Action Figure 973 – “Luchador Body Odor” review

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the 11th EP from Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973. For a while at this point, his first couple mixtapes followed by his last 10 EPs & the full-length debut DOOM Was Right almost 8 months ago giving flowers to one of my all-time personal favorite albums Madvillainy have each established himself as a promisingly skilled luchador who so happens to rap. The Most Interesting Man in the World got with Machacha for his sophomore effort in October, coming off last week’s Lucha Libre for the Soul sequel Lucha Libra for Christmas to air out some Luchador Body Odor.

The title track after the “Vaginal Monologue” intro begins with a drumlessly jazzy opener referencing 3-time WWE women’s world champions & WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins alongside the late former WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Chris Kanyon whereas “Gorgeous Gino” featuring Apito Goiez works in a bare chipmunk soul sample honoring the late WCCW performer Gino Hernandez & includes a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart during Act-Lo’s verse.

“Cashmere Coat” soulfully homages the late 3-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, NWA National Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, WWE United States Champion, 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & 3-time WCW World Television Champion Dusty Rhodes and the oldest AEW World Tag Team Champion, former 2-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, TNA Hall of Famer, 4-time TNA World Champion, TNA World Tag Team Champion, 8-time WCW world champion, WCW World Television Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Famer & 2-time WWE United States Champion Sting.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)’s flagship program iMPACT! set to make it’s amc debut in a couple weeks gets shouted out near the end of “Veteran’s Locker Room” talking about only a select few having the capability of making waves while “Le Lutteur Et La Rose” featuring Ali De Leon references the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Women’s Champion & 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Chyna as well as WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Women’s Champion & WWE Cruiserweight Champion Alundra Blayze and the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, 2-time ECW World Television Champion & AAA Mundial Parejas Campeon Eddie Guerrero.

“Lorenzo Castro” carries over the drumless chipmunk soul vibes speaking of him feeling like 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin on top of wanting to sell out MSG like the late 3-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff did while “Sinner’s Prayer” featuring Tree Mason acknowledges the disgraced former IWGPジュニアヘビー級王座, 2-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion & 3-time WCW World Television Champion Chris Benoit.

Former 10-time WWE world champion & UFC Heavyweight Champion in both TKO Group Holdings divisions & former IWGPヘビー級王座 Brock Lesnar gets referenced right at the beginning of the chipmunk soul outro “All Gas No Breaks” as does his wife in former WWE Women’s Champion Sable followed by the oldest WWE Speed Champion & former 4-time WWE tag team champion Chad Gable and former DEFY Tag Team Champion, HoG Heavyweight Champion, the longest reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion, MLW National Openweight Champion, WWE United States Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion Jacob Fatu. Can’t forget the nod to 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair either.

The current 新日本プロレス President, former 8-time IWGPヘビー級王座, 2-time IWGPインターコンチネンタル王座, 3-time IWGP USヘビー級王座, 新日本プロレス世界TV王座, 3-time IWGPタッグ王座, NEVER無差別級王座, NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座, GHCタッグ王座, CMLL Mundial Parejas Campeon, CMLL Mundial Trios Campeon & RPW British Heavyweight Champion 棚橋弘至 being retired by the current AEW International Champion オカダ・カズチカ at Wrestle Kingdom 20 is one of my most anticipated bouts this weekend along with the current IWGP世界ヘビー級王座竹下幸之介 facing the current IWGPグローバルなヘビー級王座辻陽太. In preparation, Action Figure 973 surprises us with an EP’s worth of tracks filled with decent guests & witty lyricism accompanied by slickly soulful production.

Score: 3.5/5

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Babystaydown – “I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain)” review

Here is the 16th EP from Athens, Georgia up-&-comer Babystaydown. Someone who’s had over a dozen extended plays under his belt already including PL Top Recruits, 1,350, Drugz Sex & Money and it’s sequel, 17, Genesis, his Cegular Records/Sony Music debut Hate da Way Um Livin, Saint, Pain Before Pleasure, Chief 13, Aimai, I.L.M.F. (I Love My Friends), ##Kool ##Kat & the Lost Files duology. However, his full-length debut Born Anew this spring maintained the same level as all 8 of his EPs on Cegular in terms of propelling his status in the underground & the same can be said regarding the sophomore effort Art of War a couple months ago, telling us I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) after him & labelmate Pradabagshawty fell out with each other last month.

“Bigger” kicks it all off with a cloudy trap instrumental produced by Whyceg talking about his payroll becoming a lot larger whereas “Sedated” atmospherically speaks of a woman doing him crazy placing him on the blocklist. “Pill Type” goes for a pluggier vibe confessing to never feeling right whenever he took opioids prior to Traiqo shifting “Like I Know” towards an exuberant trap direction talking about him promising he’d give a bitch the entire world.

Starting the 2nd act, “Pain” tells us of him having some shit going on with his heart which he likes to call suffering just before “Idk You” talks about those trying to copy him not having any longevity approaching the final half of this decade. “Slime Examination” has another standout beat courtesy of Ayelavish! promising the world he won’t ever let the game change him & “Drug Addiction” sends off the EP reuniting with his mentor Whyceg for 1 last time explaining he can’t give a hoe all his love because she’ll most likely hit the clubs immediately.

Cegular Records has put a lot of great effort into proving why both Babystaydown & Pradabagshawty have become amongst the most exciting new plugg artists in 2025 from Red Flags & Roses to Art of War so it sucks a collab project probably won’t come to fruition, but it is what it is & I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) finishes the Sony Music imprint’s biggest year strongly. We get more of an introspective approach to Babystaydown’s songwriting & there’s a similar consistency between the production here & its predecessor couple months earlier.

Score: 4/5

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$uicideboy$ – “Thy Will Be Done” review

New Orleans, Louisiana duo & G*59 Record$ founders the $uicideboy$ consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim surprise-dropping their 6th studio LP on Christmas Day. In over a decade, they have given a plethora of projects whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even the debut album I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering followed as did Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation along with New World Depression. In what was supposed to be a 2nd disc of Thy Kingdom Come back in August, the boy$ have decided to make Thy Will Be Done a stand-alone sequel of it’s own.

“Leviticus” starts off with a grisly trap instrumental produced by none other than $crim asking for God to send a flood to wash their sins away whereas “2009 Reggie Bush” goes for a Memphis vibe asking for everyone to get off their dicks. “Bloodsweat” aggressively talks about having the balls to die where they stand unlike others although the homophobic bar was cringe leading into the dirty south flavored “Angel Grove” coming at my 2nd favorite song observing the plot twist of them sacrificing themselves to the world.

Reaching the halfway point, “Whatever Floats Your Boat Will Definitely Sink My Ship” takes a melodic approach in terms of delivery over a blend of hi-hats & a guitar singing about not wanting to be this afraid of the dark while the tropical trap atmosphere of “MSY” begins the 2nd leg talking about spending the past decade of their lives using metaphors to express the way they’ve been feeling. My favorite song has easily gotta be “Old Addicts, New Habits” from the experimentation of trap & jazz rap to the lyrics representing the Northside like they’ve done so their whole careers.

“Frenzy” energetically kicks off the encore of Thy Will Be Done with another top 3 moment in my opinion looking to fuck shit up harder than a Hurricane swapping out the hi-hats in favor of some 808s while “Hypernormalisation” eerily embarks on a trip to the Southside & preferring euthanasia over getting high. “Fuck Ups” finishes off with a hypnotic phonk beat giving middle fingers to 5-0 & hanging out with the fiends because those’re the kind of people they came up with.

This new half hour collection of ideas from the $uicideboy$ carries over the ethos of Thy Kingdom Come almost 5 months ago & it most certainly would enhance the quality if it were an expansion of that predecessor since that was the original plan, but I can’t blame Ruby da Cherry or $crim for spinning Thy Will Be Done off into a completely separate album by itself due to them offering a sequel that progresses beyond the original cohesively. $crim’s production explores the sounds of Memphis rap, trap, phonk, dirty south, jazz rap & a small dosage of trap metal further embracing their new sense of spirituality.

Score: 4.5/5

King Chip – “Gift Raps 2: Rapping Paper” review

King Chip is a 39 year old rapper from Cleveland, Ohio notable for being 1/2 of The Almighty GloryUS alongside KiD CuDi. In almost 2 decades, he’s also carved a path of his out by putting out 7 mixtapes as well as a couple full-lengths & EPs with the most recent being the 2023 sophomore effort Charles Worth. For his 9th mixtape however, Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids has locked in with Chip tha Ripper for a sequel to the latter’s most celebrated body of work on Christmas Day: Gift Raps.

“Take Your Turn” begins with a synthesizer-based boom bap instrumental drawing a line between either being with him or standing in his way just before Denzel Curry, Larry June & for some pointless reason MGK all join Chip for the 4th installment of the “Fat Raps” saga. “Don’t Ask Me for No Money” smoothly makes it clear that doesn’t want anybody coming up to him if the only thing they want is the cash while the funky “Jake” talks about not hanging around weirdos.

As for “These Days”, we have Chuck sonically shifting things back to a boom bap vibe so Chip can tell the audience how he’s been living lately just before “Put Your Seatbelt On” rambunctiously speaks of acting wild for an entire weekend. “I’m Like” featuring Symba takes the pop rap/trap direction in general going through their partners’ phones & after the “Cleveland Bih” interlude, “Toss It” pushes the 2nd half forward with an 109 second strip club anthem.

“Poison Around Me” talks about the difficulty of finding something to eat when he’s surrounded by nothing but toxins while “Ice Cold Night (Santa Save Me)” asks for St. Nicholas to come out & pay him for being so good as of late. “Serial Vibe Kiler” vivid takes a couple minutes to the story of a buzzkill & appropriately, the outro serves as a sequel to the original Gift Raps’ closer “The Bio” taking an introspective approach to the songwriting.

Charles Worth marked a decent return for King Chip a couple years earlier, but Gift Raps 2: Rapping Paper celebrates the holiday season with a successor to Chip’s most celebrated body of work that lives up to the hype of it’s predecessor during my adolescence when I was finishing up middle school. Chuck Inglish gives him the most consistent batch of beats we’ve heard the Cleveland artist rhyming over in quite some time & Chip tha Ripper’s at the hungriest he’s been all decade.

Score: 4.5/5

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Eddie Kaine – “12/24: The Night Before” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Eddie Kaine celebrating Christmas Eve with his 3rd mixtape. Turning heads at the beginning of the decade off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced debut A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the next couple albums Wonderful World of Kaino & Chosen were both moderately received until the Finn-produced Quincy Street Blues marked a return to form for Eddie in my opinion. Last Exit to Crooklyn was a mature sequel to his inaugural full-length, coming off Crown Me Kaine & the Play for Keeps EP by enlisting Wavy da Ghawd for 12/24 sequel The Nightmare Before.

After the “Winter’s Coming” intro, the first song “Don’t Count Me Out” jumps over a jazzy boom bap instrumental to get us started officially advising that he shouldn’t ever be doubted prior to “By the Window” dustily talking about heading towards another block if shit starts to get hot. “Rare Form 2” serves as a sequel to a highlight off the original 12/24 boasting that his pen’s truly 1 of a kind while “98” talks about the game looking like the late 90s from his perspective.

“No Replacement” works in some strings so he can clarify that he & his squad are unsatisfied living basically leading into “Ace Bailey” incorporates a soul sample to talk about having to toughen up because everyone he grew up around got popped referencing the Utah Jazz’ small forward. “We on It” featuring Wish Master comes together so they can speak of having things good in the US while the “Smoke Break” feels less of an interlude & more like a brief trap freestyle.

Kicking off the final leg, “Cabin Fever / Young Veteran 2” splits itself in 2 different halves & the 2nd part of it most notably picking up where another 12/24 song “Young Veteran” left off thematically while “Never Late” soulfully talks about always being on time. “24” spends the next 76 seconds asking who else out here’s going harder than him & “Snowy Nights” finishes The Night Before recalling the cold winter evenings he spent hustling solely so he could get by.

Celebrating 5 years of 12/24 to the very day, Eddie Kaine recaptures the holiday season themes of The Night Before’s predecessor by reuniting with Wavy da Ghawd for a sequel that takes every enjoyable quality the previous entry had going for it & pushing it forward. Wish Master has the only guest verse since the other 2 features handle chorus duties for their contributions unlike the previous chapter near 2020’s conclusion, but Wavy’s production boom bap production feels like a big improvement above Play for Keeps’ earlier this spring & Kaine does a solid job at recapturing the Christmas themes.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jason Martin – “A Lonely Winter” review

Compton, California emcee, songwriter & producer Jason Martin celebrating Christmas Eve with his 6th EP. Originally known under the moniker Problem, he would go on to release over a dozen mixtapes as well as 4 full-length studio albums & his last 5 EPs. I can’t forget to mention both collaborative efforts DJ Quik, the first being Rosecrans back in 2017 & the follow-up Chupacabra days before Kendrick Lamar’s now historic 1-off Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum. Mike & Keys would be enlisted to produce Repack alongside A Hit Dog Gon Holla & Mafia Cafe, further celebrating the 10-year anniversary of O.T. (Outta Town) to detail A Lonely Winter.

The self-produced intro “Stop Playin’ with Me” featuring co-production from Mike & Keys instrumentally reminds me of something Scott Storch would’ve made in the 2000s sending a clear message to a toxic bitch whereas “Queen Latifah” after the “Home Alone with Precious” skit blends nervous & Mobb music together talking about how living single got this woman living bad. To conclude the 1st half however, we have Jason letting Candice Boyd shine on the mic for the a capella R&B tune “Think About Me”.

“Santa or Nah” kicks off the 3rd quarter going for a drumless chipmunk soul vibe working in a crooning sample finding himself caught between facts & feelings leading into the gospel-influenced “OK (R.I.P.)” promising on his mother’s grave that everything’s gonna be alright, remembering loved ones who left sooner than expected. “Suspect” soulfully talks about looking in the mirror daily ready for showtime while “If You Need That” finishes A Lonely Winter not wanting beef with a dumbass or anything negative that comes with ‘em.

I have to agree with the homie Westside Bear a.k.a. BelowTheHipHop for recently saying that Jason Martin’s last couple of extended plays A Hit Dog Gon Holla & Mafia Cafe are being slept-on by a majority of heads because they both prove he doesn’t need to rely on a heavy list of guests to make an enjoyable listening experience. That said: A Lonely Winter differs from it’s predecessors by enlisting a feature or 2 to join him in taking listeners on a journey to explore the stresses some go through during the holiday season regardless if it’s past or present.

Score: 4/5

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Action Figure 973 – “Lucha Libre for Christmas” review

Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973 celebrating the holiday season a couple days early with his 10th EP. For a while at this point, Act-Lo’s first 2 mixtapes followed by his last 9 EPs & the full-length debut DOOM Was Right merely 7 months ago giving flowers to one of my all-time personal favorite albums Madvillainy have each established himself as a promisingly skilled luchador who so happens to rap. It’s almost been a few months since The Most Interesting Man in the World got with Machacha for his sophomore effort & is ready to spit game on Lucha Libra for Christmas over a week after former PWG World Champion, record-tying 2-time World Heavyweight Champion & the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther retired former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII.

After the intro, “Noche Buena” begins with this drumless chipmunk soul opener referencing WWE Hall of Famer & 4-time WWE tag team champion Chief Jay Strongbow whereas “DOOM’s Xmas Special on [adult swim]” works in a piano so he can take a second to address Westside Gunn & the WWE’s ongoing beef. “Christmas Coal” soulfully refers to the anaconda vice submission hold that was popularized by 8-time WWE world champion CM Punk while “Turbo Man” talks about being chased like he’s the fictional Jingle All the Way superhero starring WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Wrestling on Christmas” continues the sampling shouting out the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE United States Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Rick Rude near the end just before “Bad Santas” featuring Lord Juco compares themselves to the main characters of the titular holiday comedy crime film. “Batman Smells” featuring Malcolm Sef references WWE Hall of Famer & 2-time WWE women’s world champion Nikki Bella at the backend of it but prior to the “Yule Log” outro, the final song “Chinese Turkey” featuring Hound caps it all off with a drumless outro talking about not grinding this hard to stay the same.

Coming off the Thank God for Fania beat tape on Black Friday last month, Action Figure 973 gets back on the mic & links back up with Circa ‘97 for a holiday-themed sequel to Lucha Libre for the Soul roughly 48 hours away from solstice itself. Certainly a treat for those looking forward to those watching Carmelo Hayes ending Илья́ Драгунов‘s reign as WWE United States Champion this weekend or the longest reigning AEW World Champion MJF getting payback on Samoa Joe by defeating the current 2-time titleholder at World’s End III.

Score: 3.5/5

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Polo G – “H.O.O.D. P.O.E.T. 2 (He Overcame Obstacles During Pain Or Emotional Trauma) 2” review

Brand new LP & the 6th overall from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & record executive Polo G. Rising to prominence in 2019 off his full-length debut Die a Legend which I personally found it to be decent, it wasn’t until the sophomore effort The GOAT the subsequent spring where I noticed some significant improvements. Hall of Fame & it’s sequel on the contrary were both released to mixed reception in 2021, redeeming himself to me anyway as the H.O.O.D. P.O.E.T. (He Overcame Obstacles During Pain Or Emotional Trauma) a year & a half ago. Last week however, he announced a follow-up to the latter & gave me hopes of him continuing to head down the right direction musically.

“Painkillers” produced by Smatt Sertified actually starts off pretty solidly talking about being a Chiraq veteran who sticks his chest out when speaking prior to “Move Wrong” sampling “Lay It Down” by 8Ball & MJG featuring Crime Boss so he & VonOff1700 can ruin it. “Hard Body” blends acoustics & hi-hats talking about him continuing to follow paper trails while “Crash the Party” sends 100 rounds with no fucks given.

The instrumental on “Chances” doesn’t really do a whole lot for me & it’s a shame because I feel like the subject matter of him taking risks to get where he is comes from a serious place until the 6th & final single “Gangsta Graduation” featuring G Herbo talks about making out of the streets over an equally uninteresting beat. The 3rd single “Chinatown 2” picks up where The GOAT standout left off conceptually although I’d very much prefer the original just before “Lost My Friend” works in some average sampling masking the pain of a colleague he ain’t cool with anymore.

“High Tolerance” was obviously chosen for the 5th & penultimate single due to it’s predictable sound although I’m not gonna dismiss the idea of him being used to emotional struggles while “If I Gat To” speaks of his belief that we all face common battles, which I can agree to a certain extent. “Shoot It Off” made for an average 2nd single blending gangsta rap & trap figuring why this person he knew chose to speak if he has the right to remain silent while “1 More Time” confesses he thinks it’s fucked up the way a homie thinks he see shit.

Meanwhile on “Insubordinate”, we have Polo G talking about going from only wanting millions of dollars in cash to solely desiring peace while the 4th single “Quality Over Quantity” comes off a bit ironic since one could use that title in an argument regarding this spiritual successor being less enjoyable than the predecessor. “Dope Peddler” calls himself a cocaine specialist when I’d personally give that title to Clipse while moving forward asking who’s “Left to Blame” when he’s down & out.

“Boring Soul” surprises me with one of the more appealing moments instrumentally talking about being an uninteresting person on the inside advising to never put somebody before yours due to him not seeing a lot of people he knew anymore while the lead single “My All” was my favorite of them all from the Southside & TM88 beat to the lyrics about his struggles with love while “Spiritual War” talks about the reason why he’s been having the feelings he’s been experiencing.

King Von makes a posthumous appearance during “95 Bulls” & that itself is basically Polo G’s eulogy to his late friend who was killed half a decade ago already that I can admire for what it is while “Madden” boasts of him always making his opposition the angriest. “Rent Due” concludes H.O.O.D. P.O.E.T. 2 (He Overcame Obstacles During Pain Or Emotional Trauma) 2 dropping off 3 verses straight without a chorus sticking to a vow he made of not folding.

I’m very well aware I’m in the minority of the original H.O.O.D. P.O.E.T. (He Overcame Obstacles During Pain Or Emotional Trauma) being an improvement over both Hall of Fame albums, but at least Southside producing 72% of it gave it something going for it & a great deal of this sequel over an entire year later has very little purpose to it besides a small handful of tracks. The topics addressed are still the ones he’s basically become known for except the production has downgraded tremendously.

Score: 1.5/5

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Lee Carver – “Meathead: Satanic Steakhouse” review

Dayton, Ohio emcee Lee Carver returning over a decade after his solo debut Massacre Mask to drop a sophomore effort. Becoming the 3rd & final member to join the almighty Alla Xul Elu, they have become a groundbreaking act within the underground wicked shit scene since 2018 known for combining sharp horrorcore lyrics with boom bap & industrial hip hop instrumentation. Billy Obey wound up making his solo debut Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased a few months earlier & for my personal favorite of the group to drop Meathead: Satanic Steakhouse less than a couple weeks left of 2025 felt like a great way for Xul to finish their year.

After the “Dead Air” intro, the first song “What’s on the Menu?” begins with an eerie boom bap instrumental welcoming customers to Skinner’s Family Steakhouse leading into “Meathead’s Theme” serving as the soundtrack tune of the Meathead character that Carver’s portraying. “Spill the Blood” gives off a demonic boom bap atmosphere talking about a severed pig’s head in the closet surrounded by candles while “VHS” continues the horrorcore themes chopping up bodies.

“Mooder’z Kidz Club” suggests for all the children to laugh at the silly cow dinner theater so he can direct his focus towards drowning out all the screams of his victims just before “Taxidermy” embraces a hellish boom bap vibe talking about the world being so cold that it should be on a meathook. “Get Back Here, You Bitch!” after the “Serial Killer Support Group” skit turns up the eeriness stalking women who’re hard to get while “The Microwave Massacre” slaughtering people in a spectacular fashion.

The track “Time 2 Eat” begins the last 8 minutes of Massacre Mask’s spiritual successor talking about being stuck in this continuous cycle that doesn’t even feel like reality from his perspective & prior to the “End Credits” outro, the final song “Dear Policeman” appropriately finishes up delivering Meathead’s manifesto in the midst of him getting chased by authorities & declaring that he has no remorse for all that he’s done.

A lot has changed for Lee Carver both artistically & personally within the last 10 years, but I had already expected Meathead: Satanic Steakhouse to surpass Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased & that’s what it pretty much did although I’d very much say the latter isn’t too far behind. The production is more centered around the traditional boom bap sound as opposed to secondarily incorporating some of Alla Xul Elu’s industrial influences & Carver’s cohesive concept makes it feel like a horror movie in audio form.

Score: 4.5/5

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Z-Ro – “Unappreciated” review

Houston, Texas emcee & singer/songwriter Z-Ro celebrating another winter with his 28th studio LP. A member of the Screwed Up Click collective, he’s been holding it down for 3 decades already whether it be the Rap-A-Lot Records debut & my personal favorite in his discography The Life of Joseph W. McVey or his output as part of the Guerilla Maab & later the duo ABN. He dropped both The Ghetto Gospel & Call Me Rother last year, venting 53 weeks later that he feels Unappreciated.

“KKK” begins with a bluesy trap intro airing out his grievances towards crooked cops in light of it already being half a decade since his SUC brethren Big Floyd was murdered until “Famous Again” goes for a cloudier trap vibe instrumentally talking about his detractors giving him free promo because they have no motion. “I’m Tryin’” blends soul & gospel wanting his people to know that he’s been doing his best in case this is the last we’ll hear from him while the summery “So So” tells us the way he’s been feeling.

As for “Do Less”, we have Z-Ro continuing to jump over atmospheric trap beats talking about minimizing his output if it turns out people don’t appreciate everything he’s doing while “Would’ve Known” swaps out the cloudiness in favor of more gospel influences pondering if he would’ve still done the shit he did if others were already aware that he’d be gone. “Ro Come Bacc” brings back the soul suggesting for people to never return if they ain’t feelin’ him no more just before “Me Against All Y’all” aggressively channeling his inner 2Pac.

“Gotta Maintain” pushes the 2nd half forward reminding himself of keeping his composure because the rest of the world doesn’t want to see him shine while “Heart of a Hustler” featuring Lil’ Keke has my favorite guest appearance of the 4, talking about the grind always being in their hearts & instrumentally fusing soul with trap. “I Swear” featuring Kook has an admirable theme of betrayal & the latter also delivering a solid verse, but I can’t say the same regarding Yella Fella’s contribution to “Don’t Judge Me” despite the subject matter.

The song “On My Side” gets Unappreciated’s final moments blending the Houston sound with dirty south aesthetics talking about keeping a firearm close to him while the funky trap hybrid “Do You” assures the world that success is making sure your loved ones are good as opposed to having a private-gated estate. “Too Much Patron” finishes up advising to be left alone because he’s in his zone smoking the most potent weed he could get his hands on & drinking tequila.

Call Me Rother still has moments that I’ll go back to every now & then but a lot like his ABN partner-in-rhyme Trae tha Truth put out a late career highlight with the love letter to his daughter Angel on his birthday this summer, Z-Ro has done the exact same thing except he’s reiterating the statement of him becoming Unappreciated in recent memory hinting at retirement once again like he did thorough the last album of his I enjoyed this much initially did: No Love Boulevard.

Score: 4/5

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