DJ beat, “Raising Awareness” expressing his desire of dying with memories instead of dreams over London on da Track cooking up one of the finest instrumentals on the entire LP.

“Working Remote” by Rae Sremmurd reunites over a Mike WiLL beat to talk about shining in the dark while “Violet” explains to female he seemingly loved to death that he had to walk away so he could focus on his mental health. “Take My Heart” featuring Post Malone ends Same Difference with this synthpop outro advising their partners to put their hearts somewhere safe, although I don’t think it’s as cute as “Sunflower” was.

Most including myself weren’t head over heels for Swaecation or Jxmtro when SR3MM dropped in 2018, preferring the main course rather than either Swae Lee or Slim Jxmmi’s attempt at making their own versions of Speakerboxxx / The Love Below. I’ve since been hoping Swae would follow up Swaecation & artistically surpass it, except it’s somehow worse. He’s always been the most melodic Rae Sremmurd member of the 2 & that doesn’t change as many would expect, although the production’s more uninteresting.

Score: 1.5/5

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Juicy J – “The Trippy Tapes” review

Memphis, Tennessee rapper, songwriter, producer & record executive Juicy J celebrating his birthday weekend with his 15th mixtape. Rising to stardom 3 decades earlier as the co-founder of the seminal Three 6 Mafia alongside his Tear Da Club Up Thugs cohorts DJ Paul & the late Lord Infamous, he’s also had the most successful solo career out of everyone in the Mafia whether it be the Taylor Gang Entertainment/Columbia Records-backed Stay Trippy & Rubba Band Business: The Album or more recently Crypto Business & Mental Trillness. The latter & it’s sequel noticeably taking on a more serious tone than some of Juicy’s latest material, taking a good chunk of it’s time coping with Gangsta Boo’s untimely passing. Coming off the mature Ravenite Social Club and the Logic-produced Live & in Color, we’re being treated to the inaugural entry of The Trippy Tapes.

Lex Luger combines some horns & hi-hats during the intro “I Don’t Shoot Dice” explaining that nothing’s nice regarding Juicy prior to “Cold Game” talking about everyone working with the feds these days. “Same Way” gives some advice in the fact that some of our Day 1s won’t be here when the money finally starts coming in leading into “Betta Not” featuring G9nstaB9by finds the 2 moderately talking about spending checks & referring to themselves as heavyweight.

“Trim the Circle” moves forward urging everyone to cut off all the bullshit energy surrounding them just before “Ain’t No Way” calls cap on someone claimin’ to still cop J’s when they can’t even afford their own car. “On da Low” gives off a heavy Memphis vibe talking about smoking dope out in California & keeping it lowkey while “Show Me” clarifies that he doesn’t give a fuck what people say, opting to watch what they be doing instead.

Lil Wyte joins Juicy for “I Smoke Earth” talking about their love of the dankest weed they get their hands on while “Backshots” takes a more sexual approach topically, which isn’t surprising considering the name. “A.D.B.F. (All Dese Bitches Fuckable)” keeps the raunchy subject matter going talking about the sexiness of all the women surrounding him while “Don’t Play With” angrily comes at the throats of those spewing craziness out their mouths.

“Victim” nears the end of the 1st leg talking about the unbelievability of those acting tough on social media only to flip the switch when shit hits the fan while “Speak in Gold” flexes that he manifests checks whenever he opens his mouth. “Day Walker” samples “The Rain” by Oran “Juice” Jonesso he can talk about a hoe his family nor TMZ will ever catch in public by his side while “I Wanna Baby” confesses he has no issues with women who act ratchet.

BeatKing & Wiz Khalifa both appear on “42” delivering an anthem to be played as part of their individual birthday celebrations prior to him trying to bring the “Real N***a Era” back over a Memphis-driven instrumental. “4 da Chat” encourages a stripper to bend it over & throw it back for everyone watching his livestream while “Yeah Dat Thur” talks about his lifestyle, including only blowing gas & carrying a Goyard bag full of money around.

“Last Time” keeps it rollin’ advising to keep a firearm on ya because of the streets being cold blooded while “You Not That” talks about having no one around him unless you’ve got ice in your veins. “Had to Do It” featuring Wiz Khalifa reunites the pair for a song I enjoyed more than “42”, explaining they had to cut their bitches off because they didn’t have a choice while “Shrooms” talks about consuming psilocybin although it’s not really my thing.

It was cool to hear Babyfxce E laying a verse out for Scotty” although I’m personally not the biggest fan of him on top of Juicy having the better performances of the 2 & after “Gofers” spends 110 seconds going at the throats of clout chasers who’ll literally go for anything to receive attention in return, “Like This” poses the question of what these cornballs will do when shit gets low & not having to make any complaints about the cars & house he owns.

“Sneaky” featuring RJtheWeirdo wraps up The Trippy Tapes’ encore turning up the Memphis influences telling a promiscuous woman who can’t keep her legs closed to meet them outside while “Stash” featuring G9ngstaB9by reunites both of them 1 last time letting everyone who wants to book them know that they wait to be paid in full first. The self-produced “Power” featuring La Reezy sends it all off shifting their focus from money to control.

Hearing that Lex Luger producing a vast majority of this inaugural entry of The Trippy Tapes raised my anticipation for it considering how well he & Juicy J have worked with each other in the past, but I wound up a bit divided towards the end result coming away from it. Granted the production’s an improvement over Head on Swivel, although there are some filler that should’ve been included on the sequel & some of the guests are underwhelming.

Score: 3/5

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Tory Lanez – “Slutty Bass” review

Another full-length studio LP & the 10th overall from Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper Tory Lanez. Blowing up over a decade ago off The New Toronto mixtape, he ended up signing with Interscope Records the following year & releasing a total of 4 albums until departing at the beginning of 2020. Daystar that same fall gaslit everyone after shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot & coming off the dreadful sequel Peterson last spring that’re both considered to be the absolute worst music he’s ever made, he’s creating a new subgenre he’s been calling Slutty Bass.

“Slide” begins with him talking about pulling up your city with .40 & a Glock on him over an Atlanta bass instrumental when that’s not quite a good look for him whereas “Bulma’s Patience” disses Megan Thee Stallion by calling her bogus & blaming her for his incarceration. “Aggression from Saturn” mediocrely sings about being unsure whether or not he likes it that his partner’s aggressive just before “Planet Bass (NBLYB)” brings back the Atlanta bass vibes flexing that he has beat & millions of dollars.

We have Tory interpolating “Nokia” by Drake on “WongTong Soup” so he can tell this woman who says she wants to date him that she’s already with the wrong one leading into him bastardizing “Material Girl” by Madonna during “Pink Material” & falling completely flat. “Keyz to Vampa” assures his lover he’ll give her the guide on how to cherish him as long as she doesn’t judge while “The Hate of Friends” attacks this chick’s friends for disliking him.

“S.M.O. (Slut Me Out)” starts the 2nd half with me wanting to listen to Amaarae’s single of the same name considering that it’s far more superior while “Janne’s Cotton Candy” makes a bunch of trite references regarding being infatuated towards the very female he’s writing this about. “Krillin’s Fumble” confesses to an ex-girlfriend that he still has feelings for her when they’ve already broken up while “Fyne Shit Paradise” dedicates itself all to the fellas that got their heart broken & still can’t leave shorty alone.

Finally nears further towards Slutty Bass’ conclusion, “Nobody Land” vents the hatred he has for someone he used to love more than himself that was seeing somebody else while “Best Birthday Ever” tries to make his create his own version of tracks like “B.B. (Birthday Bitch)” by Krizz Kaliko & T-Pain or “Ratchet Happy Birthday”, the latter being one of Drake’s worst songs. “Party 4 Martians” uneventfully ends the album boasting he has 54 bitches on his dick, wanting to get naughty with all of them.

In no way am I trying to insinuate that I don’t like Atlanta or Miami bass because there’s a handful of music taking inspiration from both of those scenes that I enjoy, but Slutty Bass feels like Tory Lanez taking both of those styles & doing what artists like Cash Cobain or even Chow Lee have been doing with sexy drill for the past couple years. The lyrics are pretty much what I expected out of the 1 Umbrella Records founder this deep in his career & the production continues to top itself in terms of being uninteresting.

Score: 1/5

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Sunn O))) – Self-Titled review

Sunn O))) is a drone metal duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of bassists/guitarists Greg Anderson & Stephen O’Malley. Their full-length debut ØØ Void & the sophomore effort Flight of the Behemoth respectively were both solid, dropping the latter under Southern Lord Records. White1 alongside its sequel White2 & more specifically Black One all increased their popularity, the latter being my favorite in the Sunn O))) catalog. Oracle was great too, following it up with their 2nd best in my opinion: Monoliths & Dimensions. 观世音 however might be the band’s worst, coming off the more positively received Life Metal & Pyroclasts to make their Sub Pop Records debut with their 11th studio LP.

“XXANN” epically kicks things off with this 18 & a half minute drone metal composition whereas the doom metal-influenced “Does Anyone Hear Like Venom?” comes through with an ode to the pioneering black metal band Venom. The hypnotically repetitive 2nd & final single “Butch’s Guns” ends the 1st leg containing some of the strongest riffs throughout the full-length prior to “Mindrolling” experimenting with nature recordings. “Everrett Moses” continues the other half blending doom metal & dark ambient while “Glory Black” ends with a fusion of drone metal, ambient, nature recordings & impressionism reminiscent of Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version.

Life Metal was easily the most I’ve personally enjoyed a Sunn O))) album since Monoliths & Dimensions, but Pyroclasts was almost as great & this new eponymous offering from the drone metal veterans demonstrates Greg Anderson & Stephen O’Malley willingness to evolve their unmistakable sound into bold new forms. Their Sub Pop debut predominantly takes it back to their roots m outside of the dark ambient, nature recordings, drone, doom metal, ambient & impressionism undertones handling all of the instrumentation by themselves rather than bringing some outside collaborators in.

Score: 4.5/5

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Thundercat – “Distracted” review

Los Angeles, California musician, singer/songwriter & producer Thundercat returning for his 5th studio LP. Emerging in the 2000s as the bassist for Suicidal Tendencies, he would subsequently sign to Brainfeeder Records & make his full-length debut The Golden Age of Apocalypse nearly a week before I started high school. He would follow it up with the sophomore effort Apocalypse a couple summers later & his debut extended play The Beyond / Where the Giants Grow a month succeeding my graduation became popular due to the inclusion of his most lauded single “Them Changes”. It would eventually be included on Drunk, which is his most cohesive musical statement & an essential within the Brainfeeder discography. It Is What It Is mourned the loss of his friend Mac Miller & he’s having Greg Kurstin produce most of Distracted.

“Candlelight” gets things going with this smooth R&B intro singing about a lighting burning at both ends whereas “No More Lies” co-produced by Tame Impala fuses psychedelic soul, neo-psychedelia, boogie, synth-funk & synthpop suggesting he’s better off staying on his own. “She Knows Too Much” by Mac Miller blends funk, neo-soul, pop rap, jazz rap, jazz-funk & disco rap to talk about a woman out of his league leading into “I Did This to Myself” featuring Lil Yachty hops over a Flying Lotus instrumental combining neo-soul, funk, nu disco & disco rap to discuss relationships.

A$AP Rocky appears on “Funny Friends” rapping & singing about being homies until the very end just before the yacht rock-tinged “What’s Left to Say?” courtesy of Kenny Beats assures this person that the can spend their whole lives trying to figure out how they feel inside even if it’s a lie. “I Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time” goes for a psychedelic neo-soul vibe with hints of jazz fusion & synth-funk addressing an ex-girlfriend of his while “Anakin Learns His Fate” compares himself to Darth Vader from the original Star Wars trilogy.

“Walking on the Moon” calmingly kicks off the 2nd half singing about a woman who takes him higher while “This Thing We Call Love” featuring Channel Tres tells their partners to take their time since it’s only them. “ThunderWave” featuring Willow Smith experiments with neo-soul, neo-psychedelia, tribal ambient, nature recordings, chillout & new age yearning for their lovers to hold them until reaching shore while “Pozole” suggests maybe he’s out of touch & only showing this person exactly who he is.

The song “A.D.D. Through the Roof” embraces a neo-soul sound talking about his attention deficit disorder going insane while “Great Americans sings over 1 last FlyLo beat about everything he does being a learned behavior of it’s own & landing on his feet every time he continues to fuck up. The self-produced closer “You Left Without Saying Goodbye” concludes the album clarifying that he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, hinting at posting his feet on OnlyFans being his new side hustle.

Exactly 6 years to the day since his previous full-length, Distracted could be my least favorite installment in Thundercat’s discography although there are some tracks I see myself revisiting & enjoyed it top to bottom slightly less than Big Mama last month. Greg Kurstin’s production culminates in psychedelic soul, neo-soul, alternative R&B, progressive soul, pop soul, jazz rap, nu jazz, synth-funk, jazz-funk, smooth soul, neo-psychedelia, boogie, synthpop, funk, pop rap, jazz fusion, disco rap, funk music, nu disco, tribal ambient, nature recordings, chillout, new age & yacht rock capturing the tensions between overstimulation & introspection.

Score: 3.5/5

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Giffy Pluggo – “The Layoff: No Hooks” review

Here is the 4th extended play from Chicago, Illinois emcee & ATIP Records founder Giffy Pluggo. Emerging a few years ago off his debut mixtape Paid Leave & its sequel put out an expanded version of his debut album Los Pluggos followed by Pluggo’s Birthday & Douda respectively. The latter mostly produced by Myles & becoming the most beloved entry in his discography thus far, coming off a Luxury Manifesto almost 9 months prior to break down The Layoff: No Hooks.

“Notice Received” recalls the very moment he was let go from his day job over a crooning vocal sample talking about this only being an overview of the feature presentation whereas “Overqualified” goes for a chipmunk soul vibe instrumentally boasts of copping a Cybertruck when I personally think they look like refrigerators although I don’t mind the interface of it. “Division Shut Down” talks about knowing your worth & labels having to pay him in advance while “Out Here” includes a dope bar referring to Ye’s debut The College Dropout.

Global appears on the song “Pink Slip Poetry” shifting towards a cloudier direction with the beat talking about the Cybertruck that Giffy copped earlier being unable to fit in his garage & considering it to be the problems of a baller while “Exit Strategy” incorporates some warm synthesizers so he can speak of growing up on a different type of block. “Restructured” spends the last few minutes of the EP announcing that Paid Leave 3 will be arriving soon over a drumless loop & going through a lot to get to where he’s at presently.

Giffy Pluggo has also confirmed that he’s working on something with Drumwork Music Group founder Conway the Machine as we speak & I look toward to that considering that the Black Soprano Family Records collaborations happened through him opening for Benny the Butcher several time. And in light of him getting laid off from his job, The Layoff: No Hooks rebuilds himself in real time & this improvement above Luxury Manifesto EP is only the beginning of this new era in his career. The production’s an improvement above the predecessor & conceptually, he’s taking a piece of the moment when life flips on us & we have to decide whether to fold or level up.

Score: 4/5

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LIFEOFTHOM – “Re-Route: Reflection” review

This is the 6th extended play from New York City emcee LIFEOFTHOM. Coming up in the late 2010s off his first couple EPs Thomas & Robot Jesus, he would go on to release 3 more in Floor 11 as well as Room 44 & Cocotaso respectively. Driving Blind produced by Plain Pat following an appearance on Lørd Skø’s sophomore effort United Palace has since become his most acclaimed material & Re-Route: Reflection produced by Supah Mario looks to reach that same pedestal.

“Can’t Help” featuring Meechy Darko gets things going with this gritty boom bap beat talking about being outside looking for the hard play whereas “Monday” goes for a summery vibe instrumentally telling this woman he can’t live without her. “The World is Yours” shift towards a cloudier direction realizing that it seems like he doesn’t need the internet anymore & “Grape Vine” ties it all up in the form of this boom bap outro talking about him staying asking questions because answering them is a bonus.

LIFEOFTHOM already has 5 other EPs he’s given over the course of this ongoing decade & I might not have Re-Route: Reflection above Driving Blind, but it’s pretty close & continues to dent more cracks into realizing his true potential than a lot of his earlier output a decade ago. There’s more of an obvious reflective approach to his songwriting & Supah Mario’s production is more lenient towards the trap sound he’s become known for over the course of a decade.

Score: 4/5

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Tony Shhnow – “Flood” review

New surprise LP & the 9th altogether from Atlanta, Georgia plugg pioneer Tony Shhnow. Being introduced to his music after my younger brother J$zpiech showed me his 4th mixtape Black Billionaires Club & the song “Vet” off the full-length debut Da World’s Ours 3, he then continued to turn heads with his 8th mixtape Reflexions to critical acclaim & I honestly wish I covered it considering that some of his best songs are on there like “Finessin’” or “Forgive Don’t Forget”. He would return to his plugg roots on the BeatPluggz produced Plug Motivation, Love Streak showed a more sensual side to him, Shadowbanned 2 dabbled with new sounds, the self-produced #NoOneElse was a step above Out the Woods & painted an introspective Self Portrait produced by Mike & Keys last fall. Looking to end the 1st quarter of 2026 though, Flood has dropped without any further warning.

“HWYC (Intro)” hops over a horn-inflicted trap instrumental to get the tape started talking about going hard whereas “Redbone” goes for a pluggier vibe admitting that he can slow done if he wants to, but has no plans of stopping. “Look Good” featuring ManMan Savage finds the 2 decently talking about making names of themselves around their neck of the woods until “Fuck You Mean” combines some synths & pianos shouting out a bunch of local labels who paved the way for him.

Dreek Jones joins Tony for “Salt Kills Snails” produced by Earl on the Beat moderately talking about getting so high in the morning to the point where neither of them can tell if it’s real or not while “No Plans” featuring Heartless Kid admits to turning down certain artists when their music comes on because they aren’t saying anything. “Priceless” has a cloudier sound to it talking about paying the price to become a boss just before “Road Rage” featuring D.R.A.M. & YoDogg references WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T over a soul sample.

“Legend Has It” featuring Luh Tyler kicks off the 2nd half with both of them talking about dying as street celebrities if their music careers don’t pan out the way they hope while “Need Me a Milli” cautions that things will get sticky for those who dare to run on him. “Pushin’ Player” featuring Ebo Sosa brings both of them together to talk about giving their demons Hell instead of fighting them these days while “Stackin’ & Flippin’” incorporates some synth-horns making bread whilst waiting for what’s his.

Jose Guapo’s feature on “Fa Nun” might be favorite throughout Flood, pairing to discuss that they ain’t turning up for nothing while “Seeumsayin” hops over some creepy synthesizer melodies getting on his gangsta shit lyrically. “Too Much” experiments with a jazzier approach instrumentally talking about some doing more for the goes than they should be & the outro “Spare Change” speaks of some being too weak over a woodwind.

Tony Shhnow has always been one of the most consistent artists in the entire plugg subgenre, but Flood would have to rank amongst the weaker entries of his discography although it contains slightly more highs than lows. He’s rapping his ass off & the varied production are both 2 of the biggest pros this album has going for it, except the half where he’s killing it by himself feels a lot stronger than the other half where he’s running laps around his guests.

Score: 3/5

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