Drake – “Iceman” review

And finally there’s the Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake’s 11th LP & subsequently his last for Republic Records. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

“Make Them Cry” begins with Noel Cadastre sampling “The pressure is on me.” by Muchi to talk about his father Dennis battling cancer & some questioning the sincerity of that when he’s now cancer free whereas “Dust” takes a jab at Kendrick claiming that he doesn’t remember a word of his raps when it’s a lie. “Whisper My Name” disses JAY-Z stating he’d take the $500K instead of having dinner with him prior to “Janice STFU” dissing Hov once more over FNZ & Rogét Chahayed sampling “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li that was later remixed.

Future & Molly Santana appear on the 2-parter “Ran to Atlanta” that Dez Wright, !llmind, Southside & Wheezy all cooked up making a self-aware nod to “Not Like Us” just before “Shabang” produced by 40 talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef. “Make Them Pay” works in an ovrkast. instrumental I really found myself enjoying until he disses J. Cole, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled & Pharrell but then “Burning Bridges” splits itself in halves to take a jab at A$AP Rocky reusing a “back to back” line for some odd reason.

“National Treasures” concludes the 1st half of Iceman with another 2-parter that Boi-1da & Internet Money Records in-house producer Nico Baran both put together attacking LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden & Russell Westbrook for attending the Pop Out show on Juneteenth 2024 while “B’s on the Table” talks about his ongoing Universal Music Group lawsuit. “What Did I Miss?” however began the whole rollout dissing DeMar & LeBron once more over a cloud trap beat from Tay Keith.

Meanwhile on “Plot Twist”, we have Drake over an instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced representing OVO & rebutting “Not Like Us” while “2 Hard for the Radio” basically pokes fun at “Not Like Us” even harder with it’s Bay Area sound & includes a DJ Mustard diss. “Make Them Remember” throws jabs at Kendrick, Cole, Dr. Dre & Joe Budden over a Boi-1da beat while “Little Birdie” talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef again.

“Don’t Worry” at last nears the conclusion of Iceman taking an alternative R&B approach courtesy of Sledgren interestingly pleading for his partner to come have the best time on the bedside while “Firm Friends” contains one of my favorite instrumentals thanks to Conductor Williams, only for Drizzy to hit us with more bars about the Kendrick beef & UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. The closing track “Make Them Know” spends the last 4 minutes admitting that the 4th of July in 2024 when the “Not Like Us” video premiered was the worst he felt in a minute.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to everyone that Habibti & Maid of Honour were passionlessly rushed throughout the Iceman sessions because Drake wanted to get out of his Republic contract, but the final installment of the trilogy was actually my favorite of them all even if it’s average at best. Aside from the alternative R&B joint, the production carries over the trappy pop rap/chipmunk soul ideas For All the Dogs had contrasting the R&B & dancehall/EDM influences of Habibti & Maid of Honour although the victim raps ruin it.

Score: 2.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Lørd Skø – “Elevator Music” review

New York emcee Lørd Skø following up PiFF with his 4th LP. Getting his start 6 years ago off his debut EP 13th Angel, his profile would grow from there eventually hiring one of the greatest A&Rs in the industry Dante Ross as his manager & showing the world of what he’s capable of doing when he put out his debut Museum. His sophomore effort United Palace was a great dedication to his neighborhood, coming off the Fat Beats Records-backed PiFF to have Statik Selektah produce Elevator Music singlehandedly.

The title track begins incorporating a boom bap instrumental with synthesizers giving us something for all those days he used to play the stairs whereas “How It Is” talks about calling things the way they are. “Better Days” featuring Dave East finds the 2 linking up over a soulful beat to discuss waiting for things in their lives to improve prior to “Northern Lights” featuring B-Real & Smoke DZA finds the trio getting on their stoner shit.

“Drunk Dial” featuring Ab-Soul ends the 1st half on a funkier note instrumentally sliding onto the scene with the meanest gangsta lean but after “Hangman” combines a slowed down vocal sample with some kicks & snares to tackle some mental health issues admitting he’s been hanging on by a thread, “Donnie Brasco” continues the 2nd leg of Elevator Music referencing the crime drama of the same name & wondering if this is where he’s supposed to be.

The song “Wonder” brings a jazzier boom bap vibe to the table pondering the meaning of that very word while “nWo” featuring Andre Lawrence, Kai Ca$h, LIFEOFTHOM, Marco+ & Rhakim Ali likens themselves to the WWE Hall of Famers of the same name & the most dominant faction in WCW’s later years. The soulful closing track “Wish Upon a Star” concludes Elevator Music talking about him staying busy as of late & wanting to admit his exhaustion to his mother.

We’ve already heard Lørd Skø over Statik Selektah production a handful of times within the past several years, so for the latter to handle all of Elevator Music’s beats raised my expectations for it significantly & can say with confidence that it’s the greatest thing Skø has done. From his sharp penmanship to the jazzy boom bap production the Showoff Records founder has become known for, it’s like simultaneously bridging generations of New York hip hop & pushing the culture forward at the same time.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Chill Rob G – “Survival of the Better” review

Chill Rob G is a 62 year old MC from Jersey City, New Jersey who became notable for being a part of the Flavor Unit collective. His full-length debut Ride the Rhythm produced by the late 45 King would come out in 1989 under Wild Pitch Records & EMI Records, which would subsequently be followed up with the sophomore effort Black Gold & No Running. He also had C-Doc fully produce his SpitSLAM Records debut Empires Crumble in the spring of 2022 & here we are 50 months later picking up where the latter left off for Rob’s 4th album.

“Level Up Season” begins with this jazzy boom bap intro promising that shit won’t ever be even as long as Rob’s still alive whereas “Never Ready” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 linking up over a bass-line advising not to call yourself the best when you can’t prove it. “Ridiculous” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man & Sadat X brings the trio together to talk about sending wack rappers back to irrelevance while “I Am” reminds us all who he is over a jazzy drum & bass instrumental.

Treach joins Rob so both of them can let out some “Intrusive Thoughts” they’ve been having on top of a piano mixed with kicks & snares just before “Shots Fired” takes a funkier boom bap approach for some raw battle raps. “Let’s Go” featuring Chuck D hops over another bass guitar talking about trusting your instinct & actually think while “Higher Level” featuring Lakim Shabazz & Wise Intelligent continues the conscious lyricism hooking up a crooning beat behind them.

“G.T.F.O. (Get the Fuck Out)” winds down Survival of the Better’s last leg turning up the jazz rap influences for a message directed at those who might get it confused with him when they shouldn’t while “Dream Big” featuring Thrilla aka Shardcore brings back the funk encouraging their younger selves to listen to their hearts. The closing track “Choose Life” earned off the LP on a jazzier note talking about being motivated if anyone wants to achieve their goals like they say they do.

Empires Crumble to me was the most that I’ve enjoyed a Chill Rob G album since his debut, but Survival of the Better inserts itself in the middle right above it’s predecessor & behind Ride the Rhythm for a top 3 spot if I had to rank Rob’s discography. C-Doc’s production feels noticeably jazzier than Empires Crumble’s & the Flavor Unit member elevates his pen midway through this 5th act of his storied career alongside a murderer’s row of guests.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Lucki – “dr*gs r bad” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki’s highly anticipated 4th LP has finally arrived. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini & the divisively received Daysb4bad* to deliver the main course that the latter preluded.

The “Nuppy” intro opens up the first couple of minutes talking about a woman who he feels like is the right one for him whereas “Picky Demons :)” talks about him not being the fastidious type & shit not being for show with him. “No Stars in Maybachs” featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze finds the trio joining forces to trade verses with each other although I think Veeze was the better guest of the 2 while “Stupid Prizes” cloudily talks about what happens when one plays stupid games.

“Supertune!!” gives off a heavier psychedelic trap vibe instrumentally courtesy of Noah Mejia boasting that he feels like a superhero whenever he pops pills leading into “rookie 2 barbie” talks about how far he’s come since his Lucki Eck$ days over a decade ago back when I was in high school. “AllWay2Space” embraces a pluggier sound thanks to Taurus discussing his eagerness of going to the moon just before the “mdnt series” talks about going on a midnight roll driving around in his Maybach.

Lil Baby appears for “Snake Pit Flow” to describe the feeling they have of being made for this music shit over a LulRose instrumental while “(madness)!” shifts towards a more futuristic trap direction stylistically talking about there being hoes with no voices out here. “a theme atp…” expresses his willingness to have his people call him whenever their day’s been rough while “Keep It 1,000, Plz” talks about his desire to have everyone keep it legitimate when speaking to him.

“Brazy” reached the halfway point of dr*gs r bad with what I’d consider more of a brief freestyle than an interlude while “WAYBetter Dayz” featuring the late Chynna talks about being geeked up so much to the point where today could be his last day alive. “Loyal Snake” keeps the synthesizers coming to ask this woman if she could love him the way he loves her while the Detroit trap-tinged “Roundtripski” encourages someone who went rogue on him to do it again because he fucks with it.

Veeze returns again for the “Twin Flow” sequel “Twin FlowGodfather II”, going back-&-forth with each other to save my favorite guest appearance for last while “Ur a Vet!” talks about being on 3 different diamonds every single day & most being unable to keep up. “Gemini Dramatic” wraps up dr*gs r bad’s final moments describing a relationship where he’s got it out the mud & has a hoe who’s for the streets beside him while the outro “Yesterday On My Face” talks about being unable to trust this person.

“Not So Virgo of You” starts the deluxe run with a cloudy trap 2-parter that I’d say is one of the best songs he’s done this decade & once “I Don’t Care…” featuring the current WWE United States Champion Trick Williams’ manager Lil Yachty teams up for a atmospheric jerk single that I liked more than the other one they did at the beginning of the month, “Diamond Stitching” fuses the Detroit sound & tread so he can talk about his newfound wealth.

The single “Free Mr. Banks” combines trap & plugg to call for Lil Durk’s freedom in addition to remind us all of the code of the streets while “Overth!nking” experiments with vaportrap a bit to vent about his internal struggles including experiences of betrayal. The final bonus track “Tuff Luver” is what truly sends off the album, confessing that he’s been feeling somewhat nervous of becoming a superstar & shrugging it off suggesting maybe that’s the Chiraq in him.

Considering that one of the deluxe cuts stirred up controversy when Lucki dropped it through Steve Stoute’s independent distributor UnitedMasters & it’s competitor EMPIRE filing a lawsuit against Tune, some including myself would have to presume that dr*gs r bad fulfills the Chicago artist’s contract with them & I wish him nothing but the best if that’s in fact the case. However, it’s still an impressive trap/Detroit sound album even if it’s an undeniable improvement above Daysb4bad*.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Drake – “Habibti” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake going solo for the first time in 3 years with his 9th studio LP. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

The “Rusty” intro awfully begins with him singing over some acoustics for 62 seconds sending a message to the sweethearts & those he’s dated whereas “WNBA” produced by Gordo mediocrely details a long-distance relationship that’s effected by travel. “Slap the City” might be my favorite track here from the Noel Cadastre beat to Drizzy’s hedonistic lyrics, but then “High 5s” finds himself getting in his petty bag over a 40 instrumental.

“Hurrr Nor Thurrr” featuring Sexyy Red could be my 2nd least favorite track here because of the way they describe an addictively messy relationship ruining a sample of “MORAL” by Avenoir, but “I’m Spent” featuring Loe Shimmy tops it as the worst song here wasting a moody beat to talk about both emotional instability & luxury. “Classic” continues with this grating alternative R&B ballad encouraging a woman to leave the man she’s with until the minimally cold “Gen 5” makes a tacky statement regarding him getting a Glock for last Christmas.

The song “White Bone” was another moment that I was fine with instrumentally even if Drake ruins it by singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing that he thinks is a real connection while “Fortsworth” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR feels like an $$$4U leftover from the slow beat to them singing about being with long-distance partners. “Prioritizing” spends the remaining minutes of Habibti’s core attempting to strip his confidence & replace it with the feeling of uncertainty.

“Solar Eclipse” featuring Don Toliver starts the deluxe run interpolating “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley & sampling “Get Throwed” by UGK featuring JAY-Z & Jeezy while “Québec” references 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena. “Cold Shoulder” reunites with Don Toliver to complain about women ignoring them & the final bonus track “Classic 2” feels no more or less cringe than the original.

Some people would say either Honestly, Nevermind or Certified Lover Boy are Drake’s worst solo efforts, but I feel like he managed to outdo both of those & have Habibti take the cake. It’s more on the R&B side of things stylistically compared to Maid of Honour & Iceman although the production’s decent explorations of alternative R&B, pop rap, trap soul, downtempo, contemporary R&B & pop rap are ruined by the songwriting.

Score: 1/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jane Remover – “Status Update Music” review

Here is the 7th mixtape from Newark, New Jersey musician Jane Remover. Aside from the 3 full-lengths under deadAir Records including Frailty as well as Census Designated & most notably Revengeseekerz, they have also released the Ghostholding mixtape on the label & 4 tapes pioneering the Dariacore sound. Coming off the Indie Rock mixtape last summer & Young Dabo’s sickeningly transphobic “Bleed” diss towards them however, Jane’s back to give the world some Status Update Music.

“If You Think I’m a Bitch, You Should Meet Jane Remover” blends Dariacore, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk & complextro for an energetic intro mentioning underscores whereas “XO Tour Llif3” experiments with hyperphonics, speed house, electro house, hybrid trap, electro house, future bass & complextro to distinguish itself from Lil Uzi Vert’s biggest hit.

Brostep, Dariacore, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, complextro & hardstyle all collide on the emotional “I Did This for Us” single while “…Like Watching a Zombie Turn” would debatably be amongst my top 3 tracks here due to the way future bass, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle & power soca are all mixed with hyperflip. “Crowdkilling 101” on the other hand explores bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, complextro, speed house & French electro whilst maintaining the hyperphonics elements.

“Nothing Lasts Forever (Every Detail U Have Ever Told Me)” was a too 5 moment personally expanding beyond Dariacore in favor of rawstyle, speed house, hybrid trap, bubblegum bass, complextro, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock & bass house while the manically dense “Chase This Feeling” bringing secondary influences of hyperflip, future bass, speed house, bubblegum bass, changa tuki, hard trance, rawphoric & rawstyle to the table.

Dariacore, deconstructed club, complextro, changa tuki, electro, nu skool breaks & bass house each have their own distinctive presence throughout “#BoyLetMeKnow” kick off the 2nd half of Status Update Music while “The Summer I Pretty” comes through with a mechanical melting pot of bass house, industrial techno, hyperflip, deconstructed club, complextro, Detroit techno, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bass house & tearout.

“Right Nowww (Tear Me Apart)” would be my 2nd favorite song on the tape maximally meshing Dariacore, happy hardcore, hard trance, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek & bouncy techno while “L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby.)” bears it’s name after Gwen Stefani’s timeless solo debut despite being stylistically rooted in brostep, hyperphonics, rawstyle, tearout brostep & hybrid trap.

The rhythmically buzzy “I Belong to Nobody (But Tonight I’m Yours)” keeps pushing boundaries of Dariacore drawing further inspiration from neoperreo, deconstructed club, digicore, lento violento, snap, jerk, trap, xtra raw & rawstyle prior to “Get Ugly” containing it’s individual sections varying between French electro, electro-industrial, hyperflip, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, deconstructed club, neoperreo, midtempo bass & rawstyle.

“In Every Lifetime (Together Like This)” nears closer towards Status Update Music’s conclusion with a melodically polyrhythmic bass house, Dariacore, alternative R&B, hard techno, bubblegum bass, indietronica & speed house while the outro “Summer Fling” ends in the form of this perfect dance-pop, contemporary r&b, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step anthem in time for next month.

Most would say Dariacore 2: Enter Here, Hell to the Left is the best thing Jane Remover had done under the leroy moniker, but Status Update Music surpasses it 5 years later. Their production nearly perfects the Dariacore subgenre of hyperpop & EDM microgenre Jane created eclectically mixing it with hints of hard dance, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk, complextro, speed house, electro house, future bass, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, hardstyle, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle, power soca, bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bubblegum bass, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock, hard trance, rawphoric, nu skool breaks, industrial techno, Detroit techno, tearout, happy hardcore, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek, bouncy techno, tearout brostep, neoperreo, digicore, lento violento, snap, trap, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, midtempo bass, bass house, alternative R&B, indietronica, dance-pop, contemporary R&B, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Ankhlejohn – “Everything Beautiful Died Early” review

Here we have the 8th mixtape from Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground his last 7 tapes as well as 8 EPs & 7 full-lengths in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below, the Rome Streetz collaborative effort Genesis 1:27, the Cookin’ Soul-produced The Michelin Man & the August Fanon-produced Live! at the Disco last summer. A whole year later & V Don’s producing Everything Beautiful Died Early.

“Origins” gets things going with a 125 second intro talking about being paid to prove cases over a drumless orchestra backing him whereas “No Specifics” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally referencing The Sopranos, which is one of my top 3 shows. $ha Hef joins Lordy so they can talk about some “Monyun” over a sample & some drums while “Trauma or Tragedy” incorporates a more laidback beat to talk about being there when the powder was still stone.

Babymaine joins Ankhlejohn on “Inglorious” for a gangsta rap/boom bap crossover detailing their experiences living in The Bronx & the DMV just before “Stoneisland” wraps up the 1st half of Everything Beautiful Died Early looking back at when Juelz Santana was a big inspiration to him. “Vegan Goose Down Silence” kicks off the 2nd leg talking about making this tape because he felt like the game needed him leading into “King, Pawn & Rook” featuring Crimeapple breaking down the mafioso lifestyle.

“Solar Faxx!” aggressively talks about his desire of making educating ourselves more mainstream while “Laugh & Cry” once again touches base regarding the subject of the gangsta life, explaining that it’s pretty much a cycle. “Day 1” talks about his refusal of disrespecting the plates he came from & his knowledge of the game dating back since the beginning while “Packback” ends by observing the amount of love since his youth that’s faded.

Next fall will be a whole decade since Ankhlejohn introduced himself by taking the underground on a trip through The Red Room & for the past 14 months, he’s been dropping the greatest output of his entire career from The Michelin Man to Live! at the Disco & now Everything Beautiful Died Early. There are only a small handful of guests on this one rather than Lordy holding down the mic all by himself throughout the predecessor last spring, but they’re all carefully selected since everyone flows well over V Don’s distinct production style.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Possessed – “Absentia” review

Here we have what could likely be the only extended play from London, England, United Kingdom emcee Possessed. A founding member of Rhyme Asylum, they would drop their full-length debut State of Lunacy in 2008 & followed it up a couple years later with the sophomore effort Solitary Confinement. The latter of which would become the group’s final album since they disbanded afterwards although neither Skirmish or Psiklone have gone solo, which Absentia gave some fans hope considering it dropped without any prior announcement.

“Revolution” hops over a raw beat to kick things off talking about being immortalized & apologize for leaving when he shouldn’t have while “Priority” embraces a creepy boom bap vibe instrumentally, wrapping up the 1st leg advising those who think they can hang with him on the mic to put a sock in it. The closing track “Take Me” preceding a titular outro skit spends the EP’s remaining 3 & a half minutes chopping up a soul sample talking about being a completely different breed.

The man himself has since confirmed he’s done making music despite continuing to drop tracks from the vault that’re previously unreleased so if Absentia marks the only time we hear Possessed by himself for the duration of a project, then I suppose I’ll take it. I don’t find the production to be as impressive as someone like Illinformed or Badhabitz per se, but he still makes good justification regarding why he’s one of the most technically skilled lyricists in all of UK hip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Stray Withers – “Blink of an Eye” review

Stray Withers is a 33 year old rapper & songwriter from New Haven, Connecticut who formed the Rogue Hollow collective during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. His solo debut extended play Witherman would come out the next fall as did his full-length debut Cloudy Alibi in the summer of 2023 & more recently his previous EP Enjoy the View this past July, enlisting his crew’s newest in-house producer Charlie Beans to handle all of the beats for Stray’s 3rd EP coming off producing most of James Joyce the Squatch’s 4th album Discomfort Inn last month.

“Cicada” after the “Change of Plans” intro starts off with an aggressive boom bap instrumental pleading to dig up this world that’s been underground for too long while “Foul Ground” featuring James Joyce the Squatch talks about the difference between them & the rest. “Out Alive” depressively speaks of sleeping under a cypress tree forever & after “Frost Bite” assures it’s ok if one can’t keep up, the final song “Perfect Timing” preceding the “Epilogue” outro ends by explaining the very thing life has never had.

Gearing up for his upcoming sophomore effort Flinch also entirely produced by Charlie Beans later this fall, I’m getting a huge impression that it’ll top Cloudy Alibi to become Stray Withers greatest LP yet since Blink of an Eye surpasses both Weathermen & Enjoy the View as far as his EPs go. Between the Sky Swamp Orange frontman’s lyrics & Charlie’s dark production, it could also be looked at as Rogue Hollow’s continuation of making shockwaves across the underground.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Isaac Castor – “Lost in Transit” review

New surprise LP & the 4th altogether from Detroit, Michigan emcee Isaac Castor. Coming up in 2010 under the original moniker Gameboi, he would go on drop 4 mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to signing to the local underground hip hop powerhouse Middle Finger Music following its formation 8 years later. He then enlisted the label’s co-founder Foul Mouth behind the boards for his full-length debut The Rabbit Hole as well as the sequel & the final chapter Smoking Caterpillar, switching it up by having Machacha produce Lost in Transit.

“Bullet Train” begins with this 92 second drumless intro talking about needing a credit card replacement the way this game be scamming whereas “All Love” works him some bare guitars calling out the jokers faking to be tough when they ain’t. “Poet Dog” brings in some drums to talk about being made to reach the top just before “Canadian Wildfire” ditches them once again so he can explain the reason why the clouds have gotten so gloomy.

Things take a turn towards a boom bap vibe on “Get Serious” talking about staying mysterious in part of the sheep trying to follow the herd but after “Hopeless” featuring Miz Korona soulfully addresses an individual who’s so vain that they’ll consider this to be a diss directed at them, “What’s in the Box?” featuring Jalen Frazier continues the sample-driven boom bap instrumentation making people line up for this designer drug they’ve concocted.

“Candy Flip” featuring Aztek the Barfly, Fatboi Sharif & Foul Mouth brings the quartet together for a gritty hardcore hip hop anthem where each artist drops a cutthroat verse without the need of a hook while “Americano” jazzily talks about needing sativa & coffee soon as he gets up every single morning. “1 Way Ticket” takes up the last few minutes of Lost in Transit with a boom bap outro talking about people treating him like he’s normal until they realize he writes songs.

A great deal of the projects Machacha’s produced for other artists for at least 6 months following Eye of the Beholder have either been hit or miss, but Lost in Transit in my opinion ranks amongst Isaac Castor’s greatest material outside of The Rabbit Hole trilogy. You’re always gonna get quality production from Machacha & that’s no different here, the biggest difference however is the improved performances from both the main artist AND the guests.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!