Mike Shabb – “Sewaside III” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb looking to round out the Sewaside trilogy for his 3rd mixtape. Coming up in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out 6 EPs & his last couple of mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robberyalong with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses from top to bottom. Mike just put out the Hood Olympics EP last summer & is now assembling an intriguing guest-list for the mostly self-produced Sewaside III.

The intro starts by jumping over a jazzy boom bap expressing his desire for bank money as opposed to a little stack & that he isn’t even in his prime yet whereas “Doghouse” takes an atmospheric turn instrumentally asking who let the dogs out as well as making sure you count up the bread & never leaving out your homies. After the “We Live in Montréal” interlude paying homage to “We Live in Brooklyn” by the great Roy Ayers, the soulful “Grinchy” strips the drums completely spitting that gangsta shit prior to “Autumn & Fall” jazzily stays solid & ready to take over the game.

Ankhlejohn accompanies Mike on “Free Cars” living & dying by the .44 Magnum over a slow albeit jazzy boom bap beat leading into “Ben Wallace” featuring Estee Nack going drumless once again talking about focusing on the gold referencing the titular Detroit Pistons center. “Free YSL” featuring Da$h brings a morbid atmosphere to the instrumental calling for YSL Records to be released from prison, but then “Hurry Up” returns to the boom bap flexing the super fat racks in his back pocket.

“Hey Young World, Pt. II” comes through with a groovy single to the loosie “Hey Young World” that he dropped exclusively on his YouTube channel a year & a half ago assuring that the world is still your while “Milk Crate” featuring Lørd Skø assembles 2 of the underground’s biggest up-&-comers with a jazzy beat accompanying them talking about being them dudes their whole lives. “Julie” slickly reminisces over rainy days & after the melodic “Transmitting Live from the Real World” interlude, “Free Jesus” featuring Navy Blue & produced by Nicholas Craven turns the jazz influences back up talking about Christ being a shooter.

Boldy James links up with Mike on the drumless single “Big Piranhas” likening themselves to larger versions of the omnivorous fish in a small pond while “Free Jazz” lives up to it’s name perfectly fusing hip hop & elements of the titular subgenre of jazz music breaking free from the conventions & patterns of it’s contemporaries through the use of dissonance, atonality & free-flowing rhythmic structures. “Echoes” strips the drums 1-last time in favors of synthesizers talking about still hearing the gunshots ringing out.

Shadow Moses was easily one of the best EPs from last year & if you still haven’t had an opportunity to check Mike out as an MC, I suggest you listen to that & even Sewaside III here since he just gave us what has to be my new favorite installment of the trilogy surpassing Sewaside II from over a couple years ago. The mostly self-produced offering expands on his drumless, jazzy sound bringing a tight list of guests with him to portray life in the Montréal streets.

Score: 4/5

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Peter Sparker – “Who We Are” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Peter Sparker. Introducing himself on Devil’s Night 2020 through his debut EP Chillin’ in the Matrixx despite starting out in the ‘80s, he would later form the duo Sparkerdero with producer K. Dero afterwards & drop a debut album of their own Bubba Smith a few months later followed by the sophomore effort 2nd Round merely 4 months prior. He has since joined the rising Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom underground label Hidden Hobby Records & looks to make his debut by having Paisley, Scotland producer STS soundtrack Who We Are.

“Hi” jazzily begins by talking about using his God given talents to the highest abilities imaginable whereas “Stop & Look” takes a more laidback approach instrumentally explaining that nobody’s better than us because they’re wealthier. “Speak to Me” takes the cavernous boom bap route explaining that he still strives to make people feel like he’s amazing when most already do just before “Mr. Winter” talks about being the reason why his city has snow days.

HellzYeah joins Peter on “Sharks” discussing that they always get things done right because each of them always do it correctly leading into “Bars Over Bullshit” pensively talking about prioritizing lyricism above nonsense. “Bone Collector” brings back the jazz rap vibes for 90 seconds boasting how insane the bars he comes up with inside his head truly are just before “Shrapnel” hooks up a funky bassline to talk about doing this shit for almost 3 decades.

“Pathological Rhymer” starts the 2nd half eating STS’ beats like he’s serving whole entire meals while “Time Bandits” featuring PrevMarco finds the 2 talking about time eternally slipping to the future since we all should know that waits for no man. “Something We Do” breaks down the differences between hip hop culture & rap music, dismissing the false notion of of artists thinking they’re living this shit simply because they’re rapping now while “Backspin” dedicates the next 68 seconds to all the b-boys.

WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant gets referenced on “The Brakes” talking about only dealing with the best of the best while “This is the Way…” declares himself to be the weapon needed to correct the perception of an MC’s essence. “Revolution” sends off the LP with a minute long outro talking about still providing Edutainment despite not being KRS-One & nobody having the ability of altering the way he spits.

Chillin’ in the Matrixx was the only actual entry in Peter Sparker’s solo catalog up to this point for me to judge his music upon excluding both of Sparkerdero’s full-lengths, but I can definitely say Who We Are surpasses that previous EP he released during the COVID-19 pandemic & proves to be a great international signing for Hidden Hobby Records from STS’ boom bap production to Peter’s wordplay simultaneously opening up to this new era of authentic lyricists whilst throwing it back to hip hop’s early days.

Score: 4/5

C.R.I.M. – “In the Meantime” review

C.R.I.M. is a 30 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who started out under the original moniker Crimson Alchemist releasing her debut EP E4 in 2018 pulling inspiration from her love for Pokémon & subsequently the 2020 Valentine’s Day-themed 4H (For Her) only a month until the world as we know it went under lockdown. She has since been putting out singles & doing features, but is taking the next step in her official return switching up her moniker & putting out her 3rd EP albeit her first body of work in over 4 years.

“Wrong Turn” sets off the EP mixing technique & passion for a lifetime commitment over pianos, kicks & snares whereas “Adversary” is this synth-boom bap hybrid talking about solemnly swearing she’s up to no good. “The Whitney” featuring Jazar & Semi 6 starts the 2nd half of In the Meantime taking a jazzier approach instrumentally noticing everything ain’t the same once you get into the game prior to “The 11th Hour” featuring J. Santino finishing the EP returning to the boom bap so she can talk about regrouping.

I was fortunate to meet C.R.I.M. a few summers ago around the time that Fatt Father had delivered his 5th album Soccer Dad produced by Foul Mouth & found the way that she blended conscious lyricism with the nerdcore style of hip hop to be pretty distinctive. In the Meantime however could be my new favorite EP of hers & one that those who’ve been sleeping on her for over a decade should wake themselves up to with. Instrumentally, you’re getting the traditional boom bap sound & C.R.I.M. jumping over them recapping what she’s been going through.

Score: 4/5

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BADBADNOTGOOD – “Mid Spiral: Chaos” review

BADBADNOTGOOD is an instrumental band & production team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada consisting of drummer/vibraphonist Alex Sowinski, bassist/keyboardist Chester Hansen & multi-instrumentalist Leland Whitty. Forming in 2010 over their shared appreciation for the late MF DOOM & of course Odd Future, their first 2 full-lengths BBNG & BBNG2 further gained traction for blending original compositions & covers until III fully won me over near the end of my junior year of high school after Tyler, The Creatorintroduced me to them through shouting the band out on “Lone” off his sophomore effort Wolf. They also produced what I consider to be Ghostface Killah’s most underrated album Sour Soul approximately 9 months later & Leland was promoted from touring member to official member the next summer on IV. Matthew Tavares departed in 2019 & their XL Recordings debut Talk Memory subsequently came out couple years later. In preparation for a 6th LP, they’ve decided to give fans a taste of what’s to come by releasing a 2nd EP & the first in a new trilogy.

“Eyes on Me” officially gets the EP started by crossing over elements of jazz & funk music for nearly 5 minutes whereas “Take Me With You” picks up from there to give off more of a rhythmic jazz-rock vibe generally. “Weird & Wonderful” brings some funkier grooves back in the mix colliding them with BADBADNOTGOOD’s signature jazz sound to finish the 1st half that is until “Mid Spiral” begins the 2nd leg of the EP going straight up electric jazz fusing both funk & rock this time around. “Last Laugh” happens to be another jazz fusion composition turning the rock influences down although you still have some guitars popping up occasionally & the funk influences up while “Your Soul & Mine” closes Mid Spiral: Chaos giving us 1 more jazz-funk joint.

These guys’ potential was always shown best through the original compositions on their first couple LPs in my opinion since tracks like “Improvised Jam” or “UWM” stood out to me the most during my adolescence & even now all this time later are some of my favorite songs that’ve pieced together in the last 14 & a half years they’ve been actively making music. BADBADNOTGOOD however has been giving us 1 consistent body of work after another over the last decade in III, IV, Talk Memory & now you can add this newest EP of theirs onto the ever-growing pile. It predominantly stays within the band’s jazz fusion wheelhouse in terms of overall sound with additional jazz-funk & jazz-rock undertones sprinkled in.

Score: 4/5

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Glokk40Spaz & OsamaSon – “3vil Reflection” review

This is a brand new collaborative EP between Glokk40Spaz & OsamaSon. Both of whom have collaborated with one another in the past on the track “Codeine Dreamz”, but have individually made a name for themselves as 2 of the biggest up-&-comers that trap music has to offer with projects like Took the Biggest Risk or Flex Musix. However, they are linking up to surprise-drop 3vil Reflection on SoundCloud.

To start the EP, “2X” finds the 2 vividly portraying the gangsta lifestyles they live backed by an atmospheric trap instrumental whereas “Movie” works in some rage beats talking about having sticks on them & throwing their Dracos up in the air. “Blame Dem Drugz” might be my favorite track on 3vil Reflection diving into pluggnb territory going dummy that is until “Bankroll” brings back the hypertrap influences turning the bass up to 11 & counting their pesos.

“No Rules” has a straight up plugg vibe to it instrumentally taking out everyone who tries to get in their way just before the synthesizer-heavy “ADHD” talks about going to hit that kid since they actually have ADHD itself. The rage-inducing “Jungle” boasts that they just spent about $10K & “Wicked” shoots for a dark plugg sound popping out with the potato barrels on their glizzys, but then “Vixen” finishes the EP with 1 last hypertrap cut not giving a fuck no more.

Both of these guys have been dominating the plugg/rage scenes in their own distinctive fashions, so hearing them coming together on 3vil Reflection is a momentous occasion considering each artists’ rightfully increasing popularity & they give us the tightest collaborative effort in their discographies. Its production mostly has a hypertrap tone throughout with additional elements of dark plugg & pluggnb as 2 of their hottest artists in that field match their intensities.

Score: 4.5/5

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WTM Solid – “Bigg” review

This is the 4th EP from Detroit rapper WTM Solid. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, he also embarked on a solo career of his own beginning a couple years ago with the debut EP Originatour followed by both Matter of Time & more recently What’s the Difference? from last fall. WRLD Tour themselves collectively are coming off their 3rd mixtape Tourmania II incorporating heavier wrestling themes than its processor, so I was interested in Bigg. Especially considering both DaeMoney & Rafa’s latest solo material Rockstar Lifestyle 2 & Good Girls Don’t Exist respectively.

“FTP (FuckThePolitics)” begins with a mind-altering trap beat wanting his girl to tell him that he’s the hardest whereas “Pledge Allegiance” produced by LulRose turns the psychedelia up a notch needing $1M & looking to cut off any & all bullshit they try to bring his way. “H-Town” brings a Detroit trap vibe instrumentally talking about being his own boss callin’ bluff on those actin’ like they’ve pulled off scams when they really haven’t while “Blessings > Luck” mixes these g-funk like synthesizers & hi-hats expressing his gratitude for his blessings.

The tenser atmosphere throughout “Kapital P” is a nice touch taking shots at everyone out here who stay petty as Hell & that he’s done thinking he’s just gonna do it ahead of the cloudy “Kiss & Tell” talking about refusing to stop until he’s rich. “$treet Gospel” airily admits that he’s infatuated with his lifestyle watering all his swag down leading into “Karrah Blue” sampling Street Fighter throwing orchestral synth melodies & hi-hats into the picture additionally to talk about being all around the world & warning that whoever checks him is a mismatch.

“S.A.S.G. (Slam A Slut Girl)” incorporates icier synthesizers & 808s bragging how fly as fuck he is getting higher than a billboard & representing his squad Slam A Slut Records until the very end, but then the trillwave-laced “Challenges” shows an introspective side to Solid lyrically talking about improving every day & really learning to manage only worrying about the cash a bit rather than a hoe. And finally, “Who’s to Blame?” concludes Bigg calmly asking himself if it’s his fault for certain things in his life.

Regarding the 4 EPs in Solid’s discography so far, I always had Originatour as my personal favorite & he manages to give us a new one days before it’s 2-year anniversary displaying everything that makes him stand out amongst WRLD Tour both individually & collectively. You’re still very much getting the upbeat 808 percussion & dynamic flows synonymous within the Motor City’s trap scene dashed with cloud rap undertones whilst demonstrating his growth in the last 104 weeks.

Score: 4/5

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Rio da Yung O.G. – “Rio Circa 2020” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Rio da Yung O.G. celebrating his 30th born day by releasing his 10th EP. Breaking through the local trap scene during the latter portion of the previous decade under the mentorship of Peezy, he has since put out his last 9 EPs as well as a full-length debut album & a handful of collaborative projects under his belt all over the duration of 6 years. Rio’s previous EP The F Tape celebrated its 1-year anniversary several days ago, I can totally see why his estate unearthed Rio Circa 2020.

“Warm Up” has a rubbery, atmospheric Detroit trap flare instrumentally to get us started thanking God for allowing this rap shit to change his life whereas “Grease” bouncily talks about having the grease as opposed to the fire. “Grizzly Flow” pays homage to fellow Detroit artist Tee Grizzley over pianos & fingersnaps detailing the gangsta lifestyle prior to “Me & Mike” featuring follow M.I.N.E. Entertainment/#Boyz Entertainment artist RMC Mike demonstrating a back & forth chemistry between the 2 that gave us the Dumb & Dumber trilogy.

Mike sticks around for “Mike Voice” bringing a Bay Area vibe to the beat referencing former 11-time WWE Tag Team Champions, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, ROH World Tag Team Champions, HOG World Tag Team Champions, ΩCW Tag Team Champions & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeons The Hardy Boyz that is until Louie Ray joins Rio & Mike on “Flint Boyz” representing Vehicle City over a bell-laced instrumental. “Brother Flow” featuring Louie Ray brings in more bells, keys, strings & 808s laying out braggadocio for a few minutes preferring to shoot people than watching the WWE division of the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings just before “Primo Beat” keeps the bells in tact throwing the hi-hats into the fold once again continues to flex dissing those who ain’t doing shit.

“Collective Nights” produced by Danny G nears the EP’s final moments calling himself Dr. Seuss since he sold a green egg to a ham on top of having a money fight & doing a drive-by in the Hellcat coming out from up the roof of the demon over a grisly Detroit trap beat that is until the closer “DD4” finishes Rio Circa 2020 teaming up with RMC Mike for 1 more time so they can prelude an upcoming 4th installment of their standout Dumb & Dumb3r trilogy.

Rio been incarcerated for 3 years already & although only has 2 more until he finally comes home, he’s still been able to keep the streets hot in the form of both Fiend Lives Matter & The F Tape. And nevertheless of the material on this new EP being made during the COVID-19 pandemic, I happen to enjoy it more than the last one The F Tape from over a year ago. The guest are boiled down to a couple & his status in the 313 is firmly reminded.

Score: 3.5/5

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K.A.A.N. – “Delusions of Grandeur” review

Columbia, Maryland emcee/producer K.A.A.N. staying consistent by releasing his 25th album. Over the past decade or so Knowledge Above All Nonsense has been delivering numerous standouts in his ever-growing discography like Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due, Mission Hillz, The Death of a Rapper & The Nightly News both produced by former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 or even Peace of Minds from just a few months ago. Looking to continue to apply pressure though, Los Angeles producer/deejay DJ Hoppa is being brought in to produce Delusions of Grandeur.

The morbid boom bap opener “Can’t Help It” confesses to kidnapping other rappers only for the fun of it whereas “Insane” works in a flute with kicks & snares admitting he has conversations with the voices in his head quite a bit. “Nightmare” takes a darker route instrumentally taking a different path & being built to last, but then “What Can I Say?” dustily breaks down his process breaking down the beat & digesting since everyone else ran out of time.

“The Crown” keeps things in the boom bap wheelhouse cautioning not to look down if you’re afraid of heights while the orchestrally dusty “Dark Night” finds him losing his own cool playing by his rules & being anti-social. “The Plot Thickens” kinda has some jazzy undertones to the instrumental talking about the bullshit not concerning him & moving with a sense of urgency like it’s an emergency, but then “Got One” shifts into trap territory to run it up.

Starting the album’s final leg, “Countdown” returns to the boom bap dancing with his demons at high noon while the song “Destiny” flips a vintage sample on top of kicks & snares to talk about being at war. The title track advises that what doesn’t break you makes you stronger & using his own experience of dark days to get his point across that is until “Kiss the Ring” finishes the album explaining this that shit that make ‘em go up.

K.A.A.N. has absolutely been on a ROLL with the output we’ve been receiving from him throughout the duration of these past 6 months & Delusions of Grandeur very much continues that momentum. DJ Hoppa’s production is primarily grounded in the traditional boom bap sound as opposed to Peace of Mind back in February balancing that with trap & the Maryland emcee bringing more of a hardcore tone lyrically.

Score: 4.5/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Legmatic” review

Paris, France born albeit Brooklyn, New York based emcee Napoleon da Legend releasing his 28th studio LP. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets or the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz. Much like the latter, this time we have another Beat Junkies member DJ Rhettmatic being enlisted to produce Legmatic.

After the titular intro, the title track sets us off with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental referencing Evander Holyfield whereas “Legendary Legacy” works in more kicks & snares on top of some subsistier horn melodies & the title rightfully not needing any further explanation. “Midnight Madness” is this misty piano-boom bap hybrid talking about making your own destiny prior to “Pressure” featuring Innocent? ruggedly putting their feet on their necks.

“2 Step 2 the Bank” has a lavishly dusty flare to the beat providing an anthem for those built for this leading into “The King Walk” telling everyone running their mouth album to make it make sense over heavier kicks & snares. After the DJ D-Styles interlude, “Not Without a Heart” featuring Nejma Nefertiti finds the 2 backed by horns once again talking about gasoline running through their veins on the warpath & “We Don’t Know You” ends Legmatic going for a futuristic albeit grimy approach instrumentally rebelling until his last day on Earth.

Invincibl Rap Mislz became amongst Napoleon’s best material around this time last year & sure enough, Legmatic standa out as one of his strongest LPs in a while & most definitely a go-to for anyone who isn’t up on him by now already. Everything from Invincibl Rap Mislz whether it be the boom bap production or Napoleon’s hardcore lyricism is recaptured, but the founding Beat Junkies member himself DJ Rhettmatic takes it a whole new level completely.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ghostface Killah – “Set the Tone (Guns & Roses)” review

This is the 16th full-length solo LP from New York veteran Ghostface Killah of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. One of hip hop’s most prolific storytellers & easily the most consistent member of the Clan exemplified by Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids, 12 Reasons to Die & Sour Soul just to name a few. Ghost’s last album Ghostface Killahs in the fall of 2019 stands as one of the only few duds in his discography along with More Fish & went into his Mass Appeal Records debut Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) here hoping he would make up for that.

Wu-Block links up for the opener “6 Minutes” featuring Jim Jones jumping over a lavish instrumental giving competitors that exact amount of time whereas “Pair of Hammers” featuring Method Man works in some horns cautioning that they throw people in comas & make vegetables in the process. The self-produced “Skate Odyssey” featuring Raekwon with October London on the hook takes a smoother route overall talking about no one comparing to them, but then “Scar Tissue” featuring Nas ruggedly talks the about sun rising to break the day & lifts for a while to give us warmth.

“Kilo in the Safe” chaotically gets in his hustler bag & after the first skit, “No Face” featuring Ye or formerly known as Kanye West returns to the boom bap during the DONDA 2 sessions so both of them can talk about having the ability to take down your whole entire squadron. “Champion Sound” featuring Beniton picks up from there with a decent reggae fusion being able to tell by one’s persona that their mommas used to keep them in the house a lot when they were growing up just before “Cape Fear” featuring Fat Joe brings back the keys, kicks & snares calling themselves the finest in New York.

After the 2nd skit, “Plan B” comes with more of an atmospheric vibe instrumentally to pretty much say on wax that Ghost is done having kids at this point in his life while “Bad Bitch” featuring Ja Rule might be my least favorite song on the album coming off as a tacky pop rap ballad. “Locked In” featuring AZ gets the ball rolling once again smoothly talking about being connected for life & after the final skit, “Touch You” featuring Shaun Wiah fusees pop rap with R&B showing a romantic side to Starks once more.

“Shots” featuring Busta Rhymes & Serani mixes hip hop with dancehall resulting in an average club banger while another weak song on the album “Trap Phone” featuring Chucky Hollywood goes for a cloudier trap atmosphere asking their significant others who else loves them the way they do. After the outro skit, the bonus track “Yupp!” featuring Remy Ma was a lead single that I had mixed feelings over from the mediocre beat to the hardcore lyricism.

Wu-Tang is my favorite group of all-time & anyone who’s been following my platform long enough can back me up on it. That said. Set the Tone is only a couple steps above the previous LP we got from him 5 years ago. There are moments where the production can be commercial, but there are others where it’s sticking to the signature hardcore vibes the Wu is known for. Ghost noticeably sounds more focused than he did last time & the guests perform on his level although a couple of them are lackluster.

Score: 3/5

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