SHVMIRE – “Eyes Wide Shut” review

This is the 4th extended play from Brooklyn, New York emcee/producer SHVMIRE. Dropping his debut EP 333 ❤ as well as a full-length debut Reclusive Poet he primarily self-produced and the Saxophones & Sex EP in 2024, he would eventually make his return this past Christmas Eve releasing his previous EP Grinch’n. Almost 3 months later, he’s continuing to take a backseat behind the boards & tell more stories of the masked hooded figure with a blue face & a closed yellow eye named ANU by putting out Eyes Wide Shut.

“Broadway & Canal St.” begins with this drumlessly jazzy beat explaining that everyone having the right to brag because it’s all facts whereas “Fidelio” featuring Nuemoney718 soulfully talks about what happens when pussy’s at stake. “Black Gatsby” chops up more chipmunk soul samples suggesting that everyone listening finds their passion while “Press Play” featuring Action Figure 973 talks about how shit gets real in the east coast.

Nuemoney returns for “The Shining” using proper grammar to speak of money continuing to rely on sampling instrumentally & “Mota y Platanos” also featuring Nuemoney references the current 4-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, 2-time HoG Tag Team Champion & the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy. “Auntie Margaret’s Soul Food” soulfully talks about how he’s only warming up while “Uncle Elroy’s Pie” welcomes anyone looking for a fix to his humble spot.

“Broken Mirrors” winds down Eyes Wide Shut’s last few moments clarifying that he’s in his 4th season who’s still commencing his reclusive style of hip hop rather than being a rookie & the beat feels like something out of a improvised jazz band session while “Follow the Light” is ties it all up with this celebratory closer firing off rapid flows talking about him thinking in double time these days & that he’s closer to God after stepping towards this brightness he’s referring to.

Known for blending gritty hip hop with jazz-influenced textures & surreal film-like energy, Eyes Wide Shut leans fully into that vision by pairing music with darkly immersive visuals inspired by secrecy as well as power & hidden worlds. The end result is SHVMIRE’s greatest solo material thus far. He uses ANU as both an alter ego much like what one of my top 10 producers of all-time Madlib has previously done with Quasimoto & a storytelling device where everything connects, which is exemplified by the cohesive transitions.

Score: 4/5

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72 Reezy – “Slide or Get Slid On” review

New surprise mixtape from Detroit, Michigan underground trap musician, model & influencer 72 Reezy. Recording music when he was only 6 & becoming distinct in Detroit trap for his numerous flows, he caught the attention of the city’s biggest groups in recent memory the ShittyBoyz signed to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records & became a member of their Dog $hit Militia collective. His debut extended play Drop $hit Militia had its moments, but hearing Danny G was fully producing Slide or Get Slid On & Shadow Wizard Money Gang hosting it raised my expectations significantly almost a week after Izzi Dame became the new NXT Women’s North American Champion.

“Whole Lotta Bullets” featuring VampViolence starts us off by having both of them decently trading the mic back-&-forth with each other whereas “Coffee Cups” picks things back up with a Detroit trap instrumental talking about carrying that exact amount of cough syrup on him similarly to a canteen, which has never been my thing personally. “Get Yo Roll On” includes a great bar towards the halfway point honoring the late Detroit icon Blade Icewood leading into “Militia Bidness” featuring Babytron representing the D$M.

As for “CatDog”, we have Danny G bringing some bells into the picture for Reezy to talk about his preference for bisexual women because he’s a dog while “Chill Damon” featuring LOM Rudy decently brings both of them together to trade verses with each other. I wasn’t head over heels for “Whole Chirp” featuring Pooh Chedda & Plymouth WAN either although I do like the beat, but “Win Slow” picks things back up using some wordplay involving the Warner Bros.-owned Family Matters series.

“Gooner” wraps up Slide or Get Slid On’s last moments boasting that he has more chains than one of hip hop’s greatest storytellers in Slick Rick while “Fast Food” featuring $kid puts a psychedelic spin to the Detroit sound although $kid’s appearance would have to be my 2nd favorite right behind Tron of course. “Bambu” finishes the tape hopping over a rattling bassline talking about his joint being filled with dank & hearing that everyone else has been rolling swishers.

I stand by the praise I’ve given Danny G in the past for his production on TR Dee’s 4th mixtape Crunch Time and $weet-T’s 3rd album $weet & Silent Dan. That said: Slide or Get Slid On wound up leaving me on the fence a lot like WTF Daniel!? did this last Halloween. There’s nothing wrong with Danny’s production since he & Jakesand are amongst my personal favorite producers within the modern Detroit trap scene, although the features leave little to be desired for me other than a couple of them & Reezy’s performances have improved.

Score: 3/5

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Jack Harlow – “Monica” review

Louisville, Kentucky recording artist, producer & actor Jack Harlow returning with his 4th studio LP. Breaking through when the pandemic started off the single “What’s Poppin’?”, this resulted in DJ Drama & Don Cannon signing him to their Atlantic Records imprint Generation Now Entertainment as well as them putting out a mediocre full-length debut with That’s What They All Say that same winter & who could forget the arduous listen of a sophomore effort Come Home the Kids Miss You in 2023? Jackman. followed 11 months later & I thought that was alright, not really expecting anything different out of Monica.

“Trade Places” begins with Jack desiring to get alone with his lover the way she wants to whereas “Lonesome” produced by Rogét Chahayed talks about how sometimes he has to walk away when his partner’s feeling alone. “Prague” admits to his partner that he should stop holding on to them existing as a couple because he misses this woman the more she resists just before “My Winter” goes for a more laidback vibe describing a woman who he considers to be the complete opposite of himself.

To get the 2nd half of the album going, “Move Along” comes across as this 54 second interlude cautioning to be careful of what you take from him while “All of My Friends” talks about people telling him he comes off too strong to others. “Living Alone” confesses he can’t postpone disrupting the tempo of this person’s life any further & after “Against the Grain” asks his partner why she’s opposing what considered to be normal, “Say Hello” finishes with him suggesting he’ll get at this person when his life gets slow.

I kinda had the feeling that the commercial success of the obnoxious “Lovin’ on Me” would get to Jack Harlow’s head because Monica is a step above Come Home the Kids Miss You, but worse than Jackman. & has me questioning the future of Generation Now following Lil Uzi Vert’s departure. The production is more lenient towards the contemporary R&B & pop soul side of things rather than the pop rap style he became known for & although I very much appreciate him trying to artistically transcend by doing what he hasn’t done previously, I’d much rather listen to GENA’s full-length debut The Pleasure is Mine or Jill Scott’s 6th album To Whom This May Concern.

Score: 1.5/5

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The Musalini & Smoke DZA – “Uptown Saturday Night” review

Brand new collaborative EP from Manhattan, New York emcees The Musalini & Smoke DZA. One of whom has been putting it down for over a decade dating back to when I was in high school & the other has been making waves for the past 6 years, signing to Jamla Records at the beginning of 2022. These guys have crossed paths with each other on a couple of tracks over the years like “Multiple” & “On the Go”, so the idea of them spending an Uptown Saturday Night together & bringing a couple other artists along for the ride didn’t seem too bad on paper.

“Respect Money Power” hops over a luxurious boom bap instrumental to talk about the world being theirs & burning flower whereas “Blues” featuring Fuego Base finds the trio over a jazzier beat so they can discuss counting up $100 bills. “Mack 10” goes for a rap rock vibe instrumentally admitting that all this money on their minds is fucking up their heads just before “Let’s Talk Money” ends the 1st leg of the EP by wanting to discuss finances.

To get the 2nd half going, “Stash House” blends a string sample with some kicks & snares encouraging everyone to peep the scenery while “Bread-Winners” featuring Lord Cartel marks my least favorite guest appearance of the 3 despite the themes & continuation of the previous track’s symphonic spin on the traditional boom bap sound. “Horses & Bourbons” by Mu$ featuring John Dutch finds the pair talking about going on a run & not referring to court when they say that while “Eye of the Storm” concludes with them living by the code since everything has a limit.

Being a fan of Smoke DZA since my adolescence & getting put onto The Musalini when he was wrapping up his tenure at TCF Music Group, the idea of them joining forces for Uptown Saturday Night had me wondering if it could reach the same level of quality the Choose or Lose collab EP that Mu$ did with Wais P & Statik Selektah last fall. And although I prefer the latter, fans of both MCs will get a kick out of this extended play. Could’ve done without a couple of the guests, but DZA & Mu$ do a fine job of flowing off each other well over John Dutch’s production.

Score: 3.5/5

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The Horde – “Rydas Rebels: Gone Rogue” review

Southern horrorcore superduo The Horde consisting of Boondox & Bukshot are back with a new extended play. One hailing from Covington, Georgia signing to the Insane Clown Posse’s own Psychopathic Records in the mid-late 2000s & the other puttin’ it down for Louisville, Kentucky since ‘97 by founding the independent hip hop label Mobstyle Music. The pair started worked with each other for over a decade now continuing to do so after the scarecrow left PSY to form his very own Krimson Crow Entertainment following his 4th album Abaddon eventually signing to Majik Ninja Entertainment couple years later whether it be their first 2 mixtapes Hell’s Kitchen & Paradigm Shift as well as their debut EP Overdrive or even their work with Claas as The Underground Avengers. Their debut album The End is Nigh celebrates its 3-year anniversary in a few days, coming off Paradigm Sync! to declare that a couple of Rydas Rebels have Gone Rogue a couple weeks after The Irresistible Forces became the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

“Mobsta Party” featuring Zodiac MPrint brings all 4 of them together freestyling over the instrumental of the classic 2Pac single “2 of Amerika’z Most Wanted” featuring WWE Hall of Famer & current Death Row Records owner Snoop Dogg whereas “Headshots” featuring Siamese Goat God takes a funkier approach to the beat spitting that gangsta shit. After “In Tha Mud” & “Bout It” freestyle over “In da Club” by 50 Cent & I’m Bout It, Bout It” by Master P featuring Mia X respectively, “True to the Way” featuring St8jaket & 9 Millz ends with them freestyling over “Forgot About Dre” by Dr. Dre featuring Eminem.

If you’re familiar with the Psychopathic Rydas’ output back when Boondox was signed to the label that runs beneath the streets with the Eastside Ninjas, then you should probably know what you’re getting yourself into with Rydas Rebels: Gone Rogue & would argue at it’s on par with that 1-off Rydas album that MNE dropped at the beginning of 2020 in terms of averageness. Boondox & Bukshot continue the gangsta rap themes of Paradigm Sync! except that the guest list isn’t all that impressive & the beats they’re rapping over make me wanna listen to the original versions of them.

Score: 2.5/5

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Mickey Factz – “The Plague” review

Mickey Factz is a 33 year old MC/producer from The Bronx, New York who broke out 2 decades ago off his debut mixtape In Search of the N*E*R*D. He would go on to drop 14 more tapes until Nottz produced his full-length debut The Achievement: Circa ‘82 under Soulspazm Records celebrating it’s 10-year anniversary this fall, dropping a few more full-lengths & mixtapes afterwards. Coming off 1 Above All & the Tru Crime trilogy of disses directed at Tru Life however, he’s returning for his 4th EP.

“Verbalize” hops over a gritty rap rock instrumental dissing Aye Verb whereas “Shutter Island” goes for a jazzier boom bap vibe explaining how much of an issue mental health is today, hoping those who need help see a psychiatrist. “Ong Bak” works in more guitars mixed with kicks & snares talking about leaving this kinfolk with grievances just before “Letter from Hitman” hops over another boom bap beat reading a message Hitman Holla sent him.

The song “All Set” continues the 2nd half of The Plague on some soulfully dusty shit talking about setting his sights on becoming the MVP leading into the celebratory “Accolades” suggesting that he should let every accomplishment over the course of his career speak for themselves. “Genesis 3:14” spends the last 3 & a half minutes speaking directly to Aye Verb, wanting him to know that he believes he’s struggling with mental health issues & hopes the dude gets the help he truly needs.

Some people may know this guy for beefing with the likes of Wale or former Slaughterhouse members Joe Budden & Royce da 5’9”, but Mickey Factz dedicates The Plague to taking shots at Aye Verb & it makes for some of his most enjoyable material that I’ve heard from him in years. Even if the production isn’t necessarily the best as far as boom bap goes, Mickey’s disses towards Aye Verb all transition into 1 another cohesively & makes the extended play feel like 27 minute diatribe sticking to battle rap’s traditions.

Score: 3.5/5

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billi0n – “Revenge” review

This is the debut mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia rapper billi0n. A member of the ØWay collective, he would properly himself last year off his debut EP Heavy after signing to 10K Projects, he would follow it up with both Bravo Bill & then Not Playin’ in the summer, dropping the other 2 extended plays a couple months apart from each other. I also enjoyed his appearances on The XA Tape, returning 7 months after Not Playin’ looking for some Revenge this Friday the 13th.

“Skyrim” begins with him hopping over a hypertrap instrumental referencing the greatest entry across the entire Elder Scrolls franchise whereas “Elite” fuses hypertrap & psychedelia talking about making the baddest bitch pray to God. “Nøt Guilty” continues to hit us with more rage beats talking about his daughter casually chopping shit up with the glizzy prior to “The Grudge” blending some synthesizers & 808s so he can boast that he’s out in New York City.

Meanwhile on “Sleigh Bells”, we have billi0n talking about how all these muhfuckas can get it & he isn’t referring to the bitches at all just before “Jordan Belført” featuring diamond* sees the 2 throwing red & blue tips out the dumper together. “Max It” featuring Yung Fazo leans towards a futuristic trap vibe instrumentally talking about doing whatever it is they’re charged for leading into “Elephant” wrapping up the 1st leg boisterously breaking down his entire lifestyle.

“Sex Symbol” starts the 2nd half talking about a woman who has some kind of twisted power over men & being at the point in his life where’s starting to get fed up with smoking weed while “Impressed” fuses trap & chipmunk soul to explain that his pockets lookin’ stereotypical in as well as having no time to be tender. “10 Floors Up” featuring Diorvsyou & Tezzus finds the trio mobbin’ over an industrial trap beat while “Conditions of Love” talks about being ready to fuck heads up.

To kick off the 4th quarter, “Daydreamin’” chops up a blissful vocal sample admitting that he fell asleep whilst sippin’ paint because he stays dirty while “Spendin’ a Ticket (Adin Ross)” energetically talks about having no problems smacking up anyone who snitches on his crew. “Bonus Freestyle” goes off the top for a minute & a half flexing that he copped a bag without checking the price of it while “Øn the Road” saves the tape’s final verse for Pz’, praying that all the mobsters & killers keep it legitimate with him.

Receiving a co-sign from local trap trailblazer Young Thug yesterday & considering the fact that he’s already signed the Uy Scuti Boyz a.k.a. diamond* & Tezzus to YSL Records already, it wouldn’t surprise me if billi0n joins the label once he fulfills his 10K Projects contract & surpasses all of his early EPs he’s given us prior to this tape in terms of quality. He’s said to drop another LP later this year called Metalhead & if he continues to refine himself artistically like he did after getting his Revenge, then it could be a superior sophomore effort.

Score: 3.5/5

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James Blake – “Trying Times” review

This is the 7th studio LP & Virgin Music debut from Enfield, London, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter & producer James Blake. Someone who would move over to Republic Records after making his eponymous debut in 2011 under A&M Records by dropping Overgrown, The Colour in Anything, Assume Form, Friends That Break Your Heart & Playing Robots into Heaven over the course of a decade. I can’t forget to mention when he & Lil Yachty got together for their collaborative album Bad Cameo a couple years ago, marking his independence from a major label in an attempt to make something that would help people overcome these Trying Times.

“Walk Out Music” begins with a neo-psychedelic synthwave intro singing about being no good to anybody whereas “Death of Love” fuses alternative R&B, post-dubstep, trap soul & UK bass sampling “You Want It Darker” by the late Leonard Cohen to describe the internet’s progressively dark downfall. “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand” combines singer/songwriter, alternative R&B, brill building & adult contemporary flipping “It Was Only a Dream” by Thee Sinseers sings about wanting to know what it means while the soulful singer/songwriter title track desiring to die & stay alive for this person after everything going on these past couple weeks.

Things kinda take an indie rock turn whilst suggesting to his partner that they “Make Something Up” leading into Monica Martin joining James for the 2-parter “Didn’t Come to Argue” singing about taking her hand with no plans of doing so. “Days Go By” experiments with chipmunk soul & post-dubstep passionately admitting he let the enemy get the best of him in the midst of nothing getting done the more time passes while “Doesn’t Just Happen” featuring Dave continues the 2nd half of the album singing & rapping about how falling in love doesn’t occur out of the blue.

“Rest of Your Life” after the vocally repetitive “Obsession” interlude kicks off the 4th quarter of Trying Times embracing an EDM sound wanting to know where this person’s gonna spend the remainder of their existence & wanting to spend it with them while “Through the High Wire” was originally conceived when one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West were working on a cancelled collaborative album called War & I’ll still take this final version for what it is. “Feel It Again” incorporates these bare synthesizers asking himself if he really came all the way here to be someone’s friend & “Just a Little Higher” ends with him singing about adjusting your sights because we’re all getting played.

Spending the last quarter of a century waking up to do what he loves, James Blake commemorates 15 years of introducing himself with self-titled by dropping what the multi-talented recording artist himself would consider the strongest possible foot he could put forward & takes over Playing Robots Into Heaven’s spot as the guest thing he’s done in this ongoing decade. His production explores art pop, alternative R&B, alt-pop, post-dubstep, UK bass, trap soul, neo-soul, singer/songwriter, brill building & adult contemporary to confidently give us his experiences of being in love in the middle of him battling the limits of the self against a backdrop of global uncertainty.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lamb of God – “Into Oblivion” review

Lamb of God is a groove metal band from Richmond, Virginia comprised of bassist John Campbell, lead guitarist Mark Morton, rhythm guitarist Willie Adler, drummer Art Cruz & frontman Randy Blythe. Introducing themselves a quarter of a century ago off their full-length debut Burn the Priest & the sophomore effort New American Gospel, As the Palaces Burn would catch the attention of Epic Records & their major label debut Ashes of the Wake remains my personal favorite in their discography even now. Sacrament, Wrath, Resolution, VII: Sturm und Drang, self titled & Omens were all solid in their own rights although I personally prefer some more than others. They’ve been teasing a new era since this past October right around the time a video of theirs appeared on season 11 of the MTV hit-series Beavis & Butt-head marking their debut for Comedy Central & it’s finally here with their 11th album.

The title track & 3rd single incorporates some metalcore influences into their signature groove metal sound singing about being the face of tyranny in the age of conspiracy whereas the 2nd single “Parasocial Christ” sprinkles some hints of thrash metal throughout for a statement criticizing the current age of social media. The lead single “Sepsis” combines thrash & groove metal with sludge metal for a throwback to their Burn the Priest days except Randy’s noticeably angrier now that he’s older while “The Killing Floor” feels reminiscent to the As the Palace Burns era following the name change.

“El Vacío” reaches the halfway point embracing more somber guitar tones singing about a monster sleeping in their home state while “St. Catherine’s Wheel” kicking off the 2nd leg. After the 4th & final single “Blunt Force Blues” blends groove metal & metalcore for a reflection of the various skills they’ve accrued over the course of their career, “Bully” taps back into the band’s typical angst some have come to know them for while “1,000 Years” sings about unleashing the dogs of war to fill his crimson glass. “Devise / Destroy” spends the last 4 minutes riding off Into Oblivion by taking a more antagonistic approach to delivering the social commentary Randy wants to get off his chest.

Self-titled & Omens were both alright to me personally, but the teasers we got in preparation for Into Oblivion gave me the impression that it would be their best since VII: Sturm und Drang after I had graduated high school over a decade ago & I can definitely say with confidence that it joins the likes of that as well as Sacrament & As the Palace Burn in comprising the other 4 albums I would have join Ashes of the Wake to comprise my top 5 favorite full-lengths throughout the Lamb of God canon. The groove metal veterans take secondary inspiration from metalcore, thrash metal & sludge metal to issue a warning regarding people accepting what would’ve horrified them 2 decades ago.

Score: 4/5

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Nezzy – “The Infamous N.E.Z.” review

Brand new LP & the 4th overall from Sandusky, Ohio emcee/producer Nezzy. Emerging within the underground in 2022 off his first 2 EPs Subject to Change & Pyramids, he went on to follow this up by releasing the full-length debut Hippie Thug in the spring of 2023 & subsequently his 3rd EP New World Disorder a couple months later. Hall of Infamy & his previous album Worm Food from last summer have both elevated him in terms of popularity containing some of the greatest tracks of his career, dropping The Infamous N.E.Z. almost 9 months succeeding it’s predecessor.

“The Infamous” produced by C-Lance gives his flowers to one of the greatest hip hop duos of all-time Mobb Deep fresh off their final album Infinite this past fall whereas the self-produced “Mysterioso Pizzicato” maintains a gritty boom bap vibe instrumentally talking about cremating any rapper who thinks they’re hot. “Cuckoo!” wasn’t my favorite single of the 3 although I do appreciate the old school east coast hip hop just before “Raiders of the Lost Art” featuring Ja’king the Divine teams up over a Stu Bangas beat talking about hip hop being more than fame & riches.

We get a cool tribute to the classic video game “Def Jam Vendetta” although I prefer Fight for New York like most people & Icon was complete garbage, but then “Gein’s Theme” ruggedly talks about how there won’t ever be another MC of his caliber. “Vat of Acid” gets the 2nd half going admitting that he’s been a bastard from the very beginning while the lead single “Kaboom Bap” talks about being the man with the plan.

“Riddle Me This” rounds out 3rd with this eerie boom bap beat suggesting to keep your head on a swivel & stay vigilant while “Most Writeous” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 promising over some horns issuing a promise of snatching microphones from anyone who’s spitting wack rhymes. “N.E.Z.” lastly sends it all off saluting The Notorious B.I.G. & the late Prodigy on top of promising to go crazy musically until the day he can’t anymore.

Nezzy has been constantly turning heads by evolving his whole style known for combining hardcore vulgar references filled with deeply introspective conscious rap full of uncompromising rhyme schemes & thought-provoking choice of words ever since opening for opening for Psychopathic Records alumni Anybody Killa & DJ Clay at the co-headlined Welcome Home Party couple years ago, to which The Infamous N.E.Z. feels like a refinement of Worm Food in terms of lyricism & production.

Score: 4/5

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