New surprise extended play from Detroit trap outfit the WRLD Tour Mafia consisting of Rafa, DaeMoney, WTM Solid, WTM Miles, WTM Re, WTM Amex & WTM Bankroll. Originally forming in 2019, they dropped their debut mixtape World Tour Mafia or Die a couple summers later followed by Tourmania the fall after that & the Mob Ties EP. Tourmania II marked DaeMoney’s final appearance as a member until his initial departure, returning after Blood, Sweat, Tours & C.$.B. (Cross $tate Boys) strictly For the Fans.
“Common Name” by Rafa & WTM Solid starts us off with both of them trading bars with each other whereas “Tour Signs” by DaeMoney, Rafa & WTM Miles produced by the latter alongside LulRose gets back to basics reppin’ the team. “Never Seen B4” by WTM Re & WTM Solid talks about pulling off shit they haven’t done previously but once “Quarter Zip” by Rafa & WTM Amex gets on their gangsta shit together, “Goated” ends the EP with a proper posse cut.
These guys’ last couple of full-lengths each have their fair share of tracks I still revisit even if I wouldn’t rank either of them in the same category as the Tourmania series & For the Fans dethrones the original Mob Ties to become the WRLD Tour Mafia’s greatest EP, putting all the bullshit Rafa had with Slae aside for a celebratory reunion over this tight collection of beats catered to none other than the Detroit sound giving the world only a taste of what we can expect from them hereon out.
This is the 5th extended play from Floridian recording artist bleood. Someone who’s debut EP Seal of Memories came out in the fall of 2023 followed by a handful of a-side/b-side singles preceding the Rascal 51 as well as Pain & How Bleood Stole Xmas EPs respectively. Case in point: You Don’t Need Your Skin or the divisively received IDK I Can’t Say. Coming off both the Kill of B Killd & Protagonist EPs however, the wait until his debut album Kill Your Idols continues with Haunted Hills.
“Cryn Innis Coupe” produced by BenjiCold comes out the gate with my favorite song here from the rage beat to the lyrics about not wanting to feel useless whereas “fuk 12” gives off some digicore vibes wondering how many hoes he can fit inside his big body. “yung vocaloid” includes a cool Fortnite reference during the hook & after the bombastic “shellshocked” takes a more repetitive approach in terms of songwriting structuring, the closing track “she wanna” ends the EP detailing a woman who’d like to hop in his wraith.
Apparently we’ll finally get Kill Your Idols next month & regardless of some calling Protagonist the weakest EP in bleood’s discography, the warmer feedback Haunted Hills has been getting in comparison raises any expectations people have had for the LP until this point. The experimental rage, Chicago drill, cloud rap & free car music production still has a lot going for it & I can understand the criticisms surrounding the vocals even if I think he’s a superior performer than 2slimey.
Atlanta, Georgia rapper/producer Zukenee back for his 8th extended play. Starting in the spring of 2021 off his debut EP Undiscovered, he would continue to make a name for himself in the underground by putting out a couple more EPs in Castle & Playful alongside the debut mixtape Stop Playing. Subsequent exclusive singles like “OJAYS” & “Chest” would later become amongst his best singles since both of them were released in the span of a year & a half preceding Player Slayer. Guillotine, Birth of St. Slay, Slaytanic, Knight Shift, Eye Love U & Zuminati all followed & he’s coming off both entries of the Trapped in the Dungeon series to drop B4BB in preparation for Blunts & Blades.
“Pittslurgh” made for a vibrantly playful intro produced by Cade talking about being more geeked up than a nerd whereas “Chicken Tender” already wraps up the 1st half of B4BB showin’ off the ice shinin’ on his wrist right when he hops outta bed in the morning. “Bouncy House” kicks off the 2nd leg with the goofiest moment here & the only track Cade didn’t produce coincidentally talking about a ratchet hoe who’s convinced herself to be classy while the closer “Pahtment” discusses his swag originating from the apartments he grew up in.
Up until this point: I’ve said that Zuminati was the weakest thing Zukenee has done all year & unfortunately B4BB dethrones it with a 4-pack clocking in at less than 10 minutes that I’d put behind alongside Trapped in the Dungeon & it’s sequel. I’m still confident we’re gonna get something special out of Blunts & Blades and of course & the Cardo-produced Zudo, but Cade’s trap/pop rap production isn’t at his best despite handling 75% of it.
Bonobo is a 50 year old downtempo producer from Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom who made his full-length studio debut at the turn of the millennium with the widely praised Animal Magic preceding him signing to the London indie label Ninja Tune. Dial ‘M’ for Monkey as well as Days to Come & Black Sands all received similar reception despite The North Borders, Migration & Fragments respectively leaving people divided. The teasers building up towards his 8th & most likely final studio LP right here made for some of his most promising material in a long time & I had to find out whether or not those expectations were met.
After the “Dawn” intro, the opening composition “Cycles” lays out the stall quite well for what’s to come cooking up a house instrumental with some live strings in the fold whereas the 2nd single “Fire on the Water” by Arooj Aftab takes a more downtempo approach singing about a fire being set in the water. The 3rd single “Drift” was conceived after he was messing with a 70’s synthesizer feeling like a cross between Trentmøller & Moby while “Talk to Me” by Nicole Miglis blends UK garage, progressive breaks & 2-step to sing about loneliness.
“Uncasually” comes through with a powerful cross between house & techno remembering a friend of Bonobo’s who had passed away a few years ago just before “Always on Your Side” by Joy Crookes reaches the halfway point singing about feeling overwhelmed by the negativity in this world. “Youth’s Fountain” by Nilüfer Yanya hooks up a prominent acoustic guitar looking to do anything because this person’s too far to save her while “Shokoufeh” interestingly builds itself around sampling an Iranian caltax performer of the same name.
Aanya Martin takes the microphone for “Can’t You See” admitting that she hasn’t been herself while “ID700” pulls out the titular Buchla modular synth for one of my favorite tracks here largely in part of the psychedelic vibes. “Me & You” samples “Mother, I Will Reveal” by Amai Ndinlule for a passable deep tech & stutter house lead single but once “Equinoctial” layers some textual Japanese vocals performed by Ichiko Aoba over an ambient instrumental, “Mercury” enlists guitarist Kanako Yamamoto for a guzheng outro ending the album the way it began.
Closing the book on the traditional sense of what a Bonobo full-length is, this new era of mini-projects including extended plays going forward kicks off with a varied collection of material that’s mostly average compared to his other stuff. I can commend the electronic, downtempo, future garage, deep tech, deep house, new age, chamber folk, progressive house, trip hop, UK garage, progressive breaks, 2-step, stutter house, ambient & techno production searching for pieces of intimacy in something transcendentally vast even if Distance in Static feels equally safe as it’s predecessors for over a decade.
This is the 8th extended play from West Palm Beach, Florida rapper/producer vax. Someone who would eventually go on to drop his last 7 EPs since 2023 after beginning to make music at the age of 12 including New Jazz as well as Forgive My Sins & Pyramid Scheme, with Is This You? following my personal favorite of the bunch Throne. Coming off #B4BlueDawn along with the full-length debut Blue Dawn & more recently Steeze, a sophomore effort called Vaxination has begun being teased with B4VXN.
“Molly” incorporates this digicore instrumental to kick things off talking about stealing bitches & doing ecstasy with them prior to “Tony Montana” named after Scarface’s main character shouting out DC Studios CEO & Coyote vs. Acme producer/writer James Gunn. Hitting the midway point, “Sorry” hops over a rage beat so he can talk about knowing how to apologize while “AWOL”combines digicore & free car music admitting to being under the influence. “Dirty Ride” expresses his desires of becoming a wealthy corporate titan preceding “Trinity” featuring Westwood talks about wasting their time & ability on women who don’t love ‘em
Vaxination isn’t coming out until 2027 from what I understand so if this is the last time we’ll hear vax for the rest of the year, I’d say B4VXN gives us another brief dosage of decent rage/digicore similarly to the previous EP he put out earlier this summer. A large portion of the production other than the single was more uninteresting than Steeze a couple months ago but either way, I’ll give this the benefit of the doubt since I know he can make something that will turn more heads than Blue Dawn did this spring.
Dizzee Rascal is a 41 year old MC, songwriter & producer from Bow, East London, England, United Kingdom who’s often considered a pioneer of the grime subgenre. His 2003 full-length debut Boy in da Corner under XL Recordings has been hailed as some of the best UK hip hop this millennium although Showtime & Maths + English were mildly received in comparison. Tongue ‘n Cheek launched his own label Big Dirtee Records formerly Dirtee Stank Recordings in tandem with Island Records, following it with The 5th as well as Raskit & E3 AF respectively. Don’t Take It Personal upon his Island departure was a modest declaration of independence & was intrigued by what his 9th studio LP had to offer almost a week after FTR, Kanji, Connor Mills, the current CMLL Mundial Femenil Campeon Persephone, Swerve Strickland alongside The New Level, The Brawling Birds, Mercedes Moné, Will Ospreay, La Parka, Kelani Jordan, Jackson Drake & Grayson Waller all respectively became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions, RPW British Women’s Champion, RPW British Heavyweight Champion, AEW tbs Champion, AEW World Trios Champions, AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions, AEW Women’s World Champion, AEW World Champion, AAA Latinoamericano Campeon, NXT Women’s Champion, NXT North American Champion & NXT Champion.
“Foxtrot Oscar” opens up taking inspiration from electronic dance music instrumentally talking about doing whatever he wants because he’s a rockstar whereas “VIP” hooks up a rubbery bass-line so he can boast of not having to show ID when pulling up to the club. “Hit the Spot” leans towards a house vibe for a raunchier approach topically including a cringey sample of “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent until the 3rd single “So Hot” serves a weird blend of hip house, jackin’ house, Euro house & Brazilian bass sampling “Hot in Herre” by Nelly.
Continuing from there with “On Rpt”, we have more romantic lyricism over house beats containing a bit of an R&B twist to it just before the 2nd single “C U Dance” talks about wanting to watch a woman’s dance moves over a self-produced hip house instrumental. “Don’t Say a Word” further combines hip hop & house suggesting for people to listen & follow rather than merely speaking while the grime standout “Muy Bien” aggressively gets on his hardcore shit.
“All Night” began the whole rollout in the form of this uninspired lead single talking about letting the bass blast until sunrise while the 4th & final single “What U Need” treads the bassline waters promising to give his lover whatever it is she desires. “The Baddest” goes back to the hip house side of things talking about a lean-bodied woman being the best thing he’s seen all evening while “Oh Why” rattles off a list of questions he’s had for some time.
The song “Look Twice” prepares to wrap up We Want Bass speaking of a lady who’s so beautiful that Dizzee had to double check by looking at her a 2nd time while the delightfully surprising “Ridin’ Round Slow” featuring Bun B finds the pair talking about driving around in their whips slowly so all the pussies can see them. Another favorite would be the closing track “Tell Me Why” because he’s really taking these final minutes to get some serious shit off his chest.
Would’ve never imagined Dizzee Rascal making something almost as bad as The 5th if not worse since Raskit, E3 AF & Don’t Take It Personal we’re all average at best but here we are with another low point in the grime pioneer’s discography. I completely understand the hip house, bassline, UK bass, tech house, techno bass, jackin’ house, Euro house & Brazilian bass production was meant to homage the UK club scene except it all feels repetitive & the hardcore joints all outshine the sexually charged cuts.
KARRAHBOOO is a 29 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who blew up in 2023 after former TNA World Champion, NXT Champion, NXT North American Champion & WWE United States Champion Trick Williams’ manager Lil Yachty signed her to Concrete Rekordz. Not only would she depart the label the following summer, but she was most notably the only artist in its brief existence who was actually talented other than Yachty himself of course. However coming off a string of guest appearances, she’s ready to make a broader introduction to the world with her official debut extended play.
“Inside the Booth” produced by Coupe talks about needing space from her clingy partner because she’s too high whereas “Pull a Luh Band Out” boisterously looks to walk her opps like dogs over a bell-driven trap instrumental. The lead single “No Hook” talks about being ready to drop for a minute & her past issues with Concrete embracing the Detroit sound just before the 2nd single “WYD?” hops on top of this cloudy Take a Daytrip beat describing a guy who’s constantly hitting her up.
Monaleo appears for the off-kilter “W.Y.O. (Whatever You Want)” taking shots at their completion over some buzzing synthesizers & hi-hats just before “Patched It Up” featuring Lil Yachty gets more in detail about their beef being squashed. “Make Her Dance” featuring k3 hits us with my least favorite guest appearance of the 4 which sucks because I don’t mind the sinister atmosphere while the 3rd &!final single “Keep Up w Me” featuring Zukenee makes up for it talking about learning from their mistakes & needing no pity.
“Swerve” wraps up the final moments of Not da 2 cautioning that anyone who fucks with her will wind up dead in the ocean & not being shy whenever money’s involved while “Understand Me” discusses being misunderstood, blocking out all the hate from the type of individuals who envy her & chasing the bag for her family’s sake. “Do U 1 Better” spends the remaining 115 seconds of the EP talking about upstaging everyone with her mother providing a sweet spoken word bit during the outro.
I’m fairly certain Mercury Records & Republic Records will do much more for KARRAHBOOO’s career than Concrete Rekordz ever did in the short amount of time she was signed to Yachty, but Not da 2 fell somewhat short of my expectations & hope for her full-length studio debut to be much grander statement in her discography. She does her part telling the world where she’s at in her life right now bringing a few guests on board who mostly kill it except the production choices could’ve been better.
The Go was a garage rock revival band from Detroit, Michigan formed by frontman Bobby Harlow, guitarist/bassist John Krautner & drummer Marc Fellis. They would go on to release a total of 5 full-lengths including their 1999 debut Whatcha Doin’? under Sub Pop Records as well as the sophomore effort Supercuts& their eponymous 3rd album. Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride & Fiesta, disbanding after the latter. A 6th studio LP however dating all the way back to 2000 has been authorized by Sub Pop & hearing they initially shelved it for being too “uncommercial” at the turn of the millennium only to dig it out of the vaults was intriguing to hear.
The title track fires it all up with an intro reminiscent of proto-punk bands MC5 & The Stooges pleading for his partner to let out the love she has for him whereas “Secular Century Man” takes a more lo-fi garage rock approach singing about the trials awaiting beyond a set of gates. “All Dimensions Are Loose” continues to take heavier inspiration from MC5 & The Stooges making a statement regarding freedom of expression & after “Peacock’s Angel” sings over these buzzing guitar tones about ready to blow your mind with a great time, “Pharaoh’s Tomb” reaches the halfway point with a free jazz-influenced ode to the late Pharoah Sanders.
“Into Outer Space” kicks off the 2nd half of Free Electricity on a more tranquil note pleading for this woman to brought back home leading into “Turnin’ On” fusing glam & punk rock despite the subject matter heading towards a more sexual direction. “Blood Red Sun” would easily be my least favorite song here due to the unnecessary length on top of the repetitiveness but once “Muthers of the Earth” hooks up some psychedelic guitar tones for a peaceful Mother’s Day anthem, “Golden Dawn” concludes the album we should’ve gotten after Whatcha Doin’? with 1 last garage rock jam singing about a sunflower making you feel alright.
Supercuts & self-titled were ok largely because they didn’t really explore beyond the garage rock revival style when Free Electricity was shelved, so I really felt like things would’ve looked differently had Sub Pop Records let The Go release it as originally planned because it deserves it’s spot with the likes of Whatcha Doin’? & Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride as the top 3 most crucial offerings in their catalog. The production’s significantly jazzier compared to their debut although there are moments that have the same acid garage rock revival feeling as it’s predecessor, drawing additional inspiration from the late spiritual/free jazz icon Sun Ra.
Here is the 7th solo LP from Detroit, Michigan emcee/producer & Black Day in July Productions founder Bronze Nazareth. Known for his membership with the Wisemen alongside his late brother Kevlaar 7 & eventually the Wu-Tang Clan’s in-house production team the Wu-Elements, he made his solo debut The Great Migration almost 2 decades ago & then School for the Blindman only 5 years later. Bundle Raps & Ekphrasis produced entirely by Leaf Dog & Roc Marciano respectively became his strongest output since his debut, coming off his childhood friend Apollo Brown producing Funeral for a Dream in tandem with Escapism Recordings last summer to have his sibling behind the boards 1 last time for Elysian.
After the “Elysian Invocation” intro, the opening song “Soul Stirrer” hops over a boom bap instrumental talking about being next in line whereas “Adesanya” shows some love towards UFC Hall of Famer & former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. “All I Could Do (Open 2)” whips up a sequel to a track off Illah Dayz’ 3rx album Ponch’e leading into “Lupus” featuring Hollywood Dots the Oncelor talks about the disease that killed the late, great J Dilla over 2 decades ago.
“Jacob’s Ladder” combines elements of soul boom bap to hit us with a flow smoother than cologne & after the “Kevlaar 2” intermission, “Bad Boys ‘04” featuring Salute da Kidd finds the pair likening themselves to the Detroit Pistons back when they won their last NBA Championship to date. “You’ve Been There” continues the 2nd half of Elysian with another soulfully dusty crossover talking about superstition not having a place within the journal inside his head.
Kevlaar 7 himself appears posthumously on “So7o” so the Cross siblings can rock the mic together 1 last time while “House of Legends” runs it back with Salute da Kidd provides an audio visitation rather than performing verses talking about feeling alive again inside. The final song “My Dead Brother Superhero” featuring Lord Jessiah preceding the “Elysian Benediction” outro ends Elysian with a soulful boom bap closer remembering his brother.
Nearly a dozen years since Kevlaar 7 passed away around Christmas 2014 of a blood disorder, his younger brother Bronze Nazareth digs up some of the final batch of beats he made giving them everything it deserved from his perspective & I don’t see how anyone who’s been down with them since the Wisemen days would be disappointed with the results of Elysian if he were here. Bronze ambiguously tackles streetology, life in the Motor City, aspirations, the wins & the losses while simultaneously making it clear K7’s sound hasn’t left.
New York producer Fuse of the 808 Mafia making his his official solo debut. Some may recognize him for producing the Spring Clean series for Curren$y although he’s additionally crossed paths with many notable names from Future & Rick Ross to Royce da 5’9” & Benny the Butcher. He was recently motivated by Southside following his full-length debut Break the Silence last summer to take a jab at rapping & has brought Providence, Rhode Island producer araabMUZIK behind the boards for Womanizer.
“She Not Mine” hops over an atmospheric boom bap instrumental explaining his preference in women specifically being the hood type whereas “New Bitch” talks about having all sorts of hoes & growing up listening to Too $hort instead of Biggie. The uncredited female rapper featured on “High Maintenance” wasn’t too bad if it caught me off guard passably admitting she & Fuse need a lot of work until the R&B-tinged “South Beach” talks about meeting a freaky chick in Florida.
K Camp joins Fuse on the moody pop rap track “Head Shots” cranking up the seductive subject matter to wrap up the 1st leg of Womanizer just before “Date Night” telling the story of him taking a woman out for dinner costing $100 each to get the 2nd half underway. “Unstable” continues from there talking about a chick who needs some serious healing while “Couples Therapy” admits to dating a female without having any intentions of committing.
“Always Around” featuring Landstrip Chip finds the pair linking up over a sample-driven trap beat speaking to the type of women they should ghost instead of fucking in luxurious vehicles while “Ring the Alarm” featuring Sy Ari da Kid joins forces so they can issue a warning regarding someone’s girl being unfaithful to him. “Burnt Out” spends the remaining 2 & a half minutes of Womanizer asking this thot who lost all her values sleeping with guys for nice things she won’t receive in return.
Taking an opportunity to focus on himself as a recording artist after producing for others for almost 2 decades, I do think there’s room for Fuse to grow as a performer & Womanizer as a whole makes for an average beginning to this new chapter of his career. araabMUZIK killing it the production was a given to me since I’ve been paying attention to him ever since the stuff he did with Slaughterhouse in my adolescence, but the romantic subject matter gets tiring after a bit & had expected more out of the guests.
