Kota the Friend – “To Kill a Sunrise” review

Kota the Friend is a 28 year old MC from New York City that broke out in 2016 off his debut EP Palm Tree Liquor. This was followed up with 2 more EPs before dropping his debut album FOTO in 2019. Kota has gone on to release 4 albums since then but just 2 months after his previous one Lyrics to Go 2, he’s staying busy by enlisting Statik Selektah for his 5th full-length outing.

The album kicks off with “Wolves”, where Kota talks about how he can’t lose over a weepy boom bap beat. The next song “Hate” addresses those who throw shade on his name over some dusty drums & a piano loop while “The Cold” talks about how people wonder where he goes when he’s in his bag over a violin-tinged beat. “The Love” gets in his romance bag over a luxurious instrumental while the song “Go Now” talks about wanting to build with his partner over a dream-like beat.

The track “What Ya Sayin’?” calls out those who tried to bring him down with them over some rich boom bap production while the song “Live & Direct” talks about sharing your mind with your set over some more gorgeous keyboard harmonies. The track “Day Glow” talks about opening up the windows over a tranquil instrumental & letting it all in while the song “Sunrise” thanks the listener for having his back over a jazzy beat. The album then finishes with “Sunset”, where Kota talks about being true then over some heavy horns.

This is a super solid album in my book & it’s just been really awesome to see how much Kota has grown since the latter half of the previous decade, earning the right of becoming the greatest achievement of his whole catalog. His lyricism is a lot more wittier in comparison to Lyrics to Go 2 & Statik Selektah whips up some of his most luxuriantly jazzy boom bap beats ever.

Score: 4/5

Drego – “Krazy Man” review

Drego is a 23 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan known for being 1/2 of the duo Drego & Beno. Their debut mixtape Sorry for the Get Off established them as one of the biggest groups in Detroit trap as did Meet Us Outer Space & Sorry for the Auto Tune respectively, extending their break as a pairing to focus on their individual careers & Drego becoming the first of the 2 members to make his official solo debut exhibiting the mind of a Krazy Man ahead of their debut album together.

“55 Bars” takes on the intangible fame & seeking for clarity simultaneously referencing the greatest QB of all-time Tom Brady whereas “Ball” by Drego & Beno finds them going back & forth with one another seamlessly asking how you gon’ tell them to live when you ain’t even doing shit with your life. “Numbers” uses sharp numerical wordplay for 2 & a half minutes just before “Okay” featuring PeeWee Longway compares themselves to Tony Montana.

Meanwhile on “Pick the Plug Again”, we have Drego making reference to the Ice Cream Man era of No Limit Records founder Master P leading into “Chauncey Billups” honoring the 2004 NBA Finals MVP it’s titled after. “If You Want” by Drego & Beno featuring Cash Kidd & Nuk unites the quartet killing to get what they want while “Dis Dat” gives the fine print to those he wants to influence.

“Popovixh” keeps it rollin’ talking about making more plays than the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Greg Popovich until “Ronda Rousey” obviously refers to the former WWE Women’s Champion, UFC Hall of Famer & the inaugural UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion of the same name. “Dub” by Drego & Beno featuring BandGang Biggs, BandGang Lonnie Bands & BandGang Masoe boasts of them being like the Pistons during their first of 3 NBA Championship seasons while “Push da Bag” by Drego & Beno gets on the back-&-forth tip again delivery wise.

BandGang Biggs & BandGang Lonnie Bands come back with the late BandGang Paid Will in place of Masoe during “Eddie Long” touching people’s spirits similarly to the late pastor who passed away 4 years ago, but then “I Know What U Want” featuring Sada Baby finds the 2 talking about being the only ones around their way up by $60M. “In the Game” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. shows no signs of slowing down the money counting while “Sponsor” shuts down the need for any kind of backing since he knows every baddie.

“Zaza Pachuila” featuring Veeze got these organ melodies during it’s course matched with 808s boasting that both of them have achieved self-employed status while “Drekio” talks about nobody being able to do it the way he does it. “Ms. Dash” featuring Ju6aby, Money Reese & 5auce Lik concludes our journey into the mind of a Krazy Man with an underwhelming collaboration saving the best verse for last showing off their gang ties.

Many including myself got introduced to Drego through his guest appearance on the viral Sada single “Bloxk Party”, so Krazy Man was a huge deal for that crowd of people & he holds it down well enough for me to be confident of him becoming successful with or without Beno. Nevertheless of having to see when the other eventually goes up at bat & a couple moments where the guests’ performances fall flat, it’s a tightly conceived Detroit trap solo debut.

Score: 3.5/5

O.T. the Real – “The Irishman” review

O.T. the Real is a 35 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who started out in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”. From there, his profile began to grow after showcasing his skills on radio stations as well as dropping an eponymous full-length debut & 2 EPs. His sophomore album Evil Empire just came out a couple months ago & to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the East Coast up-&-comer is dropping his 3rd EP produced entirely by The Heatmakerz.

“Non Fiction” is a heartfelt opener as O.T. spits about drilling it out with bars on top of an exultant instrumental & then the next song “Restitution” talks about waiting when he wanted what was his over a morose beat. The track “Carry On” talks about the hustle forever continuing on over an affluent instrumental while the song “Connected” with Jim Jones finds the 2 saying that it’s all about connections over some bongos & faint yet beautiful harmonizing.

The track “Losses” gets on the romantic tip over a stripped back instrumental while the song “Hold On” with Joell Ortiz sees the 2 asking who’s gonna be there when the laws & drugs are gone over a wraithlike beat. The penultimate track “Streets Again” talks about looking for a way to get back on his feet over some hypnotic vocal melodies & then “Relationships” finishes the EP off with some exuberant horn sections as O.T. spits about having 33 on him like Patrick Ewing.

Despite enjoying everything I’ve heard from dude up to this point, he really outdid himself on The Irishman. Not just because The Heatmakerz gave O.T. a more refined sound in comparison to his previous efforts, but the songwriting on here is the best it’s ever been before.

Score: 4/5

Bang Belushi – “Rudy” review

This is the sophomore album from Detroit emcee Bang Belushi. Coming up as 1/4 of the world famous Fat Killahz, it wouldn’t be until 2011 when the veteran branched out solo by releasing his debut EP The Bridgecard as well as the help yourself. EP in 2017. But it wouldn’t be until the following year when Bango signed to Middle Finger Music & dropped his full-length debut The Adventures of Bang Belushi, which in my opinion was a near-flawless showcasing of his lyrical abilities over some of the grimiest production Foul Mouth has ever cooked up. However, the pair is reuniting for Belushi’s long-awaited sophomore album.

“The Opening” that starts the album off gives listeners the blueprint to being great over an entrancing loop whereas the title track talks about how amazing he is over an unhinged boom bap beat. The song right after “It’s Going Down” talks about how they get it poppin’ over an instrumental kin to the late J Dilla while the track “Bar 4 Bar” with 2 Door Coupé finds the 3 talking about Middle Finger Music taking over the game over some horns & a bass-line.

The song “Dumb” talks about how disrespectful he is over a noisy instrumental while the track “N****z Like You” with Bub Rock sees the duo talking about those who’ll do anything for respect over some drums & piano arpeggios. The song “Red Bottlez” talks about being drunk as fuck over some keys & snares while the track “Murder” with J-Classic & Xtra Overdoze finds the 3 getting on the horrorcore side of things over a trap beat.

The song “Smoking Section” with Boom2G, Bub Rock, Pahlavi & Roc Danielz sees the quintet talking about getting money & staying low over a dingy loop while the track “Mark, Set, Go” with Isaac Castor finds the 2 talking about their skills over a wistful boom bap beat. The song “B is for Bang” breaks down the meaning of the moniker Bang over a flute sample while the track “Feeling Like Biggie” is a rugged sequel to “Feeling Like ODB” off The Adventures of Bang Belushi on all fronts.

The song “Such & Such” talks about a bitch he used to know over an amiable instrumental while the track “Nobody” talks about how there isn’t anyone else like him over a boom bap beat with a glossy piano loop. The song “Watermelon Red Bull” talks about how he refers to his AK as “Big Daddy Kane” over some prominent organs while the outro talks about feeling like they won’t recognize his skills until he’s gone over a beat kin to College Dropout-era Kanye West.

The Adventures of Bang Belushi is one of my favorite albums that Middle Finger Music has ever put out & this is almost as great of a follow-up. The lyrics on here are much more personal than they were last time & the sounds that Foul Mouth bring to the table are bit more diverse.

Score: 4/5

DJ Muggs – “Dies Occidendum” review

This is a brand new collection of beats from Queens-born albeit California based producer, deejay & audio engineer DJ Muggs. Coming up as 1/3 of The 7A3 alongside the Bouldin brothers in the late 80s, it would later go to become a household name in the west coast as the producer for Cypress Hill & the leader of the Soul Assassins collective. The Black Goat also has 3 solo albums under his belt, the latest being Winter just 3 months ago. However after lacing Rome Streetz’ latest album Death & the Magician to universal acclaim just a couple weeks ago, Muggs is continuing to stay busy by dropping Dies Occidendum.

The opener “Incantation” pretty much sets the tone for the album as it has an eerie, cavernous tone to it while the next track “The Chosen One” goes into a more trap/witch house direction & I really just can’t get enough of how evil the atmosphere of it is. “Nigrum Mortem” has a more distorted tone as it incorporates the sound of organs & guitars while the “Liber Null” instrumental feels like a wild rollercoaster with it’s multiple switch-ups throughout it’s 4 minute run. “Alphabet of Desire” has a more melancholic vibe in comparison to the previous cuts while the “Subconscious” instrumental goes into an industrial direction with hi-hats firing off like a minigun.

“Veni Vidi Amavi” is easily the most chilled out track of the bunch with it’s smokey atmosphere while the “Anointed” instrumental goes back into that trap sound except it contains these ghostly shrills throughout. The penultimate track “Anicca” starts with some dramatic string melodies, but then things get quiet for about 30 seconds until the bass & hi-hats hit & then the closer “Transmogrification” is dominated by cricket noises for a good bulk of it’s 5-minute runtime with the exception of some mystical-like harmonies during the first minute as well as the sounds of something burning during the last minute & a half.

I know we’re not even finished with the first quarter of 2021, but goddamn is Muggs on a roll right now. Death & the Magician is still very much my album of the year so far, but these are some of the darkest collection of sounds he’s put together in a while & is highly recommended to any Cypress Hill fan.

Score: 4/5

FlexxBabyy – “Water” review

FlexxBabyy is a 26 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who came onto my radar just last year after becoming the latest to sign to Benny the Butcher’s E1 Music imprint Black Soprano Family Records. This was followed up by a plethora of stand alone singles & is going into 2021 by dropping his debut EP.

The opener “ETHER” talks about watching his back now that he’s secured a record deal over some violins & hi-hats whereas the next song “Slob” talks about sex over an industrial/trap fusion. The track “So Wet” is Flexx pretty much bragging over a cacophonous instrumental while the song “Dead” is a distorted riot inducer that slows down in tempo during the 2nd half. The penultimate track “JOOP” talks about drug use over an atmospheric instrumental with some loud, rubbery bass-lines dominating the mix & then the closer “Bussin’” gets materialistic over a bombastic beat.

This is completely unlike anything one would expect from BSF, but it’s a good short listen nonetheless. In comparison to the traditional boom bap style that a lot of the other artists on the label stick to, FlexxBabyy takes things into a more Playboi Carti-influenced direction from his flows & sticky refrains to the experimental production as heard on Whole Lotta Red & even the babyvoice that Carti is known for at times. Nonetheless, I feel like this is only the beginning for him.

Score: 3.5/5

Styliztik Jones – “Everybody Eat” review

Styliztik Jones is a 42 year old MC from Los Angeles, California who came up as a member of the Likwit Crew collective led by King T. The west coast veteran has since built up quite a catalogue for himself with 4 mixtapes, 3 albums & an EP. His last 2 efforts have been entirely laced by local production duo DirtyDiggs & to celebrate Steezy’s born day, it’s only right for him.

Things kick off with “King Size”, where Styliztik talks about being treated like loyalty in the streets over a trumpet sample. The next song “Seafood Scampi” with TriState sees the 2 talking about how this time is theirs over a jubilant beat while the track “Limitless” talks about being back on his grizzly over some jazzy horns. The song “Do Something” with Planet Asia finds the 2 talking productivity over a joyful instrumental while the track “Family Over Everything” talks about staying humble over a austere instrumental.

The song “Ramen with the Tofu” talks about going Super Saiyan over some glistening keyboard melodies while the track “Alkaline” talks about his woman over a druggy trap beat. The titular song with Defari sees the 2 talking about getting a piece of the bread over a high pitched melodic instrumental while the track “Here” talks about how he’s still standing over a high-pitched soul sample. Then after “The Spread” skit, the closer “Momma’s Recipe” pays tribute to his mother over an organ-laced instrumental.

If Styliztik is gonna keep on working exclusively with DirtyDiggs in the future, then I’m all for it because they’ve really been putting out some of their best material together. Both of them continue to do a good job at bouncing off each other from the continuously elevating pen-game to the raw production.

Score: 3.5/5

YBN Almighty Jay – “Battling My Spirit” review

YBN Almighty Jay is a 21 year old rapper from Houston, Texas who came up as a founding member of the now defunct YBN collective. Dude has dropped a handful of singles in the span of 6 years & has now whipped up a 20 minute EP as his first official project.

The opener “Get Rich in the Hood” talks about going out like Suge before going out like Pac over an acoustic guitar & a dizzying backdrop whereas the next track “Big Check” shows off his wealth over a drab beat. The song “Murder in My Eyes” talks about how all his homies balling over an instrumental trying to rip off the aesthetics of Travis Scott’s previous album ASTROWORLD while the title track is easily the best off the entire EP, as Jay confesses that he looks at his family different & the dejecting tone of the beat is perfect.

The song “Drank Sealed” talks about going from a futon to a mansion over a guitar & some hi-hats while the track “Bring Out the Hoochies” is a mediocre attempt at making a strip club anthem. The song “Shoutout to My Dentist” talks about being flashy over a buoyant instrumental & then the closer “Red Light Special” talks about not having time for affairs over a syrupy beat.

Other than the title track, I hardly got anything out of this EP at the end of the day & I really don’t see what makes YBN Almighty Jay an appealing artist. His songwriting is insipid, the flows are pretty basic & the production is incredibly generic.

Score: 1/5

Emeril Picssso – “Demons & Love”

Emeril Picasso is an MC/producer from Austin, Texas who originally came up under the moniker Teek a few years back. However, he has decided to completely reinvent himself & properly introduce himself to the masses in the form of a debut EP.

“Trippin’” is a psychedelic trap opener about working hard to live in peace whereas “Don’t Matter” eerily goes at those who doubt him. “Make It Work” takes a more sensual route on all fronts just before “Naples” is the complete opposite, somberly telling the story of someone in a past life.

After the “Chaplin” interlude, “Bliss” serves as a moody romance tune while the song “Wake Me Up” works in a ghostly instrumental talking about his internal conflicts. The penultimate song “Mean That” has a more playful tone saying he has no fear in him & the title track finishes it off with a mellow beat talking about Hell freezing over.

For this being the first project of Emeril’s, I can definitely see potential in him granted that this is only the beginning. I like the hazy production & how he puts his struggles with mental health on display to introduce himself to listeners.

Score: 3.5/5

Madchild – “The Little Monster LP 2” review

This is the surprise 7th full-length album from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada veteran Madchild. Coming up as a co-founder of the seminal Swollen Members, the dude also has a prolific solo career with a total of 6 full-lengths as well as 6 EPs & 3 mixtapes. His latest effort The Little Monster LP just dropped a few months back & we’re already being treated to a 10-track sequel before he & Obnoxious drop a collab EP under Suburban Noize Records later on this year.

Things kick off with “Smoke Session”, where Madchild talks about lighting it up whenever he’s in the room over a rock-tinged boom bap beat from C-Lance. The next song “Love Me or Hate Me” with Peter Jackson finds the 2 talking about fighting demons over some clicking noises & somber piano chords while the track “Python” talks about rinsing his enemies over a trap beat with some creepy bells. The song “Way Out” calls out those who kicked him when he was down over an instrumental that’s somewhat similar to the previous cut while the track “Legends Never Die” talks about going to Hell & back over a plinky beat.

The song “100 Keys” with Peter Jackson & 6-10 finds the trio boasting over an instrumental that reminds me of “Goodbye” off of Slaughterhouse’s final album welcome to: OUR HOUSE while the track “Drive By” talks putting his energy in the wrong place over a desolate boom bap beat. The song “Brain Wash” talks about putting ropes around necks over a piano & a vocal sample while the penultimate track “Vengeance” talks about revenge over a boom bap beat with some astonishing string sections. The album then finishes off with a decent remix to “Curb Stomper” off the original Little Monster LP.

Even though I thought Madchild’s previous album was just ok at best, this sequel is a little bit better in my opinion. In comparison to the previous effort being more trap-centered, I feel like this is a good combination between that & the raw traditional hip hop sound he came up on.

Score: 3.5/5