Natural Elements – “aligNmEnt” review

Baychester, Bronx, New York outfit the Natural Elements are making their long-awaited full-length debut under Fat Beats Records. Consisting of A-Butta as well as Mr. Voodoo & Swigga, they would go on to sign with Tommy Boy Records in late ‘90s off a debut extended play only to leave after their major label album was shelved. They would return in 2013 with the NE Definitely mixtape & a handful of EPs including All Hail NE, Death Comes in 3s, 3 Kings & 3Times Dope. Over 3 decades since their formation, they’ve made great timing for this aligNmEnt since all of hip hop’s O.G.s have been coming back in recent memory.

“As We Should” opens up with them talking about evolving & adapting with the times since that’s a crucial focal point of the way life works whereas “This Isnt a Drill” produced by the group’s founder Charlemagne finds the trio trading cutthroat bars with each other over a symphonic boom bap instrumental. “Whole Foods of Rap” explains their style being why it’s been so long to get here since Tommy Boy didn’t know what to do with it leading into “We Could Exist” representing their home state.

Meanwhile on “Naturally (Natural E)”, we have the Elements sampling “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan decades after the latter’s court battle with the late Biz Markie changed hip hop & the music industry at large forever just before the hardcore “dopamiNE” talks about still having their touch. The soulful boom bap crossover “infiNitE shiNE” continued with them boasting that they’re unstoppable while “Alive & Well” thanks the most high for allowing them to still be here.

“Cosmos is Calling” begins the 2nd half of aligNmEnt venting everything that hits their minds looking at the nighttime sky pondering our existence while the title track hooks up a chilling sample mixed with kicks & snares carrying the same words they honor to this day. “NilE River Flows” sticks to the traditional boom bap sound meshing some keys & occasionally melodic background vocals talking about getting better with age while “Book Smart Street Smart” explains the way they prefer their women.

Things go for a funkier direction for “Y.K.T.V. (You Know the Vibes)” boasting that they’re always on fire while “nooNE Can Tell Me Shiii…” returns to the boom bap & putting an atmospherically soulful twist to it feeling confident of themselves. “Time Doesn’t Exist” explains the very reason they consider themselves timeless & the beat embracing a more nostalgic tone but after “Demon Frequency” confesses to the thing that’s been fucking with their collective vision, the outro “3-Card moNtE” ends NE’s debut album trading bars with each other 1 last time.

Notable for having the late Ka as a member of the Natural Elements at some point during their early years, an official LP from these guys excluding the 1999 compilation has been long overdue & it’s like they never even went through all that label drama 3 decades earlier to begin with. The production mostly handled by Charlemagne brings a durable take on boom bap to the table in enhancing the feeling of the types of songs these guys’ cult following worldwide has become accustomed to since Day 1.

Score: 4/5

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Flee Lord – “Everything I Never Said” review

Queens, New York emcee Flee Lord has returned for what I’m sure is his proper 7th studio LP. Blowing up a decade ago as a protégé of the late Prodigy, he has since become known for building up a massive discography for himself since. This includes the Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk trilogy produced by GodBlessBeatz, the Loyalty or Trust duology produced by 38 Spesh, the DJ Shay-produced Lucky 13, the Buckwild-produced Hand Me My Flowers, the Pete Rock-produced The People’s Champ, the Havoc-produced In the Name of Prodigy, the DJ Muggs-produced RAMM£LLZ££, the Roc Marciano produced Delgado, the RocAmeriKKKa trilogy with Eto & the Mephux-produced Pray for the Evil trilogy. It’s been a couple years since I covered the Raised in the Sand EP & now he’s letting out Everything I Never Said.

“Coinless” was a decent opener wanting to know how these people know everything when they’re broke whereas “I Can Dig It” featuring Eto brings back that RocAmeriKKKa energy talking about pain & bullshit coming with it over a horn instrumental. “Infinite” featuring Pounds448 goes for a sample-driven boom bap vibe dropping verses together without a hook leading into the jazzy “Honoring the Greats” featuring Shoota93 giving their flowers to those who paved the way.

O.T. the Real appears on “Residue” so they can talk about the drums making them go dumb enough to not know shit while “40 Shots” featuring Starz Coleman was an underwhelming gangsta rap single to get the rollout going. The late DJ Ra Lee’s strings on “It Ain’t Safe” featuring Mummz stood out to me even if Flee had the better performance of the 2 once again, but then the 72 second “Stress Turns Into Cancer” freestyle produced by Harry Fraud has to be the most soulfully passionate cut here.

“Floor Seats” kicks off the 4th quarter of Everything I Never Said triumphantly talking about going from pissy hallways to pissy elevators while “Ryder Music” featuring Dirtyyaycochino teams up for another average collab over a soulful boom bap beat. “Quarter Lbs of Rapper” makes up for things with a track that recaptures the feeling of the Euro Money EP putting on his steppers & the closer “Suburban Views” featuring Mickey Factz spends the last couple minutes talking about the real having each other’s backs.

Inspired by him losing 2 friends less than 3 weeks apart from each other, Flee Lord tries something different with Everything I Never Said & that’s one of the biggest compliments I can give it ahead of his upcoming projects produced by Statik Selektah & Apollo Brown respectively. I wouldn’t put it in the same conversations as a lot of his earlier material, but he sounds ready to apply pressure again like he did at the beginning of this decade flowing over tight production with a decent guest list joining him.

Score: 3/5

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M.I.A. – “M.I.7.” review

Hounslow, London, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer, producer & activist M.I.A. going independent with her 7th LP. Blowing up off her full-length debut Arular that XL Recordings & Interscope Records jointly put out 2 decades earlier, her popularity would begin to increase following the sophomore effort Kala & was even granted her own vanity label N.E.E.T. Recordings by the time ΛΛ Λ Y Λ became her most-left field body of work to date inspiring future acts like Death Grips & PC Music. She eventually fulfilled her Interscope contract by dropping Matangi & AIM, coming off the Island Records-backed MATA to bring M.I.7. towards a new direction.

“Prayer 777” after the “Trumpet” intro technically begins with a remix of the cloudy & experimental Christian hip hop single “Armour” with secondary influences of neo-psychedelia, tribal ambient, ambient pop, ambient dub & dub whereas “Jesus” after another “Trumpet” intermission goes for a hip house vibe asking for the son of God to set her free. “Sacred Heart” reworks “Un Nenju” from the Bells Collection tape talking about what we feel makes us the same while “Money” after the 3rd “Trumpet” interlude annoyingly demanding some bread.

After the 4th “Trumpet” interlude, “Circle” starts the 2nd half asking God to lead her prior to “Calling” after the 5th “Trumpet” interlude talks about following the waves. After the penultimate “Trumpet” interlude, “Ride the Sky” makes an odd Fortnite reference although I understand the concept of good defeating evil while the final song “Everything” after the last “Trumpet” interlude excluding the “30 Minutes of Silence” outro ends M.I.7. talking about chasing bags than looking for them.

We’ve only gotten 3 full-lengths from M.I.A. within the past decade & MATA had me hoping she would continue to take the right path going forward musically, but it pains me to say that M.I.7. could be the weakest entry of her entire discography. It has nothing to do with the predominant Christian hip hop themes because I’ll put it over Will Smith’s comeback Based on a True Story any day, except the overabundance of interludes & the half hour outro make it feel like a glorified EP.

Score: 2/5

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SheLovesMeechie – “Having a Blast” review

SheLovesMeechie is a 30 year old musician, dancer & media personality from Atlanta, Georgia by way of The Bronx, New York who dropped his first 3 extended plays SheLovesMee(not) along with Do You Love Me Now? & Fried Not Burntt preceding his full-length studio debut She Hates Me. The latter of which caught the attention of Playboi Carti, who was impressed enough to sign Meechie to Opium Records last summer & has now made his sophomore effort his official debut for the label.

“lingo brazy” begins with this 110 second plugg intro talking about rocking out with his Glock out & standing 10 toes down for his squad whereas “party kit” discusses everything going the way he wants it to. “bag of chips” continues to take inspiration from plugg music instrumentally talking about being high off Earth smoking only the finest flower & baggin’ bitches but once “I Miss Kobe” honors my 2nd favorite basketball player behind MJ, “clockout 6am” futuristically details the rockstar life.

To kick off the 2nd half, “safe sex” talks about being outside with a box cutter warning not to try him leading into the pluggy “walk on dis beat” flexing that he pulls up to parties carrying a stick on him. “vcmh” hooks up more synthesizers talking about going Van Cleef for his hoe & once “what we doing” demands to tell him if one wants to life his lifestyle, the outro “can’t handle it” ends the LP admitting there being way too many vibes than he had anticipated.

Regardless of me enjoying Having a Blast less than SheLovesMeechie’s debut album, I still think his Opium debut will satisfy anyone looking for them to stray away from a predominant rage sound. The cloudy trap & plugg production is a a bit of a downgrade compared to it’s predecessor & there are occasional moments where it can feel repetitive although I can see him eventually glowing up down the road similarly to both of ApolloRed1’s latest material since being signed.

James Joyce the Squatch – “Discomfort Inn” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee James Joyce the Squatch. A member of the Nitebreed alongside Donnie Menace & White Cheddar, he would make his solo debut in 2016 with Pawn Your Heart of Gold & follow it up with the sophomore effort The King James Version: The Pre-Quill as well as Dapper Scumbags: Reality Check Cashing. However, he recently joined Stray’s newly formed Rogue Hollow collective & having the label’s in-house producer Charlie Beans soundtrack James’ trip to Discomfort Inn.

“Butterflies & Bile” produced by Charlie Beans opens up with a sinister boom bap instrumental talking about the inability to trust your gut when it’s filled with those 2 things whereas “Chef’s Kiss” gives off a heavy g-funk/trap vibe boasting his lyrical proficiency. “Chaise Lounging” leans further towards a trap sound with chopped & screwed and g-funk undertones talking about not fucking with drama because he doesn’t see any importance in doing so while “Cat n’ Mouse” explains that the depths get darker the further we descent.

Stray Withers makes Discomfort Inn’s only guest appearance on “Little People” dismantling the kind of individuals who don’t have anything to live for just before “Know Your Worth(less)” stylistically reminds me a bit of Heltah Skeltah from the boom bap beat to the unapologetic hardcore lyricism. “Molting Truth (I Was Happy)” experiments with a cloudier sound repeating what his inner-child said to him while “Pick Your Poison” ends the 1st leg talking about choosing between disappointed or getting ignorant.

“Blunt as Fuck” gets the 2nd half going taking some inspiration from the dirty south forever keeping it to the point leading into the title track profoundly talking about this home he built being more perfect than life itself. “Phoenix Down” combines cloud rap & boom bap confessing this long ride he’s been on simply following the way he’s been feeling while “Shampaign” walks a razor’s edge without even knowing where it’s bound to go.

Nearing the album’s final moments, “Ghost10” hops over some pianos to talk about seeing everyone in Hell toasting with the squad while “Plottin’ & Schemin’” kinda has this shimmery trap quality to it detailing that the man in the mirror’s trying to kill him. “Leave Behind” continues the cloudy boom bap crossovers talking about building himself up to heaven to scrap the golden gates while “Dirty Water Baptism” expressing thankfulness for the people he was starving with.

Having previously heard his verses on both Chainsaws & Boomsticks albums when Donnie Menace was signed to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz, it was interesting to hear Charlie Beans was producing all but 2 tracks on Discomfort Inn & I’d have to argue that it’s the most cohesive entry of James Joyce the Squatch’s entire solo catalog. Charlie’s production is a huge upgrade from James’ previous full-lengths & I commend him for getting a lot off his chest with this one lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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Sexyy Red – “Yo Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa” review

St. Louis, Missouri rapper Sexyy Red celebrating her birthday with her 4th mixtape. One of the most polarizing, controversial & popular artists in hip hop today who dropped her debut single “1,000 Jugs” in 2018 & eventually her debut mixtape Ghetto Superstar on Christmas Eve 2021 to subpar reception. The follow-up Hood Hottest Princess after signing to gamma.received more mixed responses in the public eye including from myself on the contrary to Anthony Fantano giving it an 8, which was what I gave her previous tape In Sexyy We Trust around the time she started making appearances for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s developmental brand NXT. A little over a week since Tony D’Angelo became the new NXT Champion however, Yo Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa is here after a brief delay.

Shawn Ferrari produces the intro “Her Her Her” trying to argue that no other female being able to fuck with her when Doechii or Little Simz automatically come to mind whereas “Richer Then Alla My Opps” hops over a Lil Yachty beat so she can talk about having more money than her haters. “David Ruffin” is where the tape really starts to fall apart & it has more to do with the lackluster instrumental than comparing herself to The Temptations’ late lead singer until “It Bitches” talks about her homegirls being far from lame.

“Top Motch” boisterously expresses her desire for a guy of high quality & bringing Shawn back behind the boards in the process while “Attached” brings a more menacing vibe to the beat thanks to Maaly Raw, conceptually detailing a dude who’s trying to get all up in her pants. “Bitch I’m Awesome” talks about nobody having the capability of fucking with her because she’s so gnarly while “Team Lil Booty” featuring Pluto finds both of them teaming up for an anthem dedicated to women who have flat asses.

Ending the 1st half, “Rackies” attempts to recreate the classic D4L single “Laffy Taffy” & awkwardly misses the landing although ATL Jacob’s instrumental is the best thing going for it while “Hood Bitch 2” much like the predecessor details her upbringings except I prefer the sequel in this scenario. “Cut Like Us” produced by Tay Keith introduces us to the Blood Sustaz in the most underwhelming fashion just before “Tatted Asf” makes up for it by talking about her love of tattoos.

“If You Want It” butchers a sample of “Paradise” by LL Cool J to discuss her having the ability of turning this guy’s life up because of her hoodrat lifestyle & after “Hang Wit a Bad Bitch” featuring Key Glock proved to be the stronger single of the 2 talking about Sexyy upping the score in light of all the baddies continuing to win, “All Da Hoes” hits us with another mediocre track advising not to trust her around any man & not going broke because her hoes got her back.

Less than 10 minutes to go, the song “Stick to the Code” aggressively talks about abiding by the code of the streets & having 0 time for any goofy shit while “NDA” humorously suggests that one would have to sign a non disclosure agreement prior to smashing her since she’s had players from both the NBA & the NFL tryna hit it. “YOP (U Wit a Star)” sends off the tape tolerably acknowledging the real trappers over a Metro Boomin’ & Zaytoven beat.

My thing with Sexyy Red is: You can dislike her music &/or her public image, but I still admire the fact that gamma. allows her & everyone else they’ve signed full ownership of her masters when you had Prince in court 3 decades earlier with “Slave” written on his cheek fighting Warner Records in court for his. However, anyone who was surprised as I was at myself enjoying In Sexyy We Trust a couple years ago will most likely be happier to hear me say that Your Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa was significantly mediocre & I’d place the blame for that on the subpar guest list as well as the weaker production.

Score: 2.5/5

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BabyBartier – “Nightmare on Rodeo” review

Here is the full-length studio debut from Los Angeles, California rapper BabyBartier. Emerging off his debut EP Baby Blanco a year ago followed by Diablo a little over a month later, his popularity would continue to grow over the course of the summer after Awe$ome & Terror respectively became most most acclaimed extended plays. Now that he’s signed a joint deal Internet Money Records alongside Mercury Records & Republic Records, it only makes sense for the Nightmare on Rodeo to officially commence now that he’s under a major label.

“Lean Crazy” get things going with the 2nd & final single looking to party like it’s Project X daily over a plugg instrumental while “Forgiveness” talks about winning the world inside his hands & the chopper loading up. “Scene” looks back at going from being in the battlefield sending shot to having the scars to prove it until “Red Dead” produced by Rio Leyva cautions that people better duck the second his squad rolls past your hood.

NASH gets behind the boards for “Flexin’”, continuing the plugg vibes so he can talk about his girl bringing a TEC to the club just before “I Know It’s Coming” speaks of not falling in love because he can’t trust no hoe. “Cash Out” pushes further towards the halfway point talking about poppin’ tags & taking the swag up on his bitch just before “Poppin’” works in a chill beat from Vendr to boast that he’s high enough to hang with the Gods.

“Basic” kicks off the 2nd half incorporating some wavy synthesizers pullin’ up to the function under the influence of ecstasy while the lead single “Each of My Pockets” talks about putting on the swag for his people & carrying a bunch of blue Benjamin Franklins on him. “Tomato” keeps it rollin’ by rubbing his success in the faces of those who didn’t think he’d make it this far over a Cade instrumental while “Cali Dreamin’” talks about making a crowd of thots lose their shit over him performing.

Rounding out 3rd, we have him clarifying that Bartier’s had swag since he was in “High School” prior to “Latest” talking about the way he’s been living since last summer. “Dirty Sprite” comes through with a brief dedication to sippin’ lean & after “Hancock” likens himself to the main character of the 2008 superhero film of the same name written by the creator of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, the outro “B4 I Die” ends the LP talking about running up more bags.

I kinda had a feeling that BabyBartier was gonna sign to Internet Money Records given their heavy involvement on the instrumental side of Terror last fall, but Nightmare on Rodeo instead became an average major label debut containing more highs than lows that I firmly believe he can outdo whenever the time for his sophomore effort comes. Even if the production doesn’t interest me like his last EP did & most of the songs are under 2 minutes, that same hunger still translates itself exceptionally.

Score: 3/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression)” review

Right in front of us is the 34th studio LP from French-American underground veteran Napoleon da Legend. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets, the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz, the DJ Rhettmatic-produced Legmatic, the JR Swiftz-produced Great Minds & F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds). However, I was surprised to hear most of G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression) was gonna be produced by the man himself.

After the “End” intro, “Polonium” begins with this triumphant boom bap instrumental referencing the late WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali whereas the self-produced “It’s All Over” works in some sampling chops looking to send all competitors home bruised up & breaking bones. “Addis Abba” featuring Vinnie Paz finds the 2 lividly talking about this music shit not being for everyone & after the “Imminent Danger” interlude, “Black Caesar” featuring Steele teams up so they continue the hardcore lyricism.

“Spilled Sphinx” featuring Nejma Nefertiti reunites the pair so they can go back-&-forth with each other like they’ve already done so countless times in the past prior to “Bombardians” featuring CF & Dontique decently talking about raising the bar & still not reaching their pinnacles yet. “Think Dominant” featuring Innocent? & SKAM2? brings in some horns to get it out the dirt while “Masked Assassin” after the “Water Seeds” interlude attacks biters who can’t be original to save their lives.

Skyzoo appears on the lavish “Tough Skin” looking back at when they had shit mapped out when the rest were playing cat & mouse games while “Kill Bots” featuring Passport Rav but after the “Break the Chains” interlude trades bars with one another over a beat from the latter talking about the cold world not getting any warmer. “Star Wars” grittily lets it be known that those who want to reach his level will die quickly while the crooning “Sinners & Saints” talks about enjoying the present moment.

“Mind War” featuring Lord Goat poses the question of what one would die for & the rise of AI taking people’s jobs from them while the title track talks about cancelling the sellouts as well as causing the cancers to cease spreading. “Ultimate Power” after the “System Error” skit reassures confidence of his future despite not reaching his prime yet but once the jazzy “Alan Wattage” featuring Ghost Machine talks about the world being The Boondocks & South Park combined, “Save Me” preceding the “Beginning” outro ends by advising against going at the Pharaoh.

Keeping in mind that there are literally dozens of albums in the Napoleon da Legend catalog, I did come away from G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression) liking it less than Soul vs. Math & more than Promise. Nonetheless, I’d put Great Minds & F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds) above all of them combined. His own production’s a huge compliment I can hand this one blending noir wave & modern boom bap, except I feel like it’s a little too long.

Score: 3/5

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Serial Killers – “This Thing of Ours” review

The Serial Killers are a west coast supergroup consisting of B-Real, Demrick & Xzibit. Joining forces on Halloween 2013 by dropping an eponymous debut mixtape under Open Bar Entertainment, they would go on to follow it up a couple years later with The Murder Show & followed it up with the Day of the Dead extended play. Their debut album Summer of Sam would come out in the fall of 2020 despite its title getting more political than the trio’s earlier output, reuniting to have Scoop DeVille produce the sophomore effort.

“SK Anthem” sets the tone with this grisly boom bap intro spitting the kind of raps that’ll make you wanna punch someone in the face whereas the title track aggressively talks about the trio building a circle of trust together. “Call the Cops” gives off an old school hardcore vibe dropping bars that’ll make people snitch to the Feds leading into the horn-infused “Fired Up” advising against people trying their luck because each of them being vexed.

Moving on from there, “Levels” talks about improving oneself if anybody’s striving to reach the top just before “Hand Grenade” goes full rap rock so they can end the 1st leg boasting that they can walk through Hellfire & communicate with the dead. “High Energy” continues the 2nd leg of the album talking about life being this much of a trip & time being money while “Anarchy” encourages those listening to start promoting the strength we have instead of that other bullshit.

“Slippin’” nears This Thing of Ours’ conclusion incorporating some strings talking about keeping an eye out for the other side & not letting them catch you fuckin’ up while “By Any Means” speaks of constantly staying more solid than the concrete & representing the west coast. “We’re the Killers” finishes up the album with this ghostly boom bap outro talking about fearing no man & the lyricism of each member proving to be more deadly than fentanyl.

Summer of Sam to me was a lot enjoyable than The Murder Show or Day of the Dead were, but the Serial Killers return a little over halfway through the 2020s with Scoop DeVille behind the boards to make This Thing of Ours the greatest LP of their entire existence. Scoop’s production hits harder top to bottom as opposed to the predecessor having a couple lackluster moments instrumentally & I like that they refrained from having any guest appearances to focus more on their synergies.

Score: 4/5

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T.F. – “Don’t Call Me Lucky” review

Los Angeles, California emcee T.F. joining forces with local veteran DJ Muggs to produce his 7th LP. Initially hearing him on “Tookie Knows, Pt. II” off ScHoolboy Q’s magnum opus Blank Face LP, he subsequently dropped his debut EP No Hooks only 7 months later, which was followed up by his full-length debut ErThangSkanless & then a 2nd EP called OktoberFest. After appearing on Flee Lord’s 8th EP Hand Me My Flowers produced entirely by Buckwild & put out 2 more EPs on his own, T.F. eventually signed to Lord Mobb Music & put out Blame Kansas produced by both Mephux & Roc Marciano. Last we heard from him was when Khrysis produced The Green Bottle, returning 10 months later cautioning Don’t Call Me Lucky.

The title track opens up shop with an ominous boom bap beat wanting to know if his court-ordered therapy sessions was luck or faith whereas “Water Whip” featuring Rome Streetz aggressively talks about everything being scandalous with them. “Clap” featuring Ghostface Killah kinda has a vintage 70s vibe to it referencing the late アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall leading into “The Scorpion Sting” returns to the boom bap talking about the squad fitting into picture frames.

“Reese’s Pieces” featuring Meyhem Lauren & O.T. the Real brings the trio together so they can ruggedly make it clear that ain’t shit sweet with either of them while “Ya Heard” featuring Roc Marciano soulfully talks about people sticking you up for your diamonds & gold. “Cha Cha Chicken” gives off a spookier vibe instrumentally speaking of cooking up crack rocks just before the horn-infused “Pool Sports” reaches the halfway point talking about being top floor with the bars.

After an interlude, “Money in the Wall” featuring Heartbreak JC drumlessly make way for both of them discussing people dying every day over chains & social media posts while “Luchador” angrily talks about possibly crashing surface due to living so fast. “$100 Bill” rawly speaks of breaking bread interpolating the iconic Prodigy single “Keep It Thoro” during the hook while “Star Studded” talks about daydreaming over a sped-up soul sample.

“El Sancho” wraps up Don’t Call Me Lucky’s final moments likening himself to WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg’s portrayal of Rodney in Baby Boy directed by the late John Singleton while the final song “Ride Out” featuring Boldy James preceding the outro makes great use of the album’s final minutes by having the 2 lyricists teaming up over a bluesy boom bap beat to talk about their respective experiences of living like gangstas from the west coast to the midwest.

I wasn’t sure if it was possible for T.F. to top Blame Kansas preceding The Green Bottle coming out last summer, but I was expecting Don’t Call Me Lucky to do the exact same thing based off the singles & it testifies him only getting better with time. There aren’t as many guest appearances than last time, which I’d say works in his favor considering how well Muggs’ signature production style fits his sharp streetwise lyricism like a glove.

Score: 4.5/5

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