$amaad – “Idea of Evil” review

This is the 4th mixtape from Compton, California rapper/producer $amaad. For almost a decade already, he’s built quite a large discography for himself consisting of his last 3 tapes as well as 26 EPs & 4 full-length studio albums. The Say Hi $amaad! (Care Package) series would go on to receive the same favorable reception as did the Child of Drama penology coming off the final installment over a year ago to have Evilgiane of the Surf Gang fully produce Idea of Evil in it’s entirety.

“Castle in the Sky” begins with this ambient plugg intro mixed with some heavy vocal effects using it’s title for a nod to スタジオジブリ’s theatrical debut of the same name written & directed by it’s co-founder 宮崎駿 whereas “Child of Drama” carries those exact same vibes talking about having bullets for dumb muhfuckas. “Griffith Was Nothing” instrumentally has a more standard trap flare to it flexing that he’s doing this like it ain’t shit while “Saving You for Later” clarifies to an individual who thought they were saving him.

Moving on from there, “Drank Hunters” brings back the syrupy feeling of the earlier tracks talking about how he can’t act like he don’t want it just before “Leisure Day” featuring Saiah Woes finds the 2 decently linking up over an 808-heavy beat talking about seizing shit when they wake up. “Mama, I’m Alive” feels less of an interlude & more of an 103 second freestyle over this bouncy plugg instrumental leading into the title track featuring 730atMorning talks about wanting meaning out of their suffering.

“We” also featuring 730atMorning details the kinda women who they consider to be more their speed while “Us” featuring Rafa talks about bitches who be acting funny when they know both of them have to leave whether it’s for studio sessions or touring. “Seinin Anime! Show Out” continues wanting his lover to tell him exactly what he’s doing wrong in their relationship while “In Hell” collides some bells & 808s talking about people not nattering down there.

$a’maya appears on “Tendencies” trading bars back-&-forth with $amaad on the microphone for a couple minutes while “#SurfBae” talks about the ability he has of making bad bitches wanna start hustling. “All Around the World” reaches Idea of Evil’s halfway point expressing his desire of traveling the entire globe & how he embarrasses people in every state while “Palm Tree Evening” kicks off the 2nd half hopping over a plugg beat talking about his girl waking up clean.

“Sweet Chin Music” references the iconic finisher of 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion, the current WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development & head booker of their main developmental brand NXT Shawn Michaels while “Nobody No One” hooks up a lo-fi drum break talking about not being scared of anyone because they don’t have guns like he does.

Meanwhile on “Posse”, we have $amaad calling out the people who claim to be making money in their music when that isn’t the case whatsoever & wanting to give his crew diamonds while “D’ussé Don’t Say” talks about getting rich off some bad choices he made in the past. “I Got Water 4 U” featuring Saiah Woes reunites both artists over this aquatically atmospheric instrumental doubling up in the trap while “Rich Fucker” talks about him going 30-for-10.

“I Take Trips & Don’t Leave” gives off a more psychedelic plugg edge admitting to him trying to hit his girl from the back while “Green!” featuring Niontay talks about their preference of lean instead of liquor & their own revenues gradually increasing. “Behind My Back” spends nearly a minute & a half experimenting with lowend addressing the individuals running their mouth unbeknownst to him while “Sniper Gang Kodak #SurfGang” talks about trying to ball out.

Wrapping up Idea of Evil’s final moments, the song “It Was All Good” combines a sample with some elements of cloud rap & trap explaining his vision of making millions while “Making My Way” interestingly flips the iconic Vanessa Carlton single “1,000 Miles” talking about living downtown with his bae. “Get Me Started” recalls a time where a hoe wanted to fuck him at this party & the outro “I Look Back” featuring Saiah Woes concludes the tape on a more introspective note.

Sure Idea of Evil has some occasional moments where you can feel it’s lengthy runtime & some understandably getting the impression that it’s bloated, but a great deal of it to me anyway provides us some of the most important material in $amaad’s career. Evilgiane’s production sticks with a predominant plugg sound including secondary influences of trap & ambient plugg with only a few guests joining him in describing a mind at war with itself.

Score: 4/5

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Protect – “slimedude2003” review

This is the debut extended play from Buffalo, New York rapper Protect. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me followed by the sophomore effort albeit major label debut Ball Hog of Life under Atlantic Records a couple years earlier, his previous LP 500 Days of Summer last August was my introduction to him & remains his strongest collection of material today. 10 months later, he’s dropping off slimedude2003.

“RAF Trench” starts us off with a plugg instrumental talking about shooting as if he’s Cade Cunningham whereas “Firearm” cloudily admits to constantly pouring lean like he’s awaiting his own death. “0s” could be a weaker moment here since he’s pretty much sandwiching an unacceptably underwritten verse in the middle of a chorus, but then “Makatussin” continues to express the love he has for consuming cough syrup over a bubbly beat from R8 of Vanguard Music Group

As for “Whole Crowd”, we have Protect talking about getting concertgoers turnt soon as he he hits the stage prior to the plugg-influenced “RE4” referencing one of my all-time favorite video games Resident Evil 4 & dissing N3on for seeking attention online. “What Doesn’t Kill U” begins the 2nd half talking about sending out convoys over a synth-driven trap beat just before “Reset” confesses to feeling overwhelmed by a handful of things.

“AC130” gets slimedude2003’s last let going talking about making opps bleed soon as he catches them while “Sk8r” samples “believe me” alyorra discussing the importance of finding yourself & getting it together. The highlight “Last of Us” produced by Cade makes a nod to another all-time favorite video game of mine & the outro “U da 1” finishes the EP with 1 last motivational anthem about the audience making an impact too by doing it.

500 Days of Summer stands tall as the most refined musical statement of Protect’s career & although I do acknowledge that slimedude2003 was meant to be a collection of “grails”, I felt that the final production turned out to be pretty average compared to his previous LP. You can definitely tell these were recorded sometime before or after All on Me & Ball Hog for Life when he was getting his footing in even if I wouldn’t call it some of my favorite material he’s done outside a couple joints.

Score: 3/5

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Krispylife Kidd – “Krisp Flair” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Krispylife Kidd is back with his 16th mixtape. Since 2019, his popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing since 2019 going on to release a total of his previous 15 tapes & 4 EPs all in that span of time. Icewear Vezzo even signed him to Iced Up Records during the pandemic & Lil Yachty had him featured on Michigan Boy Boat. Now I’d start with Krispylife 2 & The Art of Spice Talk trilogy if you wanna dive into Krispylife’s music, although Juice& B.A.G. (Born A Goat) each had their own individual standouts a couple years ago. Coming off the Stunt Life EP & Why Me Worry? however, Krisp Flair has arrived following some delays.

“My Old Self” opens with a Flint sound intro talking about still being the same if he was hypothetically down to $2 whereas “Who U Talking To?” fires shots at all these shrimp ass cornballs trying to diss him. “My Time to Shyne” featuring Detwan Love was one of the weaker moments due to their melodic performances despite the messaging while “Walking in the Park” confidently talks about him only getting started.

We have Krispylife offering some “Self Motivation” to end the 1st half of Krisp Flair & an instrumental that tries to tug at the heartstrings a bit while “No New Members” featuring Clean Up Man made for a Detroit trap collaboration that wasn’t any better than the one earlier. The freestyle spends a minute & a half going off the dome over a woozy beat while “Do This Go Right?” talks about his feet aching from running up checks.

“Realest You Ever Met” winds down the last leg of the tape fusing pop rap & trap for north him & the woman that he’s been romantically involved with to realize that they were essentially made for each other but once “Talking Loose” switches back to an aggressive tone recklessly running his mouth like he used to do when he initially began making music, the outro “Do You FWM?” spends the last couple minutes telling his lover what about her he fucks with the most.

2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair made himself the greatest shit-talker in the whole professional wrestling business & Krisp Flair improves above his previous mixtape last spring sending shots for nearly a half hour with no guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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Cashus King – “Water to Wine” review

Here is the brand new studio LP & 13th overall from Los Angeles, California emcee Cashus King. Originally known under the monikers Co$$ & later Ca$hiu$ King until settling on his current name, most will recognize him for his long-standing affiliation with Blu & Exile in addition to him having 6 extended plays & 7 mixtapes aside from the previous dozen of full-lengths in his solo discography. 3 years have already passed since Lava Lamps & the London, England, United Kingdom producer Big O has been brought in to soundtrack a Water to Wine transformation.

After the “Barry Water” intro, “Likwid (Big Fish)” begins with this angelic boom bap opener talking about how both of them been floating through districts whereas “Precipitation” featuring Fashawn embraces a jazzier vibe instrumentally to spit streams of consciousness. “Cherry Cola” featuring L.O.U. & P-Rawb samples “Shake Your Booty” by Bunny Sigler to use it’s title as a metaphor for drinking water over soda prior to “Streams” featuring Blu, Frannie EL & Shari returning to a conscious approach to the lyrics.

“Drownin’” has a bright boom bap quality to it encouraging all to keep swimming forward when life throws you overboard just before “Hydration (Reign)” ends the 1st half talks about watering the plants of our imagination & tells the world to keep dreaming. “Drippin’ (Soakin’ Poems)” works in some synths so we can hear the Heaven in their skills to start the 2nd leg while “Potions” featuring G-Holy stylistically leans towards a more g-funk direction getting on their west coast shit.

Nearing the end of Water to Wine, the song “Swimmin’” brings a triumphant trap flare to the table talking about doing backstrokes while “Holy Water” hooks up some organs to make room for Cashus to get confessional on the mic. “Like Lava for Water” apologizes for having people fight their wars for the days they came up short & after “Dark Agua” featuring Big Tone offers food for thought, the outro “Wine” ends by asking who or what we’re living for.

Many including myself would consider Before I Awoke to be Cashus King’s finest collection of solo material, but this new one isn’t far behind it assuring the world we all have the ability to turn Water to Wine in the metaphorical sense of everyone having the capability of change. Big O cooks up some of the strongest production of his career & Co$$ lyrically takes audiences through an exploration of transformation at its deepest level with a handful of guests.

Score: 3.5/5

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DJ Clay – “Let ‘Em Bleed 5” review

This is the 9th mixtape from Detroit, Michigan emcee, producer & turntablist DJ Clay. Being an in-house producer for Psychopathic Records for 2 decades already, he would also start up his own label Armed Robbery Entertainment in addition to putting out his last 8 tapes & the 2019 full-length debut Over the Fear Of…. However, the DJ for the Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) hit YouTube show JCW Lunacy has finally returned ahead of a sophomore effort for the long-awaited 5th installment of the Let ‘Em Bleed series.

After the EDM intro, “Man of the Year” begins with a Clay solo track getting boastful over a vocal sample & some horns whereas “Chop ‘Em Up” by Ouija Macc hops over a trap instrumental produced by DeadBoyGrim & DJ Clay to spit the wicced shit. “After the “Yoo-Da” skit, “Dumbazz” by Bailz & Shaggy 2 Dope finds the 2 comedically poking fun at all the dumbasses while “Skrrt Skrrt (Juggalo Phonk)” by Shaggytheairhead finds the latter putting a juggalo spin on the phonk subgenre.

“Willis” brings Clay back on the mic for a trap-tinged single that we got summer responding to those claimin’ to be the man while “Party Like Us” by Lardi B kicks off the 2nd half with a decent club anthem. “Hurt You” by Shaggy 2 Dope hooks up some pianos & hi-hats addressing an individual whom the Southwest Strangla can’t get enough of leading into “Shiny Shit” by Tierre Diaz confidently giving fans what they want musically.

Violent J returns for a “Duke of the Wicked” sequel reminding everyone why the JCW Commissioner & 50% owner alongside former WWE, WCW & TNA writer and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vince Russo earned himself that nickname to begin with while “The Darth Fader Cut” dabbles with turntablism with the help of DJ Chunk for 110 seconds. “The Father, The Son & The Holy Spirit” marks the last DJ Clay solo joint calling to let the feelings we don’t know free from our souls while “Sorry for the Wait” by the Odd Squad Family ends with an apology for Let ‘Em Bleed 5’s delay.

I knew it was gonna be different since some of the former Psychopathic alumni who appeared on all 4 of the previous entries of the Let ‘Em Bleed saga had their ties to the Clowns severed for almost a decade, but it’s alright because Let ‘Em Bleed 5 continues the series strong showcasing where the hatchet’s been at currently with both of it’s co-founders & the CEO of it’s Chapter 17 Records subsidiary all contributing in addition to A•R signee Tierre Diaz & a couple affiliates like the Odd Squad Family or Lardi B who’ve all performed at previous Gatherings.

Score: 4/5

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SK da King – “Due Diligence” review

Here is the 4th extended play from Baltimore, Maryland emcee SK da King. Emerging as a member of the Checkered Flag Boyz under the original moniker Paul Skola, it wasn’t until a few years ago where he signed to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group as a solo act as announced by his debut single “Actions” & would go on to introduce himself to the Drumwork fanbase that fall in the form of the debut EP Horus. His full-length debut studio album Made 4 Thiscame after Before the Album & has enlisted Haas Almahdi to produce Due Diligence following No More Mr. Guy.

The title track begins with a powerful boom bap intro talking about him trying to build his catalog strongly whereas “Animal” featuring ItzGitty makes for the only song I didn’t care for dustily responding to people calling them beasts. “Top Spot” ends the 1st half talking about his name ringing bells & coming back hot just before “East Side” mixes a piano with some kicks & snares to explain that this is a lose-lose game along with having shit locked from side to side.

“Cruise Control” winds down the last few moments of Due Diligence talking about him riding for this shit & how heavy Drumwork moves over another boom bap instrumental while “Early Bird” gives off a more nocturnally rawer vibe talking about bringing the money home regardless of not knowing when he’ll return home. The closer “John Gotti” spends the last few minutes of the EP comparing himself to the iconic Mafia boss of the same name.

Familiarizing myself with Haas Almahdi after producing for the likes of Lloyd Banks or 7xvethegenius & more recently Courtney Bell, hearing that he was linking up with SK da King gave me the feeling that SK was gonna outdo every single EP he’s done up until this point & that’s exactly what he does. Outside of a guest appearance, Haas’ boom bap production & SK’s lyricism make for a great pairing even if it’s only for 23 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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Slift – “Fantasia” review

Slift is a heavy psych trio from Toulouse, Occitanie, France consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jean Fossat, bassist/vocalist Rémi Fossat & drummer Canek Flores. Emerging in 2017 off the band’s debut extended play Space is the Key as well as their 2018 full-length debut La Planète Inexplorée & the widely praised 2020 sophomore effort Ummon, they returned 4 years later by dropping an equally celebrated Sub Pop Records debut Ilion & are looking to outdo both of those with their 4th studio LP.

The title track opens up with an epic 9 minute intro taking some inspiration from doom metal signing about rising above our pain & finding a fire for our souls whereas “Corrupted Sky” describes a fictional town plagued by a sense of xenophobic unknowing. “The Village” continues the story finding this bigoted city welcoming an outsider like poison over progressive instrumentation just before the lead single “A Storm of Wings” blends stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych so our protagonist can depict the town’s downfall.

“Orbius Tertius” kicks off the 2nd half taking heavy inspiration from the late Jorge Louis Borges’ short story of the same name using idealism to ask a multitude of questions while “Waiting Man” feels like a mix of Pink Floyd & Masters of Reality-era Black Sabbath, realizing the world our hero was committed to was a lie. The 2nd & final single “The Day of Execution” again bases itself in the styles of stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych singing about time passing all of us prior to “Secret Mirror” sending off Fantasia with an astounding space rock outro.

Ditching the sci-fi narrative of their Sub Pop debut a couple years earlier, Slift’s follow-up ironically bares it’s name after a description of the band’s previous output for their leanest statement yet improving above Ilion & dethroning Ummon for their magnum opus. The production captures their versatility eclectically varying between space rock, stoner rock, stoner metal, heavy psych, post-metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, post-rock, doom metal & post-hardcore for a tale of overcoming international upheaval.

Score: 4.5/5

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Vybz Kartel – “God & Time” review

This is the latest studio LP from Kingston, Jamaica deejay, singer/songwriter, entrepreneur & businessman Vybz Kartel. Someone who’s widely crowned as the King of Dancehall subgenre of reggae similarly to roots reggae icon Bob Marley becoming recognized as the symbol of the entire genre that he helped pioneer. For over 3 decades, the Adidjahiem Records founder has released over a dozen EPs & full-lengths including during his decade long prison bid for Clive “Lizard” Williams’ murder. Coming off Heart & Soul last summer decently celebrating his engagement, God & Time looks to take a more personal approach.

The title track begins with this dancehall opener talking about him telling us the many lessons & blessings he’s experienced in his life whereas “Soft Girl Era” seductively tells his partner to open up her love because he’s falling right in. “Some Days” sings about the Worl’ Boss’ desire of wanting to love a woman better than the next guy leading into “Geenie” asking his lover if she would abuse his powers if he had the ability to grant wishes.

Spice appears for “Confessions” so both the King & Queen of the Dancehall can each take their rightful places at the throne just before “Stay for the Night” featuring Wizkid incorporates some Afrobeats influences so both of them can encourage their romantic interests to spend an evening with them. “Casi Casi” featuring Farruko joins forces for an atmospherically bilingual duet that I could truthfully care less for while “Panic” featuring Shenseea makes up for it bridging 2 different generations of dancehall.

“Round & Round” continues the 2nd half getting more sexual in terms of lyrics & stylistically throwing it back to his early 2010s output while “Try Again” featuring Skillibeng might be my least favorite collaboration The King & The Prince have done yet because I felt like it could’ve been somewhat longer. “Hype Life” on the other hand was quite possibly my favorite single of the bunch celebrating di Teacha’s wealth even if I wish his rival-turned-ally Mavado had a verse instead of handling the hook.

The song “Dancehall Ting” nears God & Time’s conclusion talking about the rest of the artists in this style of reggae merely being sheep compared to his greatness but once “Big Business” further embraces bashment’s main components at it’s core boasting that he’s purchasing apartments instead of blowing it all on liquor, “Watch Over Me” finishes the album on the highest note I can think of talking about themes of faith.

During his incarceration, Vybz Kartel’s lawyer would say God & Time to the Worl’ Boss so frequently to the point where he began applying it to his own life & the follow-up to his previous album over 9 months ago could likely be the most I’ve enjoyed di Teacha’s music since coming home. The dancehall production’s a considerable improvement over the predecessor mixing some trap dancehall undertones into the fold & bringing some of the genres’ biggest artists past & present on board for a well-rounded experience.

Score: 3.5/5

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Converge – “Hum of Hurt” review

This is the 12th studio LP from Salem, Massachusetts metalcore band Converge consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 full-length debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, nearly everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind when I was a sophomore in high school, The Dusk in Us & Love Is Not Enough have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & are back with Hum of Hurt.

“Slip the Noose” begins with a metalcore intro reminiscent of the Jane Doe era directly tackling generational trauma whereas “Doom in Bloom”combines post-hardcore & sludge metal exploring how Jacob’s middle-aged introspection doesn’t always bring a brighter light. “It Only Gets Worse” spends a couple minutes angrily realizing the world’s indifference towards him & after the intimidating “Detonator” encourages one not to be blown apart by their mistakes, “I Won’t Let You Go” ends the 1st leg with the official Cyberpunk 2077theme.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “It’s Not Up to Us” made for another aggressive moment explaining there’s no end in sight without a will to fight while the doomy “Dream Debris” starts with a simple bass note that builds to a booming crescendo detailing the deception of being led to believe we could be anything we wanted to be. The post-hardcore, metalcore, neocrust & post-metal title track after the “It Used to Matter” composition emotionally examines the price of the lives we pursue & the outro “Nothing’s Over” ends on a sludgier note saying we must rage for the dying light.

Love Is Not Enough made for a great comeback for the greatest metalcore band & following a sense of urgency, Converge have outdone themselves by delivering a raw counterpart retaining the unpredictable potency of their last album. Their signature sound’s still being fused with elements of mathcore & sludge metal similarly to it’s predecessor aside from the hardcore punk undertones being swapped out for post-hardcore for another bleak yet empathetic assessment of the human condition & it’s ongoing deterioration.

Score: 4.5/5

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730atMorning – “1 Man Band” review

Minneapolis, Minnesota rapper 730atMorning preluding Context with his 2nd mixtape. Someone who would drop 3 extended plays in 2022 including Pots*, untitled & Hi, I’m Alive. He would later follow it up with the Creeper EP, the 7:30* EP, the full-length debut Asphalt, the Guarded EP, the sophomore effort albeit Virgin Music debut Under the Bridge, the Rotten Fruit EP, his previous full-length Save Your Grievance, the almost inside EP & the Insiders tape. Last we heard from him was the I Can’t STFU EP last Halloween & 1 Man Band’s offering a preview of the new era over a month after Tiffany Stratton ended ジュリア’s record-tying 2nd reign as WWE Women’s United States Champion.

After the compositional “Withered” intro, the opener “Graye” featuring Lerado Khalil begins with them talking about the fuck shaping them to the people they are presently whereas “Clouds n Rain” channels a pluggier vibe instrumentally pleading not to tempt him. “40MGs” produced by LulRose might be my favorite track here talks about trying to get back with a woman who kept putting up a fight while “My Favorite Part” splits itself into halves detailing a woman who doesn’t miss him back.

“Sequence of Events” embraces a cloudier sound altogether talking about being in charge & making the rules since he doesn’t have any corny bullshit in his life but after “God Still Take Me” talks about paying for all his sins as well as him praying for the Higher Power to take him to the afterlife, “Lost the Plot” incorporates some icy synths to talk about finding love in Los Angeles with his homies & being here today because of his hard headedness.

The track “Interesting Character” nears further towards the conclusion of 1 Man Band explaining that he doesn’t need shit from this individual since they told him to die & him reasonably taking that to heart while the final song “Body” preceding the “Repulsive” outro expresses the desire he has of giving this individual what they need even if they gotta go how he wants them to & not keeping up with his own flexes.

1 Man Band warms us up for Context with the most densest entry in 730atMorning’s entire discography & gives me confidence of this next project coming down the pipe maintaining this momentous run he’s been on since last fall. The tape’s trap production takes its secondary influences more from cloud rap, plugg, witch house & wave rather than capitalizing on I Can’t STFU’s rage, free car music, jerk & new jazz undertones & I found the inclusion of guests to be a refreshing move compared to the predecessor’s lack of features.

Score: 3.5/5

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