Davenport, Iowa by way of Salt Lake City, Utah rapper, singer/songwriter & internet personality Dave Blunts ending the month with his 17th extended play. Dropping his last 16 EPs & a few full-lengths since 2018 or so, I’ve even mentioned a couple guest appearances he made for Babytron & D. Savage on Tronicles & We Love D. Savage a couple years earlier respectively. You Can’t Say That last spring got some rightful backlash for the transphobia & dissing artists who have stronger discographies than him, coming off I’ll Believe It When I See It to celebrate his independence with Ulysses.
“Free Love” denies any incestuous relationships following Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s controversial single “Cousins”, taking a transphobic jab at KanKan & calling for the release of Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy whereas “Easy Target” recalls almost shooting up his high school at 17. “Mirror” interpolates “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake talking about his friend Ethan Shutak getting head & once “Solar” hatefully disses his ex, “The Plug Let Me Down” ends the EP dissing Ye again.
All 5 of these tracks were originally supposed to be included on I’ll Believe It When I See It & despite always supporting any artist getting out of their label deal, I wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever to learn if Ulysses was conceived around the same time as it’s counterpart because there are some correlations in terms of headspace. The pop rap, trap & regalia production was actually a cut above its predecessor even if Dave Blunts’ gimmicky approach to songwriting further reveals itself to either be hateful rather than “comedic”.
This is the 9th studio LP from Pleasant Hill, California singer/songwriter & actress Lex Walton. In almost a decade, she has dropped a total of 8 full-lengths & 4 extended plays including the Shame Music series as well as Girlfriends & most notably I Want You to Kill Me. I was however interested in learning that Ultimate Love Forever would reach the same pedestal the previously mentioned album did upon learning she had signed to the prominent Seattle, Washington indie label Sub Pop Records after her apartment had tragically burned down.
“For Thee I Sing” begins with this slacker rock intro interpolating “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” Samuel Francis Smith & discussing the US enacting fascist overreach whereas “Hipster Runoff” gives off a garage rock revival vibe critiquing Gavin McInnes. “Yr Op-Ed Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” includes an insane guitar solo towards the end after downing some bourbon while “USA = Fag Nation” suggests the world would be a better place if different people got shot.
Continuing the 2nd half of Ultimate Love Forever, the song “I Wish I Was an M80” sings about alienation blending slacker rock with indietronica & power pop while the lo-fi singer/songwriter crossover “Adrian Borland Will Have His Revenge on London” confesses she was on the verge of death when writing this. The title track properly concludes Ultimate Love Forever singing about the only thing she wants being a kind of affection that would last eternally.
I Want You to Kill Me still remains the most groundbreaking statement in Lex Walton’s decade-long career, but her Sub Pop debut Ultimate Love Forever will certainly appeal to fans of Jonathan Richman’s early material with The Modern Lovers from the mid-70s to late 80s or either one of the 2 extended plays Dollhouse have put out this decade. The slacker rock, noise pop, power pop, garage rock revival, noise rock, singer/songwriter & dance-punk revival production basically providing commentary on society’s decay from the perspective of a transgender woman living in a transphobic America.
This is the long-delayed 12th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee, songwriter, producer & actor Busta Rhymes. A member of the Leaders of the New School, he would go on to turn heads in the spring of ‘92 off the strength of his verse on “Scenario” off of A Tribe Called Quest’s flawless sophomore effort The Low End Theory. The dragon would see greater success as a solo artist with full-lengths like The Coming, When Disaster Strikes…, E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, Anarchy, Genesis & The Big Bang. However when E.L.E. 2 (Extinction Level Event 2): The Wrath of God dropped Devil’s Night 2020, it would find Busta returning to form considering the mixed to subpar reception of B.O.M.B.S. (Back On My Bullshit) & the panned Year of the Dragon backed by Cash Money Records. Blockbusta preluded by The Fuse is Lit were both treated to mixed-to-negative responses, looking to redeem himself with Dillagence II.
After the “Ma Dukes Speak Again” intro, “How the Boss Will Deliver” opens up with a ferocious 81 second freestyle preceding “Entry” featuring La Reezy joining forces over a boom bap instrumental laughing off the dummies going up against them. The lead single “Spazzz” co-produced by Black Milk & Kev Brown splits itself in 3 different sections for more hardcore penmanship while “Back Pain, Chest Pain, Head Pain” climbs another mountain in the midst of traumatizing people.
“Royalty” featuring Cie & Trillian finds the trio talking about there never being another version of either of them over a colorful boom bap beat just before the subdued “This Woman” featuring a hook from the late D’Angelo takes a more romantic approach conceptually & does it without sounding forced. “Shoo” returns to the boom bap tellin’ all these wack rappers they straight up need to get the fuck out the culture leading into the soulfully jazzy “Drugs” solely produced by Karriem Riggins likens his music to that of an addictive substance.
After the “Story of the Old Man” interlude, “Run ‘Em Down” gets the 2nd half going reminding the world who he is while “Lay Down” featuring T3 has him & Busta in their energetic hardcore bag together. “Wait 4 U” featuring Big Sean & Honey Bxby gets back on the pop rap tip although it’s one of the weaker tracks in the few exploring that style while “Kingpin (Knock Ya Head Off) featuring Anderson .Paak & Ludacris necessarily turns the aggressiveness back up.
“How You Want It” winds down the final act of Dillagence II making sure everything remains raw both lyrically & instrumentally while “Love & War” featuring Talib Kweli freestyles over “I Must Love You” by Guilty Simpson off his 2008 debut Ode to the Ghetto. The 2nd & final single “Talk Shit”featuring Lil Wayne samples “I Know You Got Soul”by Bobby Byrd featuring James Brown for a superior “Nirvana (Hello)” remix while “What We Got in Common” featuring Common preceding the “Ma Dukes & J Dilla’s Closing Word” outro wraps it all up with a 6 & a half minute closer.
Confirming the rumors of J Dilla giving Busta Rhymes over 300 beats prior to his passing, I’m happy he makes up for the excessive commercialization that made Blockbusta so disappointing & his sequel to the Dillagence mixtape would be placed above it’s predecessor for the best in the series in addition to being a step in the right direction for him like E.L.E. 2 (Extinction Level Event 2): The Wrath of God was 6 years earlier. He’s not trying too hard to appeal to a younger crowd like the previous album did, having a more consistent guest list joining him to bring their A-game over Dilla production.
Detroit, Michigan rapper Payroll Giovanni self-producing his 15th studio LP. Notable for being a part of the Doughboyz Cashout collective, he also released over a dozen solo albums with the most notable being Big Bossin’ as well as Big Bossin’ 2 & Another Day, Another Dollar all fully produced by Cardo. Last time I covered him was when he self-produced Have Money, Have Heart a couple years ago & that was the most I’ve enjoyed his music since Giovanni’s Way, which didn’t wane any anticipation I had for M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business).
The title track opens up with some otherworldly synthesizers talking about leaving any conversation that doesn’t involve money whereas the only single “Puppies” recalls a situation occurring a long time ago where he tried to help someone only for said person to foolishly try robbing him. “No” talks about being up more these days after staying down for so long declining those who want something outta him while the west coast-tinged “Locked In” maintains his focus.
“Cash Tall” moves on from there embracing the Detroit sound to discuss keeping his circle small & his money in large amounts while the Mobb-influenced “Enough” ends the 1st leg of M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business) about having his share of days where he wasn’t making as much money as he would’ve hoped to. “Rollie wit Baguettes” gets the 2nd half going incorporating more synths talking about what happens when listening to Payroll’s music just before “On the Flo” breaks down going from the streets to riches.
The song “Point of View” talks about his perspective always being on a woman he’s romantically involved with, encouraging her to hop in his whip asking whether she wants to know anything or do something while “Bosses in the Clouds” discusses staying prayed up handling his own business. “New Levels” though spends M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business)’s final minutes talking about being in the season of his life where he can’t settle.
Getting sick of producer/artist agreements & paying lawyer fees, Payroll Giovanni had all the right reasons to solely create M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business) & I can certainly see myself coming back to it more than Hustle Muzik or If Not Me Then Who?. His production’s gotten better since 2024 & hearing it will prelude another full-length the Detroit trap veteran’s preparing within the next coming months has me hoping he’ll continue capitalizing on his artistic deftness.
New surprise LP & the 11th overall from Compton, California emcee, songwriter, actor & professional attention whore The Game. Originally taken under the wing of JT the Bigga Figga, his 2002 debut mixtape You Know What It Is would catch the attention of Dr. Dre & 50 Cent. Both of whom signed Game to a joint venture to their individually respective labels Aftermath Entertainment & G-Unit Records, distributed by Interscope Records. With their help, his debut album The Documentary the following year would go on to become a West Coast essential. However, a falling out between Game & 50 just months after the album’s release would result in Game moving over to Geffen Records to complete his 5-album contract. His next 4 albums Dr.’s Advocate, LAX, The RE.D. (RE-Dedication) Album & Je5us PiecE all showed that Game didn’t need Dre or 50 to make quality music. Once fulfilling his major label obligations, he went the independent route by founding his own label Numinati Records & showcasing the artists with a compilation entitled Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf in 2014. Game then put out an overloaded yet decent sequel to his debut with The Documentary 2+2.5 the next year as well as 1992 the year after & Born 2 Rap on his 40th birthday. Hit-Boy helped him come out of “retirement” again with the more consistent Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind, although it was DONDA levels of bloated. Every Movie Needs a Trailer produced by Mike & Keys was honestly pretty great considering the lesser amount of filler Drillmatic had & the time for The Documentary III has arrived.
“Geezus” produced by London on da Track opens up saying “when you from the westside, you ain’t gotta pick sides” when a majority of the west coast would disagree whereas “Love It or Hate It” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg comes through with a “Hate It or Love It” sequel where Cool & Dre are sampling “What You Won’t Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell. “Steppers” featuring Lil Wayne includes the witty line “Got ice on my neck, but I’m still yellin’ out “Fuck ICE” 1 time for my vatos” over a jazzy trap beat from Bangladesh just before “The Life” warning these rats they’re all food.
Lit Papi & RJfrmLA both appear on the disappointing gangsta celebration “Scary Times” prior to Mike & Keys bouncing back with “20 Deep” from the sampling to the improved consistency regarding the performances. I can appreciate “No Brakes” instrumentally experimenting with hyphy even if he’s ass-kissing Drake looking for all the smoke with no intentions of slowing down while “Sticks” talks about the gangsta life over a drumless piano.
“Geekin’” featuring the late Drakeo the Ruler discusses both of them doing hoodrat shit with their friends leading into “40 Deep” featuring Ye formerly known as Kanye West linking up for a sequel to “Crack Music” off the latter’s sophomore effort Late Registration containing an awkward bar referring to Ye’s antisemitism controversy. “Do You Love Me?” soulfully responds to people claiming they appreciate him when he doesn’t think that’s the case while “Run It Up” featuring Leon Thomas III ends the 1st half on a decent pop rap note.
Cloud rap, trap & alternative R&B collide during “Party at Game’s” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR not doing the romantic themes any better than the previous joint until “Baby” featuring Armonie Jay & Kalan.FrFr butchers a sample of the Ashanti single of the same name. “In the Way” featuring RJmrLA & Tyga treads the hyphy waters once again for annoyingly sexual subject matter while “The Part” featuring Lefty Gunplay & YG gets on some jazzy west coast gangsta shit.
“Hella” featuring E-40 & RJmrLA moderately talks about taking a bunch of whips & cash despite 40 going harder than RJ even if he & Game are sharing the opening verse while “Nothing 2 Hide” eerily lets the world see him for the gangsta he’s always been. “LA Monster” samples an unreleased song Ye recorded for Jesus is King with A$AP Ferg back in 2019 to take a pathetic jab at Kendrick Lamar while “Meet the Parents” manically talks about not asking for this shit over a somber Conductor Williams beat.
Statik Selektah puts a more soulful boom bap spin onto “The Pen” talking about his lyricism being unstoppable while “The Cookout” featuring Larry June provides a west coast barbecue anthem Sndtrak & Beat Butcha cooked up together. “I Won’t Be Afraid” featuring Black Thought chops up “Cherish the Day” by Sade talking about having no fear of death while “Game Recognize Game” drumlessly finishes The Documentary III calls for the attention of all saints & sinners.
Putting what criticisms I had for The Documentary 2+2.5 aside, I wouldn’t have imagined The Documentary III dethroning it to become my new least favorite chapter of the entire trilogy although I’d say I’m largely on the fence with it than I was with either Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind or Every Movie Needs a Trailer. His skills can never be taken away from him, yet I don’t consider that an excuse for him to make it nearly an hour & a half long or overload it with an excessive amount of guest appearances who don’t always knock it out of the park.
Devil’s Trident is a supergroup consisting of Lyrikal Snuff Productionz founder Scum from Denver, Colorado as well as Los Angeles, California horrorcore pioneer Insane Poetry & Albuquerque, New Mexico recording artist Smallz 1. All 3 of whom have a history with each other from M.M.M.F.D. to S.O.S., so it was only a matter of time they made their eponymous debut to coincide with the LSP roster performing at the 26th annual Gathering of the Juggalos this weekend coinciding Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW)’s 19th annual Bloodymania pay-per-view event later tonight.
“Hard Check” opens up with a synth-driven boom bap beat talking about motherfuckers not knowing shit whereas “Bend the Knee” gives off a g-funk vibe instrumentally demanding the respect they deserve. “Real Nice” finds the trio bloodcurdlingly getting on their Snuff shit promising they’ll carve ya ass up just before “Buried” continues talking about not socializing unless it’s with fans after performances & representing Team Snuff.
The rap rock-tinged “We Are” continues the 2nd half of the LP having all 3 members of Devil’s Trident hellishly proclaiming themselves to be sinners prior to “Omnicide” talking about the destruction of human life as we know it over a string-woven beat. “Bad Seed” shifts towards a trap direction thanks to Gibby Stites discussing the very origin of bad fruit leading into the title track blending horrorcore lyricism with the g-funk sound once again hoping to replace the crucifix.
“Fresh Meat” winds down the last few moments of DT’s self-titled debut talking about the corpses of those who were recently murdered incorporating some distinct bongos & handclaps while “It Could Be You” impressively displays everyone speeding up their flows treading the trap waters once again including more synths. “Killing Spree 2026” appropriately concludes the album with a sequel to when all 3 of them appeared on Butcher Brothaz & one that feels like a full circle moment.
Making a proper introduction on “Devil’s Trident” off M.M.M.F.D.’s most recent album Horrorcore the previous year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Gore Hop imprint that this day would come & what better than the eve of The Outbreak becoming 2-time JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions in addition to a both factions who’ve previously held those very same tag titles the Juggalo World Order (jWo) facing Luciano Family Enterprises in Gore Games.
Weezer is a power pop/alt-rock band from Los Angeles, California consisting of bassist Scott Shriner, guitarist Brian Bell, drummer Patrick Wilson & frontman Rivers Cuomo. These guys’ 1994 debut The Blue Album & the 1996 sophomore effort Pinkerton under Geffen Records are both hailed as their finest material, following it up with The Green Album & Maladroit to moderate reception. Make Believe produced by Rick Rubin was a let down, their Interscope Records debut The Red Album was alright, Raditude’s the worst thing they’ve ever made & the Epitaph Records-backed Hurley’s ok regardless of “Memories” being one of their best tracks. Everything Will Be Alright in the End through Republic Records & their Atlantic Records debut The White Album were both some of their finest material in years, but Pacific Daydream was trash as were The Teal Album & The Black Album. I found myself loving OK Human in 2021 despite Van Weezer being a letdown, coming of the SZNZ saga of EPs to have Kenny Beats produce their 16th studio LP albeit first for their new home at Reprise Records/Warner Records.
“Say Yes” was a solid alt-rock/power pop intro singing about being down if Rivers’ partner is whereas “Shine Again” takes us to an alternate universe thematically incorporating elements of post-grunge, stoner rock & hard rock whilst maintaining the other 2 sounds. “Don’t Make It Weird” awkwardly sings about everything being cool if this person lets it be while “We Might as Well Be Strangers” featuring Wednesday has a real chance of becoming Weezer’s best single this decade from the power pop, indie rock & slacker rock vibes to the romantic lyrics.
Alternative rock, post-grunge, power pop, spoken word & slacker rock all make up for the other single “C.E.O.”confirmed to be a “Undone (The Sweater Song)” sequel & I’ll certainly take that instead of “Hoops” unceremoniously kicking off the 2nd half of The Gold Album with what could likely be my least favorite track here despite the shoutout to WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg in the final verse. “Nowhere” thankfully is where things begin to pick back up fusing alt-rock, power pop & post-grunge singing about wanting to be with someone if the snow’s cold or the sky’s grey.
“The Show Must Go On” has more of a self-referential tone than any other song here using a riff reminiscent of “Rock & Roll” by Led Zeppelin while “Up in the Clouds” comes through with what I’d consider a top 5 track & maybe the best example of the post-grunge undertones explored pairing that with Rivers Cuomo’s optimistic performance. “The LA Sound” triumphantly concludes The Gold Album singing about how you can’t fake their knack of digging into each other’s individual collective chops & flipping the concept of pop music on it’s head.
In addition to becoming the Coloring Book saga’s most gratifying installment since The White Album an entire decade earlier, it doesn’t surprise me that I’d have The Gold Album became Weezer’s most reinvigorating statement since OK Human with the only exception being this surpassing it. Kenny Beats’ alternative rock, power pop, post-grunge & slacker rock production combined with the entire band making songwriting contributions gets back to their sense of wonder & hopefully keeping it that way.
Stella Lefty is a 24 year old country pop singer/songwriter from Winnetka, Illinois who happens to be the daughter of Groupon co-founder & Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky. She would eventually begin exploring a music career when her debut extended play last summer Tragic, Really last summer preceding a debut single the year earlier, but the lead single to this full-length studio debut “Boston” quickly became her breakout single this past spring following “The Kill” for the Scream VII soundtrack & signing with Atlantic Records to give Long Way Push wider exposure.
“Lean In, Kiss Me” sets the tone with this bland country pop intro singing for her lover to make out with here whereas “Whiskey” as somebody who enjoys the alcoholic beverage feels heavily reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s earliest material 2 decades ago to the point where it gets annoying. “Thinking ‘Bout You” delivers a middle of the road singer/songwriter track singing about getting intimate with her partner while “Ain’t Something I Do” goes country pop again confessing she’s falling for someone.
“Forever Guy” shifts away from country pop in favor of singer/songwriter again asking why she cries over a man who wasn’t meant to be in her life forever & once “Something to Lose” featuring Vincent Mason unites for an underwhelming lovey dovey country pop/pop rock duet, “Good at Leaving” emphasizes the country pop elements singing about being a product of too many heartbreaks.
The singer/songwriter-tinged “Summer You Were Mine” suggests they call it a fling for a reason after a relationship went cold with the seasons wishing things never changed between them while “Feel Better” asks herself when she’ll get out of this rut she’s in, which I can respectfully answer by saying if she makes any artistic evolution down the road. This derivatively uneventful debut at last finished with “Why Wouldn’t We?”, where Stella gives us 1 last Taylor Swift-esque country pop song making corny comparisons like being the laugh to my jokes or the lighter to your smokes.
Former commentator/in-ring performer for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE, analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay, host of The Pat McAfee Show also on ESPN & former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee still holds the bragging rights of having the absolute worst country album of 2026 when The Diary of a Polarizing Figure came out the week earlier & if I had to pick a close 2nd, Stella Lefty already reserved her spot with Long Way Push. The production’s obviously more country pop & singer/songwriter influenced than the bro-country subgenre McAfee embraced, yet there isn’t really anything special to me regarding her vocals & songwriting. Blatant industry plant/nepo baby ordeal on Atlantic’s part.
Los Angeles, California bedroom pop singer/songwriter Truly Young releasing her debut extended play after turning 25 this month. Known for being the daughter of Dr. Dre, she would eventually get herself involved in music by making a few guest appearances on Kevin Abstract’s 6th album blush under X8 Music a couple years ago & was actually more impressed with the performances she had on there than I initially thought. That said: She’s making a bigger artistic splash with Dear Joshua beyond her debut single “Room 64”.
The self-produced title track begins singing about this guy who’s easily influenced by doubt & her not being his type of woman over an indie pop instrumental whereas “fear the reaper” goes for a summery vibe asking who’d she be if she didn’t give into danger. “forever” ends the 1st half realizing Joshua will miss her while “shadows” describes escaping her feelings. “boy” dabbles with dance-pop airing him out for not being the man she thought he was & “you 2 deserve each other” colorfully ends singing about him recognizing her weaknesses.
Putting aside the fact her father’s the Quincy Jones of hip hop, Truly Young spends the 16 minutes of her inaugural EP Dear Joshua sending an audio letter to her now ex-boyfriend pretty much airing out her grievances towards him. It made me happy learning she produced the entire thing rather than having other producers on board much like her “Room 64” aside from “shadows”, establishing herself in the indie pop world channeling all that anger she had stemming from that failed relationship exploring dance-pop & contemporary R&B for what I consider the real beginning of her solo career.
Jorjiana is a 21 year old rapper from Michigan City, Indiana who came up in 2024 off her breakout single “ILBB2”. She would later sign to Atlantic Records the following spring & would release her debut mixtape Project 219 roughly 7 months later to moderate reception mostly due to the underwhelming selection of beats rather than the performances from her or the guests. Recently joining Buvision Entertainment whilst retaining her Atlantic contract, she’s continuing to prelude her full-length studio debut with an extended play.
“Talk” opens up with a bassy instrumental that includes a switch-up midway through letting her detractors know she could care less of their feelings whereas “Indiana 2for2” talks about entering her old money era even if the beat’s generally uninteresting. “I’m the One” embraces a rage-inducing vibe making her guy nervous because she loves money more than him & after “808-Wish” moodily explores the downsides of relationships, “Rich Finally” cloudily ends 5 Elements talking about achieving wealth.
Neither of the previously mentioned tracks that were both released as singles building up anticipation for 5 Elements blew me away, but I still gave Jorjiana the benefit of the doubt thinking the other 3 songs would make up for it & I unfortunately liked this EP less than I did her debut mixtape last Black Friday. She’s a capable performer but as I had mentioned, Project 219 lacked in the production department & a great deal of her Buvision debut’s beats remain dull.
