This is the 6th EP from Maryland recording artist Ty Fontaine. Breaking out in 2019 off the strength of his debut EP Waiting on Ascension, he would go on to follow this up with the full-length debut We Ain’t the Same alongside a couple of mixtapes & 3 more EPs, the previous being The Revive preluding a sequel to his Internet Money Records-backed debut mixtape Ascension & more recently Black Truck Life in the spring. Now that we’re halfway through summer, Ty’s enlisting SJR to ask if Yuheame.
“Epic Disco” is an electronic-tinged opener talking big things whereas “Ma Deserves ChaNayNay” gives off more of a psychedelic trap edge so he can single out everyone that’s called him crazy up to this point. “Soso” has a more cheerful sound to it instrumentally talking about how they tried to take his heart away but after the “Tyler’s Message #FreeTheSeals” interlude, “Macaroni Sounds” featuring Migo Lee dives into plugg territory putting it all on their granny’s kids.
Meanwhile, “Fleek” goes for a moodier atmosphere saying his squad on that shit if you want it just before “Magic Magic” goes into glossy trap territory asking why his bitch being extra & not to play with his paper. “Fast” featuring MultiPlayas blends these keys & hi-hats to detail exactly the way they be living now while “On Ya Head” pulls from dance music a bit addressing a love interest of his.
The song “C’mon” featuring Joony finds the 2 gives off a victorious flare to the instrumental pointing out the fact that the money ain’t ever gon’ leave them as opposed to the women that do while the penultimate track “On Timing…” dives into syrupy territory talking about still being on that time. “Beaming” though closes out the EP out on a profound note by addressing his ever-growing popularity.
However long it may be until we reach Ascension 2, I’m more than ok with Ty continuing to build anticipation for it by further experimenting with his versatility like he did only a few months back. The performances from the few features that he brings in are pretty mild but outside of that, but his knack for catchy songwriting remains untouched & SJR’s brings a whole new vibe behind the boards.
It’s finally arrived: The 4th full-length album from Houston, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & entrepreneur Travis Scott. Not only was it confirmed by DJ Premier recently that La Flame’s father actually taught Preem how to play drum & bass, but Trav himself up as 1/2 of The Graduate$ until the duo disbanded after he signed a joint deal with T.I. to Grand Hustle Records as a recording artist & with one of my top 10 music producers of all-time Kanye West as a G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer. His debut mixtape Owl Pharaoh that came out my sophomore year had a blatantly heavy KiD CuDi influence which isn’t bad because it was even said that CuDi was Travis’ biggest musical influence & they’ve since formed a superduo called The Scotts. The sophomore tape Days Before Rodeo was where he started coming into his own artistically & the Epic Records distributed full-length debut Rodeo has rightfully become one of the most important trap albums of all-time. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight followed the next fall to more moderate reception even though the highs like “sweet sweet” & “goosebumps” are very high, but ASTROWORLD came out only a few days after a death in the family & it helped me get through it as Travis would expand on the psychedelic trap sounds of his groundbreaking debut album. This would subsequently be his last body of work to be released under Grand Hustle, as he would go on to form his own Epic imprint Cactus Jack Records. But after years of singles & a crowd crush at the 3rd annual ASTROWORLD Fest that some people still blame him for even though the same security who worked there were the same ones who worked when Dave Chappelle got jumped on stage last year, the H-Town trap trailblazer is taking us to UTOPIA.
“HYAENA” is a self-produced boom bap opener flipping “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic talking about shit being out of control as it is calling the situation we’re in currently to neither be a good one nor unblessed whereas “THANK GOD” gives his thanks to the man upstairs for still being here today & the only 12 he supports being the greatest QB of all-time or 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady over a drumless instrumental with co-production from Ye, BoogzDaBeast, WondaGurl, FNZ & Allen Ritter. “MODERN JAM” featuring Teezo Touchdown speaks on the way the world is now as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo & Mike Dean sonically draw inspiration from Yeezus a bit that is until “MY EYES” has a dynamically dreamier vibe courtesy of Wheezy & Justin Vernon confessing that his eyes remain closed.
30 Roc & Dez Wright hook up a melodic vocal loop & hi-hats for “GOD’S COUNTRY” talking about how it ain’t up to you no more just before “SIRENS” energetically talks about being too determined & needing refurbishing. “MELTDOWN” featuring Drake is essentially a spiritual successor to “Sicko Mode” with all the instrumental switch-ups from Boi-1da, BNYX of Working on Dying, Tay Keith & Vinylz respectively getting on tea time with my only complaint being Drake’s redundantly corny diss to one of my idols Pharrell. We all know the story of Adidon, but he didn’t have to throw Skateboard under the bus. The secondary WrestleMania XLI official theme song “FE!N” featuring Playboi Carti though makes up for it by going into a synth-heavy realm talking about drug use & Carti’s vocal utilizations throughout are unbelievable.
“DELRESTO (ECHOES)” featuring Beyoncé sounds like it could’ve been on B’s comeback effort Renaissance from last summer as they jump on top of a house beat from Hit-Boy clarifying the only thing they escape for is the echoes themselves, but then “I KNOW?” talks about a girl that really ain’t even his type backed by a nocturnal trap instrumental. “TOPIA TWINS” featuring Rob49 & 21 Savage blends some organs & hi-hats referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock showing off 2 twin bitches hoppin’ off a jetski even though Rob’s contribution doesn’t hold up to La Flame’s or 21’s, but “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” named after his debut film talks about having his final moment on top of synths & heavy drums.
Cactus Slatt gets together for the trippy, 6-minute “SKITZO” once again dabbling with multiple beat-switches pointing out how the bitches they bagged do that there on top of Travis rightfully choosing Kanye over Biden any day while the “PARASAIL” interlude gives off a slower edge promising to eternally fight for everything he loves. “Lost Forever” featuring Westside Gunn was something I was highly anticipating sampling both “f.o.r.e.v.e.r.” by James Blake & “Don’t Be Safe” by Check Senrick thanks to another top 10 producer of mine The Alchemist so Trav can discuss being lost in Utopia on top of West dropping the raw gangsta shit we’ve come to love him for later on.
“LOOOVE” by The Scotts goes into more robotic territory understanding that they’re loved asking if that’s how anyone else is feeling while “K-Pop” featuring Bad Bunny fresh off his WrestleMania XXXIX guest Spanish commentator appearance & The Weeknd is basically a male version of “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, which I actually understand why he chose it as a single even though I’ll most likely never listen to that song again. Really the only skip here. The cloudy penultimate track “TELEKINESIS” featuring Future & SZA finds the trio talking about seeing ahead into what’s to come, but “‘TIL FURTHER NOTICE” featuring James Blake & 21 Savage wraps up Utopia by saying x-rated love is the best kinda love accompanied by a synth-trap hybrid from Metro Boomin’.
ASTROWORLD quickly became my 2nd favorite Trav album for how it expanded on the psychedelics that made his full-length debut amongst the most groundbreaking trap projects to come out within the last decade & it makes me happy to see how much it’s aged well, but UTOPIA easily stands at the #3 spot. It’s refreshing to hear him behind the boards again with him wearing the Ye influences HEAVY as he shows us all experiences where utopian things can exist & you can enjoy yourself & have a good time.
MacArthur Maze is a Bay Area-based hip-hop collective consisting of Blvck Achilles, Champ Green, D. Blesdoe, Ian Kelly, Jane Handcock, Roux Shankle & the Golden State Warriors’ disc jockey DJ D Sharp. The septuplet has been turning quite a few heads in the west coast underground scene over the years, most notably WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg signing Jane to a contract with the infamous Death Row Records as a solo artist now that the cousin of the shortest reigning IWGP女子チャンピオン, 6-time WWE women’s champion, NXT Women’s Champion & the inaugural record-tying 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné has full ownership of the label. However, the crew’s ready to make their mark as a unit on their official debut album.
After the intro, the first song “First Friday” starts it all off with an orchestral boom bap instrumental pledging allegiance to the family prior to “Panther Bruce Lee” working in a lounger sound so the crew can display some strong back & forth mic chemistry for nearly 3 minutes. “San Pablo Dam” goes into a more delicate direction with the beat talking about the titular road out in Contra Costa county, but then “Ms. Mula” shifts into solemn trap territory to put an interesting spin on the concept of money.
The title track blends a vocal sample with kicks & snares discussing what they can still remember just before “No More” comes through with a dope gospel flip talking about not wanting to hear wack shit anymore. “Table for 5” gives off a jazzier flare instrumentally declaring to be on the highway leading into the dreamier “Switching Lanes” talking about having his rap shit down to the chemistry.
Lastly to begin the final leg of the album, the penultimate track “Dealin’ Art” cooks up an even smoother beat detailing the many blessings that the collective has been grateful enough to receive up to this point & “Thank You Have a Nice Day” rounds out MacArthur Maze’s debut album with everyone over horns talking about reaching a certain high to be known & proving all their doubters wrong.
I was already familiar with Jane because of her extensive collaborations with Snoop Dogg & being taken under his mentorship, so that undoubtedly played a part in my interest for this album peaking. The final result being a solid introduction as to who MacArthur Maze is. They honor those in Northern California who paved the way while also carving out their own niche in the scene.
This is the collaborative LP between Adelaide, Australia emcee Nelson Dialect alongside Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verbz. The latter of whom made his High Focus Records debut in November 2020 off his sophomore effort Radio Waves & the other introducing himself to the Hove, East Sussex imprint’s roster 15 months ago with his 5th album Ever Since. And what to both of those as well as Where It Started all have in common? Mr. Slipz fully produced all of those projects, so it makes perfect sense for him to get both Nelson & Verbz together so they can elevate their chemistry with Sight Beyond Sight weeks after Connor Mills ended Robbie X’s reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.
These guys make their “Arrival” with an atmospheric boom bap instrumental guaranteeing that shit won’t ever be the same after this whereas the lead single “Strike Back” incorporates some pianos mixed with kicks & snares talking about how it’s either do or die with them. The 3rd single “Beside Me” ghostly suggests for people to stay by them because that’s what all the real ones do just before “Movements” talks about neither of the 2 wanting to hit a dead end.
“Not My Nature” goes for a mellower, somewhat jazzier boom bap vibe assuring they’re still breathing life into those tainted lungs of theirs achieving to escape a place they see whenever they feel glum while the title track marked the 4th & final single teased talking about how the sky isn’t the limit for them anymore, keeping their minds elevated. “Cause & Effect” takes a more conscious approach to their songwriting over a lo-fi boom bap beat while “Regardless” prioritizes progress over paychecks.
Continuing the 2nd half, “Don’t Cry” talks about them writing their longevities down in addition to providing positive energy & death being a certainty. “Set Sail” embraces a funkier sound confessing they’ve lost the plot & haven’t found it since, further advising that listening to the Don should be rule #1 while “Homecoming” soulfully gets too serious for it to be played in the clubs, declaring they’re heading back to the their respective homes after traveling this long road they’ve been going down
“Infinite Avenues” gets back on the jazzy boom bap tip talking about times being hard & watching the way you live because of the high stakes that come with the territory while “Edge of Oblivion” eerily explains that both MCs have been trying to live & learn from past versions of themselves. “Starting 5” featuring King Kashmere, Nuphzed & Renelle 893 concludes Sight Beyond Sight comparing themselves to the starting lineup of a basketball team, with Chuck Enzo & Renelle having my favorite guest verses here.
Considering the fact we’ve heard Nelson Dialect & Verbz cross paths with each other a couple times with tracks like “Hope” or “Oxford Scholars”, I completely understand why they locked in to give us Sight Beyond Sight since I’d tell you I enjoyed it as much as both projects Verbz has done under High Focus within the past few years & more than Ever Since. The jazzy boom bap production Slipz has become known for compliments the introspective themes Nelson & Verbz tackle using the full-length’s title as a metaphor for both escapism & meditation.
This is the official full-length debut album from Ohio born/South Carolina based recording artist & producer OsamaSon. Getting his start a couple years ago, he would then start to pump out 3 EPs shortly after I’m da Man as well as Vengeance & Carnival respectively. He returned at the beginning of 2023 by dropping osamavrt, following it up this past spring in the form of slime & Bad Habits However, the sextet of EPs have all been building up to Osama Season & I was intrigued going in because I’ve only heard a couple tracks from him up to this point.
“Leh Go” is a rage-inducing opener produced by Ok to set things off talking about slidin’ up whereas “Werkin’” goes into more synth-heavy turf calling out a whole entire crew for being virgins & floating on the highway speeding. “Vlone” has a dark plugg sound to it warning that those who run up him will get ‘lammed just before “Summer 16” takes the hypertrap route once again ballin’ like it was 2016 all over again, which is understandable considering how massive of a year that was for hip hop.
Meanwhile, “Anti” brings back the synths on top of some hi-hats having exactly in mind what he would do for the plus leading into “Lil O” pulling out another rage beat paying homage to the titular Houston emcee of the same name. “X & Sex” addresses the 2 things he loves the most with a bombastic beat, but then “Kutta” delves further into hypertrap flexing that he got racks & having the ability to do it all.
The synthesizers throughout “Lambtruck” are inebriating looking to take the whip to Japan while the song “Don’t Let Looks Fool” talks about the idea of not judging a book by it’s cover in his own way over a futuristic instrumental. The penultimate track “Pipeup” gives me a robotic trap vibe sonically thanks to boolymon coming through the back with the heater & “Troops” is a more psychedelic choice of a closer talking about being outside with the squad.
Although Smokingskul & Glokk4spazz have both my favorite dark plugg artists within the past 365 days almost, OsamaSon has quickly just entered the ranks on this album. The production is still grounded in his signature sound even though it shifts into rage beats every so often, his songwriting is a lot stronger & I don’t think I’ve ever heard him this hungry. Keep an eye out for him, he’s going places.
che is a 16 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia emerging as part of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it. But it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up this past February in the form of X, which was supposed to be the original version of his 3rd EP over here to my surprise. So with that in mind, I had to give the final product a listen almost 2 weeks since former MLW National Openweight Champion Alex Kane became the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion.
“blueberry bakwood” was a dope choice for the final single whether it be CXO’s trap production with undertones of both Chicago drill & plugg or che dedicating it to his personal favorite flavor of Backwoods blunt wraps whereas “sativa” works in a more atmospheric instrumental talking about the titular strain of marijuana although I’m more of a hybrids guy personally. The futuristically bombastic “fangs” flexing that he be toting heavy pistols & is able to tell who smokes wack shit, but then “????” gives off a more energetic sound talking about his lifestyle.
Moving on from there, “sol” blends some hi-hats & synthesizers telling his girl to slide through his spot on top of coming clean that he isn’t looking for closure prior to “canary” enhances the euphoric mood refusing to go out bad. The lead single “blac chyna” fuses trap with Chicago drill letting the drum off just before “sos” returns to an otherworldly vibe to the beat talking about his girl calling him papa & copping expensive Balencis.
The penultimate track “draco draco” gives off a more euphoric drill edge instrumentally acknowledging that he still be popping tags & wanting all his bread in the mail while the closer “frank ocean” produced by SOULJASPIRITS talks about not being with the bullshit & getting a foreign hoe some vetements over a wavy ass trap beat. The bonus cut “flip” officially caps off the EP with a synth-laced drill instrumental calling your hoe a dirty skank & going so cray.
Given that 3 was a solid beginning in che’s career & X started off the year by giving us a taste of what was to come, Closed Captions has cemented him as my personal favorite 4ersona member & he has more than enough room to grow artistically down the line. The trap production is cloudier with a hint of Chicago drill mixed in as opposed to some his previous works putting his life on wax by delivering some of his infectious performances of his career
This is the 3rd full-length album from Detroit rapper, songwriter & actor Babyface Ray. Starting in 2014 by joining the Team Eastside collective, he has since gone on to drop 5 mixtapes as well as 5 EPs & a well received debut within the last 6-7 years before turning heads worldwide & becoming one of the 2 biggest up-&-comers in the city next to Babytron, both of whom eventually landed spots in this year’s XXL Freshman Class over the summer. But coming off of Mob last winter, Face’s declaring that the summer’s his.
The opener “ScarFACE” starts off with these synthesizers & claps refusing to stop under any circumstances whereas “Donda Bag” hooks up these piano melodies & hi-hats talking about coming through black on black. “Bosses Linking With Bosses” featuring Veeze swaps the chords out for more synths as both of Detroit’s biggest new stars detail being the bosses they truly are that is until the cloudy “Leaving London” cleverly talking about coming through regulating as if he’s Warren G.
“All Star Team” clarified that he’s far from a rookie with a more danceable appeal to the instrumental just before “Luh Tyler Flow” featuring Los & Nutty reincorporated the synthesizers talking about keeping your guard up watching out for vultures. “I75” gives off a more nocturnal feeling to the beat admitting spending too much time on the titular interstate, but then the spacey “Racks N” flexes his wealth & calling a chick’s bestie so he can hit it.
Meanwhile, “Skateland” instrumentally throws it back to the 80s a little telling those who stay talking negatively about him to boss down leading into “Life Full of Lies” jumps on top of some hi-hats & horns asking why he’d listen to anyone when their whole life is cap. “I Can’t Rap Foreva” plans his escape with a cloudier flare that is until “Dancing with the Devil, Pt. 2” is a superior sequel to one of the weakest joints on Face.
“Big Meech Holiday” featuring King Hendrick$ produced by Cardo & Dez Wright moodily calls to give a holiday for infamous Detroit drug trafficker Big Meech while the song “Jackboys” cautions to play this dirty game safe over a groovy beat. The crooning loop throughout “Fly Gods” is well flipped as well as Westside Gunn spits the best guest verse on the entire album talking about being old school & the 4th installment of “My Thoughts” sends of Face’s 3rd album on a more personal note.
Unlike Face seeing him stepping out of his comfort zone to experiment with new sounds & Mob showing a more introspective side to Ray, he pulled a 180° on Summer’s Mine & it’s one that I’m sure fans will keep in rotation until autumn comes around the corner in a couple months. Other than a hit or miss feature list, he goes for a warmer climate appropriately enough & the adamant confidence in his voice is as clear as it could possibly be.
This is a brand new collaborative EP from Lynn, Massachusetts emcee/producer Estee Nack & Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee/producer Raz Fresco. One getting his start as a member of the Tragic Allies & the other garnering my interest in 2011 when short-lived Odd Future member Ace Hashimoto formerly known as brandUn DeShay had him featured on “Why Bother?” off All Day DeShay: AM. But as the Nackman comes fresh off his Griselda Records debut & one of his best albums of his career Nacksaw Jim Duggan couple months ago, Raz is now teaming up with him & the hottest producer in Montréal, Québec right now Nicholas Craven to take us through Gia…À La Carte.
“Cinque Campi” kicks off the EP with a bare drumless loop as both of them are masterfully mackin’ prior to “Roll Up the Rim” incorporates some strings & crooning background vocals showing y’all some shit referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, the inaugural 6-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Kurt Angle.
The song “Fleece” goes for a funkier groove getting the bread to bless those below them with crumbs whereas “Whirlwind works in some flutes talking about seeing his shadow on Groundhog’s Day yet pushing it because they’re fearless. Jimmie D, Mike Shabb & The 6th Letter all join Estee & Raz for the climactic 6-minute closer “Born King” discussing being born for greatness with Jimmie & Shabbo’s verses sticking out.
Both of these dudes have crossed paths with one another before on tracks like “God’s Better” or “Mad Scientist”, so to see them come together knocking out a whole EP after a whole meal at Gia Vin & Grill is something that fans of each artist would want to check out. Nicholas Craven’s production is rooted in his signature sound with both MCs taking their chemistry to a new level.
Valee is a 34 year old rapper from Chicago, Illinois making waves by releasing 3 mixtapes & a couple EPs from the span of 2015-2018 until one of my top 10 producers of all-time Kanye West signed him to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings. The next 2 EPs G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me & Runnin’ Rich helped spread plugg music to a mainstream audience despite both receiving mixed reception to the point where he would go his own way from Thersday onward. It should also be noted that Valee additionally has 2 EPs with AYOCHILLMANN as the duo The TrAppiEst as well as 2 more with ChaseTheMoney as the duo VTM & 1 with Stan Lane as the duo Vlane. But coming off the Vacabularee mixtape this past winter, Harry Fraud’s now being brought in to produce Valee’s official full-length debut from top to bottom & it actually had me looking forward to it. On top of that: His manager is now Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive, who has one of the most resourceful Twitter pages ever.
“Sea Bass” is a cloudy trap opener to the album talking about the lifestyle that he lives whereas “About That” featuring 03 Greedo goes into even spacier territory sampling Geno Smith’s iconic line they wrote me off but I ain’t write back though” asking how they supposed to feel about bullshit. “Yea But Um” brings in some wavy synthesizers & hi-hats admitting he forgets the brands when he walks in the store, but then “Vibrant” featuring Action Bronson is a more soulful cut showing off the fresh outfits they walked out with.
Meanwhile, the Z Money feature on “Uppity” is one of his best verses post-1017 Global as he & Valee jump on top of a piano trap instrumental describing their bitches as exactly that leading into “Dutty Laundry” giving off a more psychedelic edge boasting that he’s in Gucci like a mixtape, humorously referencing Gucci Mane’s historically endless mixtape catalog. The woodwinds & synths blended throughout “Not Right Now” work so pleasantly targeting it towards his lover on top of RXKNephew’s invigorating guest appearance truthfully making me a fan of his leading into the quirkily-produced “WTF” featuring Twista talking about their bitches once more & it makes sense considering Kanye had a hand in 2 of the Tung Twista’s biggest hits “Slow Jamz” alongside “Overnight Celebrity”.
The song “Washington Wizard” dives into trillwave turf once more telling his girl he needs space with these luscious synthesizer patterns while the penultimate track/final single “Watermelon Automobile” was actually what prompted me into wanting to reviewing this album especially since MAVI & SABA both appear together for the first time I believe over some keys & hi-hats flexing that they switched the paint. To wrap things up here, “Ufillme” sees the former G.O.O.D. Music artist sets to find out if any of us can feel him on everything that says accompanied by an intoxicating beat.
G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me was an incredibly underwhelming for a lot of people including myself & here we are 5 years later with Harry Fraud behind the boards for his full-length debut album that completely surpassed all expectations I had going into it. Easily the most well-crafted body of work in Valee’s discography. He has some dope lines, but I can understand that his LUCKI-inspired delivery/flow isn’t for everyone & the vibes from the production are mostly similar to that of one of my favorite Playboi Carti cuts “Location”.
This is the 16th full-length album from Queensbridge veteran Nas. The son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara, the breakout debut illmatic & & the equally classic sophomore effort It Was Written are widely acknowledged as some of the greatest in hip hop history. I also enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. But for almost 3 years now, Nas has been working exclusively with Hit-Boy & both of them are a good fit for each other. King’s Disease earned Esco his first Grammy, but the sequel as well as Magic & the 3rd installment of the King’s Disease trilogy each took their chemistry to new heights. But ahead of KDIV, we’re preluded by a sequel to Magic.
After the intro, the first song “Abracadabra” is a glistening trap opener with Nasty Nas promising to do those who want to try him grimy whereas “Office Hours” featuring 50 Cent finds the 2 former rivals joining forces over a soulful boom bap instrumental seeing a bunch of Fredos referencing The Godfather II of course. 50’s verse however could’ve been longer unfortunately. “Black Magic” works in some pianos asking God to protect the G’s, ladies & children just before “Motion” brings back the kicks & snares adding some bells & strings into the fold havin’ exactly that.
“Bokeem Woodbine” keeps it dusty swapping out the bells & strings with more keys providing motivation for the trappers livin’ ounce-to-ounce leading into “Earvin Magic Johnson” assuring to enterprise over a horn-inflicted trap beat. “What This All Really Means” looks back on the first time he ever saw his name on a flyer with lavish instrumentation, but then “Slow It Down” confesses he needs money everyday returning to the boom bap.
The penultimate track yet official closer “Pistols On Your Album Cover” hooks up these kicks & snares with a mellow loop reminding that he can still murder anyone on wax & forget where they’re buried chockfull of clever references that is until the bonus cut “1 Mic, 1 Gun” featuring 21 Savage blends trap & jazz together so both of them flexing that they still gonna do what they did then in the present. Not only was a great way to squash all the drama surrounding 21 & Nas last fall, but I think everyone deluded by the hip hop generation gap can learn something from it too.
Hit-Boy’s run with Nas has been absolutely special & Magic 2 continues to cement that by progressively improving on what made the predecessor alongside the 3rd installment of the KD series the best albums they’ve done together. The eclectic production demonstrates his range & with the pen, Esco feels as if he’s been reborn even though he continues to make history almost 3 decades in.
