slayr – “Half Blood” review

slayr is a 18 year old recording artist & producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania introducing himself in 2022 off the Lost Files, Destruction & B34 My Creation extended plays. Chaos: B4Gaia, the entire Gaia series, Stay Safe, 17, Enter My Mind for a Second & the debut album HeavenTunes all followed. The latter of which up until this point was considered to be the finest entry in his discography. However, his 2nd mixtape has been getting a lot of love compared to his previous material & a couple of noteworthy guests made me want to give it a shot.

“Love Blur” gets things going with this self-produced digicore intro describing a love blur he had experienced yearning to be the one she wants forever whereas “Demigod” talks about being the son of Zeus over a rage beat & opposing everyone. “Sloppy Joe” colorfully breaks down the nickname for his love interest the way she gives him brain leading into “Never Go Down” shifting towards a sonically quirkier vibe talking about Nicki Minaj being his dream hoe, which isn’t the best look considering she’s been actively protecting predators & more recently burning bridges with the LGBTQ+ community when they’ve literally supported her from Day 1.

ezcodylee appears on “Wipe Yo Nose” so they can serve crack like it’s the ‘80s combining both rage & digicore while “24/7” interpolates the Playboi Carti outtake “XTC (Cartier Lens)” from the Whole Lotta Red sessions talking about a woman who’s in his sights every day & hour of the week. “Phone” feels like more of a TJAYY song despite the Graduation/808s & Heartbreak vibes considering that slayr only appears during the hook, but “Power 4” boldly flips “What I Believe” by Skillet to break down all the things that come with fame.

“Holding” references the Warner Bros.-owned DC Entertainment franchise Hellblazer in the midst of the Paramount Skydance Corporation outbidding Netflix regarding the monopolizing purchase of WB while “Death by MP3” fuses digicore & hypertrap once again talking about making the 808s lose their minds. “The Sky” confesses to his partner that he wants her to focus on her own goals rather than piggybacking or gold digging while “Set in Stone” explores pop rap, rage, rap rock, 16-bit, digicore & new jazz referencing former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena.

After the “If I Ever” outro, “Brain Fog” starts the deluxe run talking about his indecisiveness while “Hard Knock” interpolates both “On That Time” from Whole Lotta Red itself & “Holding” getting high whilst staying fashionably sharp. My only complaint regarding “Flashout” however would be him using a fascist regime when talking about the presidents in his pockets, which I suppose adds more context to the Nicki line near Half Blood’s opening moments. “Daytona” featuring Lucy Bedroque entertainingly unites 2 of digicore’s biggest artists within the last year to talk about their luxurious ways of living while “Toxic” comes through with a 2-parter admitting he has too big of a heart to fuck with the poisonous type of women.

“Eyesight” melodically reflects on his continued popularity & talking about following your heart while “Brand New” addresses someone who had him in his feelings for far too long as well as switching their energy now that he’s been going up. “Racks” produced by prettifun expresses his desire to see the light before it all gets worse for him & after “Paint a Picture” holds himself accountable for a previous breakup, the final bonus track “Died But Came Back” energetically sends off the tape taking inspiration from EDM to talk about his struggles with relationships & drugs.

HeavenTunes indicated a huge point in slayr’s career where his true artistic potential began to reveal itself & Half Blood takes it even further by crafting what will most likely be considered amongst the greatest mixtapes of this entire decade. The production refines his artistic range making rage, pop rap, digicore, electronic dance music, rap rock, new jazz & 16-bit transitioning into 1 another rather intricately & simultaneously upgrades his performing abilities whether it be the songwriting or vocally. Much like iyrus, it wouldn’t surprise me if Lil Uzi Vert signs this guy to their newly formed Roc Nation imprint Cor(e) when the time’s right.

Score: 4.5/5

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Joey Cool – “Time Will Tell” review

This is the 9th studio LP from Kansas City, Missouri emcee Joey Cool. Starting out as a long-time affiliate of local independent hip hop powerhouse Strange Music dropping a total of 4 mixtapes & a studio album on his own until Tech N9ne decided to officially sign him to the Snake & Bat in 2017, he then dropped an eponymous sophomore effort the next spring followed by Old Habits Die Hard as well as Coolie High & I Tried to Be Normal Once. Coming off the break he took last year following The Chairman of the Board as well as the Mario Casalini-produced Enjoy the View & Roller Coaster, he’s making a return by saying Time Will Tell.

“Swank Lord Back” produced by Mario Casalini begins with an skit until the beat kicks in during the 2nd half of it talking about the Swankiest of Strangeland being in action again after taking a year off whereas “Talk That Shit” flexes that he’s completed his contact with Strange over a C-Lance instrumental. “International Coolie Anthem” boisterously shrugs off the fact that life can be a little busy at times leading into the rap rock-inflicted “Known Associates” thanks to Burna Music addressing someone he considered a brother.

We get a fusion of R&B, pop rap & trap on “Work of Art” talks about a woman that he firmly believes is the one for him just before “Yam Jam” featuring Kstylis & Roblo Dastar moves on from there with a tedious strip club anthem. ReadyRockDee & Richie Evans both appear so they & Joey can give off some of that “Main Character Energy” over a Wyshmaster beat prior to him asking how can he “Carry On” living in a world he can’t change, losing his mind because of the pressure.

“You Feel It” wraps up the 1st half of Time Will Tell going for an upbeat direction courtesy of Lowkey tha Wizard confident he’ll be earning more as long as he’s still breathing while “Set It Off” featuring King Iso, Rittz, Tech N9ne & X-Raided after “Tracker (Swanky’s Saloon)” interlude finds all 5 of them talking about Strange being the best in the business. “Moonwalking Under Glass” featuring Ubiquitous fuses jazz & trap to continue the 2nd leg explaining that they’re not gonna get the full picture if there are some pieces missing.

Saigon & X-Raided join Coolie in grittily reminding anyone who “Must’ve Forgot” all the bullshit when they didn’t while “Go Fast!” talks about the urge he gets to run a couple laps whenever things get too slow for him. “Brunch in SoHo” combines a vocal sample with some hi-hats recalling going from the hood to sippin’ mimosas while “Franchise” takes a more energetic approach in general talking about nobody has to wish him any sort of luck because he’s only gonna get a lot bigger going forward.

“Midnight in the Town” featuring G Watts & Kye Colors moderately brings all 3 of them together over a cloudy Matt Phoenix instrumental to drop territorially hardcore verses although The Chairman of the Board saves the best for last while “This is My Love Song” stylistically departs from the hip hop sound he became known for in favor of experimenting with R&B, doing it better than I could’ve imagined. “Swanktified” ends the album talking about continuing to scorch shit because those of importance know his name fusing rap & gospel.

There are moments on Roller Coaster that I still enjoy almost a year & a half later, but I can’t argue if anyone would have Time Will Tell as their favorite thing Joey Cool has ever made. Especially since I personally would put it up there with self-titled, Old Habits Die Hard & Enjoy the View. This & the latter both make the finest examples of how far he’s come since those earlier projects in terms of versatility & songwriting regardless of a few guest performances lacking.

Score: 4/5

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Santana Fox – “Gunmetal” review

New York emcee/producer Santana Fox is back for her sophomore effort. The daughter of the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep fame, she eventually followed in her father’s footsteps making music of her own couple years after his untimely passing putting out a handful of singles up until the full-length debut Girl Next Door. Eye Candy was a crucial moment in her career not only for her producing it all by herself, but her improved lyricism too. She’s a Rebel! wasn’t necessarily as great for it’s own set of highlight tracks & has returned to drop Gunmetal.

After the intro, “Lovesick” whispers over a self-produced instrumental about how her romantic interest got her addicted whereas “Control Me” shows a bit of a rock influenced expressing that she gives no fucks. “Sigils” featuring Vicious Vampira aggressively responds to all the bitches who think they’re sweet just before “Hourglass” darkly talks about only gaining to collect & always getting the job done.

“Grasshopper” embraces a trap metal sound assuring that she’ll keep the lights on while the title track heavily addresses the people wondering how it feels to be on her level of success or notoriety. “Neuroscience” confesses to an inability of taming herself whenever the person she’s addressing speaks to her while “POV” sings about wishing she could show her partner all the tricks she has up her sleeve & what her love feels like.

Rounding out 3rd, the song “Sweat It Out” has a psychedelic soul feeling to it wanting to be taken to a higher level while “Fly on the Wall” talks about the way it’s gonna be with a person who’s dead wrong once again leaning towards her trap metal influences. “Lost Ya Mind” takes the drumless chipmunk soul route talking about her unwillingness to lose everything she’s ever built for over a dumb muhfucka while “Mr. Hyde” ends by talking about learning from the best when there isn’t any lies told there.

Spending the last 5 months finding her own sound, Santana Fox’s latest album continues to capture her artistic self-sufficiency a lot similarly to Eye Candy except this surpasses the predecessor in terms of her greatest body of work. Her production versatilely blends alternative hip hop, nu metal, boom bap, trip hop, jazz, drumless, chipmunk soul, psychedelic soul & trap metal and I appreciate her dialing it back with the features so she could focus on her range as a vocalist. I said her dad’s looking down on her proud of the musician she’s become when Eye Candy dropped & it couldn’t be truer presently.

Score: 4.5/5

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Flying Lotus – “Big Mama” review

Flying Lotus is a 42 year old producer, DJ, rapper, songwriter & filmmaker from Los Angeles, California who made his debut 2 decades earlier with the positively received 1983. He would later sign to Warp Records, dropping a string of acclaimed follow-ups from Los Angeles & Cosmogramma to Until the Quiet Comes & You’re Dead! throughout the course of my adolescence. Of course I’d be remised to forget the underrated DU∆LITY mixtape he dropped under the Captain Murphy alias. Flamagra in the spring of 2019 was the last time we heard FlyLo secularly, coming off the Yasuke & Ash soundtracks to drop his 7th extended play through his own label Brainfeeder Records in tandem with Ninja Tune.

The title track begins with this 36 second intro that will likely be used during an [adult swim] bumper at some point within the near future whereas “Captain Kernel” goes for a glitchier vibe instrumentally working in some additional synthesizers. “Antelope Onigri” throws it back to the IDM sound that defined Los Angeles & Cosmogramma over a decade earlier leading into “In the Forest: Day” hooking up some psychedelic synth melodies that feel like an acid trip.

“Brobobasher” continues the final leg of Big Mama blending elements of drum & bass as well as glitch and house music for almost a couple minutes while “Horse Nuke” starts off by heading for an ambient direction for the opening minute or so until combining both wonky & techno for the remaining 102 seconds. “Pink Dream” however sends off the EP by cooking up an animated beat that would remind some people of the 3rd generation of video games 4 decades earlier.

Considering that he’s signed a handful of artists I’ve liked in the past such as Kamasi Washington or Hiatus Kaiyote & Thundercat, it makes me happy to hear Flying Lotus making an independent return to his electronic roots over the course of Big Mama’s brief runtime & only a month away from Distracted. His production takes an experimentally maximalist approach to IDM, glitch hop, wonky, glitch, nu jazz, ambient, chiptune, drum & bass & techno almost like a machine malfunctioning right in front of our very eyes.

Score: 4/5

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Jae Skeese – “The Good Part” review

Here is the 5th extended play from Buffalo, New York emcee Jae Skeese. Starting in 2010 off his debut mixtape W.A.C.K. (Women, Alcohol, Cash & Kicks), it wasn’t until a decade later where he & 7xvethegenius gained wide exposure as the very first signees to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group. The Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd EP Authenticity Check & the sophomore effort Abolished Uncertainties both elevated Skeese’s popularity in the last couple years. Coming off the Superior-produced Testament of the Times & elevating from Ground Level though, Ill Tone’s producing The Good Part succeeding 40 Hours.

“Paralysis” chops up a soul sample to get things going talking about feeling like nobody’s above him whereas “Accelerant” featuring Conway the Machine & Stove God Cook$ finds the trio aggressively going at the throats of those who got the game wrong. “Curt Menafee” featuring Cory Gunz goes for a summery direction instrumentally talking about putting it all on the line leading into “S.W.G.M. (See It, Want It, Got It, Mines)” end the 1st half by speaking of taking what’s his.

Fuego Base & Sule appear on “Raiden” kicking off the 2nd leg with all 3 of them aggressively talking about wanting the finer things closer in reach just before “Worldwide” featuring Talib Kweli & T.F links up so they can discuss how far they wanna take it musically. “Mua” hops over a victorious beat to talk about getting his cake up & winning in the biggest ways while “No After No” featuring Brother Tom Sos & Consequence finishes with each artist explaining that they never stopped chasing their goals after being counted out.

I completely understood what Jae Skeese was doing trying give lesser known local artists a bigger platform although I’m still on the fence with that EP over an entire year later, but The Good Part has to be my personal favorite project of his since Testament of the Times. From the penmanship to the higher profile guest appearances & Ill Tone’s production, it’s already been implied that they’re gonna make an entire series out of this & this inaugural entry checks off every box regarding why they should.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ty$ – “Girl Music” review

Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, rapper, musician, producer & EZMNY Records founder Ty$ is back for a brand new extended play of material. Becoming popular during my 1st half of high school when his 3rd mixtape Beach House dropped. Signing to both Atlantic Records & Taylor Gang Entertainment, his full-length debut Free TC in the fall of 2015 was welcomed to warm reception although Beach House 3 & Featuring Ty$ were both merely average compared to it’s predecessor. He’s also a part of the duos MihTy with Jeremiah & of course ¥$ alongside one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West, the latter making their debut with Vultures during Super Bowl LVII weekend & dropping a widely panned sequel almost 6 months later. Tycoon would become the biggest entry in his solo career thus far & has decided to make some Girl Music.

“Nobody Has to Know” blends R&B & trap soul to get things going singing for the woman he’s with to take his soul whereas “3,000,000,000” produced by DJ Camper & Wax Motif tells this female that she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. “Bad Bitch Alert” hooks up a guitar & some finger snaps to sing about how stunning his partner is while “Intention” featuring Brandy finds the wanting to know each other’s plans. “Miss U 2” featuring Leon Thomas III was a solid alternative R&B/trap soul single telling their lovers how much they miss them & “Good to Me” ends by singing about the one he needs over a piano.

From what I understand: Airplane Mode 2 & Purple Moon are still coming out, but an evening out in New York where Ty$ was at a restaurant where the DJ was playing all the right music had him constantly thinking of what kind of music women would like to hear & leans heavier towards the R&B side of his versatility throughout Girl Music than Tycoon & he’s already hinting at more installments going forward. Instrumentally, it’s a natural return to his R&B origins & to hear where he’ll take it on the next few entries does have me intrigued.

Score: 3.5/5

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LaRussell – “Something’s in the Water” review

This is the 32nd extended play & Roc Nation Records debut from Vallejo, California emcee LaRussell. For the past 8 years, the man originally known under the moniker Tota has been steadily hustlin’ in the west coast underground by putting out his last 31 EPs along with 5 full-length albums & 7 mixtapes as of me writing this. Personal favorites include the Hit-Boy produced Rent Due, the sequel Rent Paid, the Mike & Keys-produced Party on the Westside & Black Boy Fly. However, he’s having Lil Jon fully producing Something’s in the Water.

“I’m From the Bay” after the “United Bay of America” gets things started with a hyphy beat talking about coming from the northern parts of the sunshine state whereas “Wigglin’” succeeding the titular skit goes for a bit of a g-funk vibe almost counting money until his face turns blue. The synthesizers continue to seep their way through expressing a desire to do “More for Me” & after the Marshawn Lynch skit, “Wake Shit Up” reaches the halfway point talking about his involvement in bringing this crunk shit back.

After the “Chuy Gomez” skit, Kalan.FrFr joins LaRussell to moderately recall a “Hot Summer Night” out in the west coast while “Get Off Me” does a better job at maintaining the hyphy vibes talking about how saucy he is. “I Got Flavor” instrumentally keeps throwing it back to ‘06 when “Blow the Whistle” became amongst Too $hort’s most celebrated singles once again boasting his distinctiveness, but then “You’ve Reached LaRussell’s Phone” turns out to be the 5th & final skit.

“How Far Can You Go?” winds down the final minutes of Something’s in the Water posing that very question to the world & further elaborating the reality of those who don’t put in any effort never knowing if they’ll achieve any art of success until Malachi appears on the outro, helping the leader of the Good Compenny collective in making the kind of music that would make a “Thug Cry” & having a heart full of regret soon as the doves start soaring in the air even if his feature wasn’t much better than Kalan’s.

Something’s in the Water marks a full circle moment after LaRussell was listening to “Tell Me When to Go”by E-40 featuring Keak da Sneak or the previously mentioned $hort Dog single “Blow the Whistle” on the radio 2 decades ago, getting Lil Jon to snap out of that whole guided meditation phase he was in the middle of a couple years ago & nostalgically celebrating his hometown for a hyphy-lenient Roc Nation debut although neither of the guests stuck out in addition to the amount of skits being unnecessary.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Slam Dump 2” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim with his 2nd extended play of the month & his 72nd overall. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records & being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, the Mike Shabb-produced Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth, Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. Last time I covered him was when Slam Dump & the self-produced Ultimate Rapper 5000 Guillotine towards the end of 2025, running it back with Drega33 for a Slam Dump sequel.

“Behold It” sets it all off with a soulful opener talking about not letting life slip away whereas “Il Find” featuring Jay NiCE continues the chipmunk soul vibes so they can discuss keeping the streets on smash regularly. “Freedom N Knowledge” goes for a smoother vibe instrumentally suggesting not reach for his belt when his discography speaks for itself leading into “Broken Hope” jazzily talking about every dog having it’s day.

The song “Became Great” chops up more soul samples to push towards Slam Dump 2’s final moments admitting that he had to let go of people he used to go to school with while “1up” featuring Jay NiCE reunites the pair 1 last time stripping the drums so they can talk about being on a power level with no estimate. “Venomous” spends the final couple minutes ripping a chipmunk soul instrumental explaining that he had to learn how to adjust to the diabolic world we’re living in & that it’s never too much.

I have no doubts that Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap series will be resuming sooner than later, so it isn’t really too much of a shocker that Tha God Fahim would drop off Slam Dump 2 on the same day Nature Sounds reissued Tha Dark Shogunn Saga 2 for streaming ahead of it’s 10-year anniversary when next January rolls around. Drega33’s production maintains the predominant chipmunk soul sound that we heard on the predecessor a few months earlier & Lethal Weapon 4, occasionally taking some inspiration from drumless & jazz rap rather than continuing the lo-fi boom bap direction Solar Lottery primarily embraced.

Score: 4/5

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Iron & Wine – “Hen’s Teeth” review

Sam Beam a.k.a. Iron & Wine is a 51 year old singer/songwriter from Durham, North Carolina who made his debut in 2002 with The Creek Drank the Cradle under Sub Pop Records. He would also drop Our Endless Numbered Days & The Shepherd’s Dogthough the Seattle, Washington indie label until signing to Warner Records for Kiss Each Other Clean. Ghost on Ghost was more relaxed than anything Sam had done previously & he would form his own imprint Black Cricket Recordings afterwards, returning to Sub Pop via distributing Beast Epic as well as Light Verse & now his 7th album in front of us.

“Roses” starts us off with this Americana opener likening honesty to an 8 ball in the dark & beauty lasting just as long as lightning whereas “Paper & Stone” leans towards a singer/songwriter direction sings about a relationship that’s like a game of rock, paper, scissors. “Robin’s Egg” featuring I’m with Her finds the 2 over an acoustic guitar explaining they did it for love when that’s what it was just before “Singing Saw” describes days walking by like they don’t know you or where to go.

Reaching the halfway point, “In Your Ocean” goes for an indie folk vibe singing about how Sam doesn’t want to be saved & wishing that the woman in mind feels the same way he does for him leading into “Defiance, Ohio” gets an anthem of it’s own assuring the broken pieces of oneself will come alive ‘till they roll off the road. “Wait Up” featuring I’m with Her reunites the pair 1 last time singing about neither of them passing up a good experience & giving up when the apocalypse comes.

“Grace Notes” continues the latter half of Hen’s Teeth with more indie folk production cautioning that the ghosts we deny will haunt us for the remainder of our lives while “Dates & Dead People” throws it back to the Light Verse era for 6 minutes celebrating a love that he compares to an empty cloud. “Half Measures” to me felt like a great note to end the LP on, not wanting to say goodbye & trying to keep what’s left behind even if most people would like to let it go with ease.

Maintaining the predominant chamber folk & singer/songwriter elements of Light Verse a couple years earlier, Sam Beam a.k.a. Iron & Wine noticeably puts a darker & more robust spin on those 2 styles of music to the point where Hen’s Teeth can be considered a fraternal twin of sorts to its predecessor. The secondary influences of Americana are still prevalent despite the indie folk undertones being ditched in favor of experimenting with folk rock & it’s almost as if Sam gave us a gift out of the impossible.

Score: 3.5/5

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GENA – “The Pleasure is Yours” review

GENA a.k.a. God Energy, Naturally Amazing is an alternative R&B/neo-soul duo consisting of Dallas, Texas singer/songwriter Liv.e alongside Detroit, Michigan producer & multi-instrumentalist Karriem Riggins. Getting to know each other through a mutual collaborator, their kinetic synergies have resulted in them teaming up loosely naming themselves after Tisha Campbell’s character on the Warner Bros.-owned sitcom Martin & sparking excitement for a full-length studio debut amongst everyone who’s familiar with either artists’ work.

“Who’s Got a Problem with GENA?” comes out the gate by singing an irresistibly funky instrumental asking if anyone has smoke with her or Karriem whereas “Theybetterbegladihavetherapy” goes for a bit of a jazzier direction pleading for her boundaries to be respected. “Left the Club Like “Really N***a!?”” lyrically tears a deceitful man up into complete shreds just before “You’ve Outdone Yourself Today, Huh?” sings about keeping your head up over a vocal sample.

As for “Unspokerrn”, we have Liv.e taking some heavy inspiration from none other than the Queen of Neo-Soul herself Erykah Badu trying to figure out how she & her partner got to the point they’re at in their relationship currently leading into “TGD” singing about everyone knowing the way shit goes around her hood & the women’s preference of doing it. “readymade” slickly makes it clear to her lover that she doesn’t want to regret standing beside him while “Douwannabwitastar!?” ends the 1st leg of The Promise is Yours jazzily asking if anyone wants to be with someone famous.

“This is So Crazy” gets the 2nd half going for a more futuristic direction in general & has it’s moments that somewhat remind me of the late Prince while the 3rd & final single “Lead It Up” hopping over a smooth beat singing about making a man out of this person if it were up to her. The jazz influences are brought back in full effect on the 2nd single describing “HOWWEFLOW”, but then “DoobieDooWew” a lot like “Unspokerrn” is another example of Liv.e & Karriem embodying the spirit of Erykah Badu materially both vocally & instrumentally.

Wrapping up the LP’s final moments, the lead single “Circlesz” was a great alternative R&B/neo-soul lead single to kick off The Pleasure is Yours’ rollout assuring her romantic interest that she’ll follow him around & take her time with him while the summery “Dream a Twinkle” yearns to make it far with the person she’s been dating. “Thatsmyluvr” sings about her partner being heaven sent blending some crooning background vocals with jazz horns prior to “omo iya ati baba” closing the album thanking God for giving us life & calling for parents to protect their children.

Liv.e has had done some dope features for Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE within the past several years, so the idea of her linking up with one of the 313’s most renowned percussionists in Karriem Riggins based off all 3 teasers resulted in colliding each of their jazz-inspired styles for a playfully improvisational alternative R&B & neo-soul LP with some elements of psychedelic soul & hypnagogic pop incorporated to a lesser extent that I would say rivals Jill Scott’s independent comeback To Whom This May Concern only a couple weeks earlier in ranking amongst the greatest R&B of 2026 not even a quarter way through the year.

Score: 4.5/5

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