ovrkast. – “While the Iron’s Hot” review

Oakland, California emcee/producer ovrkast. with his official full-length studio debut album. In almost a decade, he’s been making waves by releasing a couple mixtapes on top of 13 EPs in his discography later landing production credits ranging from MAVI to Earl Sweatshirt & even Drake. KastGotWings produced by Cardo became my new favorite EP of his last fall even if some would say it’s too early since it’s the most recent one as of me writing this & he’s finally striking While the Iron’s Hot for an LP.

After the jazzy “HOT!” intro, the first song “truth?” is drumless sample-heavy intro talking about shaking shit up and originally came away from “Small Talk” featuring Samara Cyn a little mixed on it even if I appreciate it more in the context of While the Iron’s Hot. “I’m On” shows a boastful side of kast with a laidback instrumental backing him just before the groovy “Stumblin’” talks about clumsiness showing when he’s trying to get a way.

“MAVKAST!” featuring MAVI after the “NewPowers” skit marks the official formation of a duo comprised of 2 of underground hip hop’s biggest artists in recent memory while “Spike Lee homages one of my favorite directors ahead of A24 Films putting out Highest 2 Lowest next month. “6AM” radiates intoxicating energy from the beat melodically talking about staying up late leading into “Strange Ways” featuring Vince Staples addressing the type of crowd with those uncommon tendencies.

The song “New Era” continues to travel down the final moments of ovrkast.’s debut hooking up a woodwind & a high-pitched vocal sample entering a new chapter in his life similarly to the way I myself did last summer while “Dog Days” featuring Frsh Waters & SABA talking about the hottest time of the year on top of some cumbersome piano chords. “On TIME!” closes the album with more keys wanting everyone to know he’s arrived exactly when he should’ve.

Going through an immense amount of change alongside loss & again to receive the clarity & focus in order for this day to come, ovrkast.’s debut feels refreshingly modern as a result of it’s contemporary & referential approach. Taking its cues from the sample-based production & lyric-centric approach that defined hip hop’s golden age, it’s not hard to blame him for having this as his favorite body of work ever.

Score: 4/5

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Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” review

Miley Cyrus is a 32 year old singer/songwriter, actress & director from Franklin, Tennessee breaking out as the older sister of Noah Cyrus & the 2nd eldest daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. Achieving greater success as the titular character on the The Walt Disney Company-owned Disney Channel teen sitcom Hannah Montana, her first 3 LPs Meet Miley Cyrus alongside Breakout & Can’t Be Tamed under Hollywood Records were equally met with mixed or negative reception. Same goes with The Time of Our Lives. Her debut for RCA Records during my junior year of high school Bangerz was when her music started to improve since I prefer songs like “#GetItRight” produced by The Neptunes over it’s biggest hit “Wrecking Ball”. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz became a polarizing take on neo-psychedelia & psychic pop even with The Flaming Lips’ involvement, Younger Now went for a mid country pop direction aside from a DJ Premier remix of the title track, She’s Coming missed the landing with R&B & electropop and Plastic Hearts was a decent way to fulfill her RCA contract following her divorce from Liam Hemsworth of the mid A24 Films thriller Cut Bank. Moving over to Columbia Records, her debut for them Endless Summer Vacation once again divided public opinion & the high praise her 9th full-length album has been getting made me want to hear it to believe it.

“Prelude” has gotta be one of the boldest lead singles to a body of work that I’ve heard in a long time since it’s spoken word poetry over an epic post-minimalistic & progressive electronic instrumental until the title track goes full gear drawing from art rock, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock & experimental rock desiring something beautiful lasting eternity.

Pop rock, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, soft rock & big music all collide on “End of the World” suggesting that we should be making the best of our final moments if the apocalypse were to happen leading into “More to Lose” maintains a steady cross between soft rock, adult contemporary, piano rock & art pop singing about not wanting to be interrupted ore overthinking of chasing perfection.

“Easy Lover” after the first of 2 interludes was actually conceived during the Plastic Hearts sessions fusing country, rock & pop addressing the emotional addiction to a complicated relationship but after the other interlude, “Golden Burning Sun” turns up the soft rock influences employing themes of devotion. “Walk of Fame” featuring Brittany Howard is a synthpop duet singing about what it’s like for he to be at her level of international superstardom just before “Pretend You’re God” yearns to have that person in her life who’ll make her their everything.

The song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” featuring Naomi Campbell blends funk & pop together for another duet asking if they’re pretty enough for more than fun in the dark while “Reborn” experiments with meshing trance music & pop together for a spiritual enlightenment ode inspired after she & Greg Aldae sat at church together one day. “Give Me Love” as a closer heavily builds itself around synthesizers instrumentally singing that heaven & terror both await behind the curtain while “Secrets” starts the deluxe run by forgiving her father. The final bonus track “Lockdown” finishes with a 13 & a half minute 2-parter singing about a relationship on the lowkey.

Never thought I’d see the day where I’d actually being saying any of what you’re gonna read in this paragraph, but here we are! Regardless of Bangerz always holding a place in my heart as time goes on, I can’t say that I’ve would’ve NEVER thought I’d hear Miley surpass it in terms of cohesiveness until Something Beautiful. Inspired by Pink Floyd’s iconic 11th album The Wall, it’s heavy concept centered around healing from trauma on top of finding beauty in life’s darkest moments & reconciliation of lost time heavily dabbling with pop rock, art rock, electro-disco, dance-pop, soft rock, neo-psychedelia, spoken word, poetry, epic music, post-minimalism, progressive electronic, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock, experimental rock, adult contemporary, piano rock, art pop, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, big music, synthpop & a small dose of country blows everything she’s done out the water.

Score: 4.5/5

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Molly Santana – “Molly & Her Week of Wonders” review

Los Angeles, California up-&-comer Molly Santana with her sophomore effort. Originally a streetwear influencer, the Fontana native began making music in 2021 by releasing her debut EP Molly’s World as well as her debut mixtape Neptune & her 2nd EP Mélange. Her eponymous full-length debut studio album resulted in her signing a joint deal with Victor Victor Worldwide & Capitol Records despite the moderate reception, which Masonic Musik made up for. Fast forward 8 months, Molly & Her Week of Wonders looks to continue solidifying herself on the Victor Victor/Capitol labels.

“No Rules” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic is this rage-inducing intro rapping about her gratitude towards living without any restrictions whereas “Piss Me Off” melodically looks to get what’s hers for the cause & a triumphant vibe to the instrumental. “Cayenne” blends hypertrap & electronic music boastfully cashing out with the drop top while “Unstoppable” featuring che joins forces with CXO for a highly enjoyable rage collab.

Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group gives “Handle It” an industrial trap flare promising her pistol will make anyone famous homaging the late Freda Santana just before “BRB” featuring Showjoe teams up for a pluggnb/drill hybrid talking returning to the people who count on them. The single “Not Regular” shuns the individuals who want to test her over a poppy & cloudy trap beat until “Been Did That” featuring labelmate Hardrock advising all these hoes to sit back.

“Acting Nice” asserts Molly’s dominance & shutting down any hate that’s thrown in her direction while “Globe” fuses rap rock & trap talking about life moving quicker than ever carrying the show on for those who can’t be here with us & the increase of hate speech. “Honest” makes it a point to be the only one in a circle of loved ones who keeps it 100 rather than lying to them while “When I’m Gone” instrumentally reminds me of Yeezus wanting to be remembered & leaving a mark on the industry.

Moving on from there, “I Know” taps in with Supah Mario asking her lover to hold her down apologizing for fucking up a night out while “Life I Chose (Ms. Americana)” homages “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey. The song “Set Up” finds herself running back to her old ways continuously while “Stupid Money” cloudily talks about it being time to up the scores. Lastly, the closer “Weekend” advises everyone to stay high chasing their dreams & getting the bag.

“Everybody Knows” starts the deluxe run sampling “Backstabber” by Ke$ha talking about everyone around her accepting the fact she’s becoming richer than she ever would’ve suppose she would while “1/1” suggesting it’ll be a long time until her exes find another woman like her in their lives. The final bonus track “Find a Way” strips the drums completely feeling confident that her day will come promising she won’t change.

Inspired by the film Valerie & Her Week of Wonders, Molly speaks a lot on what it feels like to be like a woman in the type of business she’s working with & in her world feeling like the movie’s plot translates what the world in general & the music industry feels like to most women. She’s pulling out all the stops with this more frequently & broader than Mansion Musik going crazy with her culminations of the rage, pop rap, cloud rap & trap styles she’s known for.

Score: 4/5

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yoon – “wounds” review

yoon is a 19 year old rapper from Broward County, Florida turning heads for blending emotional grit with distorted clarity in a sound that’s entirely his own. He introduced himself in the fall of 2023 by releasing a 3-track debut EP Eternal giving glimpses of what his potential looks like. It’s been 18 months since & we haven’t really heard much from him in that extended period of time, taking further steps to cement himself as an artist by putting out a 2nd EP to keep warming up for a full-length studio debut album.

My favorite song here happens to be the intro “relocate” from the Rio Leyva of Internet Money Records instrumental to the lyrics about having to move to a new place on top of not doing any favors for no hoe whereas “shouldertoleanon” goes for a piano-trap direction asking for his partner to tell him what it is & what it ain’t. “itsgonbealright” turns up the rage a little wanting his girl to tell him he loves him leading into “it’s rags, hoe” talking about the love he has for the bag & his homies lessens the hypertrap influence.

“cut cut, cut” hops over some hi-hats & bass flexing that he’s rocked out despite all the fair share of pain in his life just before “showuimtheone” fuses pop rap & trap talking about wanting to stop by this woman’s house to prove they’re a good fit. “putmyprideaside” brings a cloudier vibe to the table feeling spaced out as of late refusing to fuck hoes who listen to him while “yeah, I’m cut” talks about the cuts he has from many dark days.

The song “cauterize” kicks off the final minutes of wounds observing the irony of a bitch not wanting anything to do with him until he started making a little money & maintaining his cool even with the feeling that his detractors are plottin’ on him until “deadmanwalking” wraps up the EP by talking about having no other option than to stack his paper higher as well as his popularity steadily growing.

As opposed to Eternal offering a brief taste of yoon’s artistry, he capitalizes it with another EP that’s significantly introspective than the predecessor a year & a half ago by now. Heavily catered to the rage subgenre of trap in terms of production, the Atlanta underground performer’s personal struggles he’s endured whether it be recently or in the past all gets unpacked in a way that seems more endearing compared to his previous output & it lives up to all the hype I’ve been hearing.

Score: 4/5

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Aesop Rock – “Black Hole Superette” review

Here we have the 11th studio LP from New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. As far as his solo stuff: I recommend his sophomore effort & Definitive Jux Records debut Labor Day alongside The Impossible Kid, which was his 2nd album with Rhymesayers Entertainment whom Aesop had made himself home with for over a decade at this point. Blockhead had fully produced Garbology to acclaim & Integrated Tech Solutions has quickly received the same love The Impossible Kid, returning for a trip to the Black Hole Superette.

“Secret Knock” opens up shop with a quirky & futuristic self-produced instrumental advising to walk with him & opting to not go on any signal taking it in his own hands whereas “Checkers” works in elements of abstract conscious subject matter, space ambient, boom bap & illbient that made for a promising lead single. “Movie Nights” turns up the boom bap influences even more talking about his blue eyed dog & his cat prior to the synth-driven “EWR – Terminal A, Gate 20” explaining that vandals are unordinary now.

Armand Hammer teams up with Aesop on the collab “1010WINS” taking their consciously abstract pens to newer grounds with one another over a rap rock/boom bap hybrid while “So Be It” featuring Open Mike Eagle finds the 2 advising to not look down, sitting still & letting things fall. “Send Help” takes a jazzier boom bap approach to his sound & going nerdcore at the same time just before “John Something” brings lounge music in the fold recalling a man named John he met 3 decades ago referencing WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali.

“Ice Sold Here” intricately describes how cold he is in many different ways while the funky “Costco” talks about the chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores operated by the multinational corporation. “Bird School” puts a cloudy spin on boom bap boasting his witchcraft pops up in the Atmos & everyone else’s taking practice, but then “Snail 0” wants to know what the fuck he’s supposed to do with this bagful of snails he has.

Lice gets together with Lupe Fiasco on “Charlie Horse” warning that everyone in their path should stay as clear from the streets as they possibly can while “Steel Wool” reflects on going from pairing cereals & cartoons back in the 80s to panicking in a war room turning up the quirky boom bap vibes. “Black Plums” tackles the theme of gardening admiring the way his fruit is getting fatter each summer & becoming a minute quantity of matter while “The Red Phone” talks about being the keeper of the keys.

“Himalayan Yak Chew” pushes further down the last 10 minutes or so of the album describing fish jumping in his boat whenever he pushes off of the dock without even getting a single duck in a row in addition to having a horse in the way when he gets his car without having 1 in the race & “Unbelievable Shenanigans” featuring Hanni El Khatib on the outro recalls a hamster he had almost 4 decades ago named Elizabeth as well as talking about the universe nothing if not silver lining stuffed into compartments.

Delving into the invisible forces that shape our lives & psyches, Black Hole Superette will become amongst Aesop Rock’s most technically accomplished bodies of work in his entire discography. The experimentally complex structures of his beats drawing further inspiration from space ambient, boom bap, jazz rap, rap rock & illbient attribute to that as much as his consciously abstract & occasionally nerdy lyrics portrayed from the perspective of a mad scientist seeing bigger picture of the small moments in our lives that wind up overlooked.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rome Streetz – “Trainspotting” review

London, England, United Kingdom born & Brooklyn, New York raised lyricist Rome Streetz enlisting Conductor Williams for his 10th studio LP. Emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit, this was followed up by a plethora of projects with the most notable being the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. These past couple years however we’re probably his biggest ones yet, as he dropped some of the best work of his career from the DJ Muggs-produced Death & the Magician or the Futurewave-produced Razor’s Edge to the Ransom-assisted collab effort Coup de Grâce & the Griselda Records deal that followed. His debut with the Buffalo powerhouse Kiss the Ring alongside the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Wasn’t Built in a Day both made the top 10 spots of my last couple Best Of lists & Hatton Garden Holdup produced by Daringer became a flawless spot in my top 5 of 2024 last winter. Mass Appeal Records in the midst of their upcoming 7 album series has locked in with both GxFR acts to go Trainspotting.

“Andre Agassi” sets the tone with a gully boom bap instrumental making reference to one of the greatest tennis players of all-time whereas “M*A*S*H” homages the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned CBS sitcom of the same name holding the record for the most-watched series finale of any TV show. “Runny Nose” dustily gets in his pyrex bag talking about moving weight until “Ricky Bobby” featuring Method Man takes it’s name after the main character of the classic film Talladega Nights.

Meanwhile on “Blood in Boogers”, we have Rome running more laps around the whole game lyrically maintaining the traditional boom bap sound instrumentally while the single “Rule 4080” reiterates what A Tribe Called Quest taught everyone 3 decades ago. “Died 1,000 Times” aquatically suggests to stack more instead of spending the income quickly just before “Heartbreaker” chops up a soul sample to talk about breaking another hearts once again.

“10 Toes” featuring Jay Worthy psychedelically unites the pair to discuss their commitment to the game leading into “Connie’s Revenge” talking about putting your favorite rapper’s neck on the chopping blocks. “99 Attributes” soulfully gears up to smoke whole entire record labels comparing his bars to coke while “Joe Pesci” makes comparison to the actor & best friend of Robert De Niro in the Martin Scorsese classics Goodfellas, Casino & The Irishman.

The song “Electric Slide” works in a slickly drumless rap rock vibe talking about being in the best form he’s been at in his whole entire career & pushing the output in his discography to prove it, but then “Resource Room” finishes Trainspotting with a woozily jazzy reminding everyone that he’s been on for a grip & I can certainly confirm since I started reviewing him when Joyeria came out on my 23rd birthday 6 years ago already.

Verifying the reality of Rome being on the grasp of fully realizing his potential, Conductor directs the Trainspotting trip & it pushing him closer to a space where when spirited debates around “top 10 MCs lists” are being held. The Heartbreakers member’s production is heavily rooted in the boom bap sound with secondary influences of jazz rap, drumless & rap rock to make Rome’s distinct fashion of putting rhymes together the backdrop they couldn’t deserved more.

Score: 4.5/5

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Daniel Son – “Baggage Claims” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son with his 9th proper full-length album. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He just teamed up with Raz Fresco this spring for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & a few months after reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega last summer & the Finn-produced Hare Brained Schemes a few months later. He & Futurewave however are looking to make some Baggage Claims almost 3 weeks after Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) founder Scott D’Amore crowned the longest reigning 2-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & former PWG World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander the inaugural MLP Canadian Champion and former 2-time RPW British Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw the inaugural MLP Women’s Canadian Champion.

The title track is this grisly boom bap intro assuring shit ain’t always glamorous on his end & showing everyone the progression whereas “Sweet Peppers” soulfully wastes no time whatsoever to reach the penthouse views he desires. “French River” keeps it in the basement instrumentally venting over the visions he’s had ingrained in his mind as of late just before “Euthanize” featuring al.divino refuses to stop the bread income all because of hits getting put out.

“How It Goes” suggests over a flute-tinged boom bap beat to go the way it already is nowadays cheffing up the product & serving it leading into “1973” featuring Raspy teaming up for a lullaby dedicated to everyone laying their heads in the street. “Bleed the Shark” ruggedly explains that he can catch a rat from him being all the way in the field refining his chef skills at night, but then “The Fume” featuring Bito Slime cloudily yet rawly talks about moving in rare fashion.

Meanwhile on “Cold Chicken”, we have Daniel over a drumless instrumental talking about dying for what’s his & acknowledging the old fashioned tendencies he shares while “Need More Paper” returns to the boom bap expresses the necessity of making his bread stack up continuously higher. “Baylor” kicks the horns out trying to make it known to this girl he’s seeing that all he knows is the filth while “Fly the Pigeon” featuring King Bliss gives the finger to the entire world.

al.divino comes back for the dusty “Sun Lo” talking about never peaking & making sure their competition never eats again while “Crushed Stones” hooks up a vocal flip experiencing the same shit others warned him he’d experience in the rap game. “Sweet & Sour Duck” strips the drums learning to keep his mouth closed at an early age while “Run the Shop” featuring Recognize Ali finds the duo wanting to be loved for their ambition.

The jazzy “Pin Stripe” featuring Asun Eastwood feels reminiscent of the previous collaborative efforts Psychics of Filth & Bite the Bullet promises that everything they’re saying shouldn’t be taken in a metaphorical sense by any means while “Villains” talks about pushing coke. “Regular” concludes Baggage Claims on a rawly vintage note teasing more music with Futurewave to come since they’ve been cooking normally as of late.

Commemorating the 7-year anniversary of Pressure Cooker earlier this month, the Brown Bag Money standout & his go-to producer unearth 18 outtakes that were made during those sessions & compile them into a sequel of it’s own sounding like they recorded it recently. I can very much tell that Futurewave’s boom bap production was recorded during that era, except that & Daniel Son’s pen make an exciting throwback to their dual breakthrough.

Score: 4/5

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Coyote – “yoteLAndia” review

Los Angeles, California duo Coyote ending the month with their 5th studio LP. Consisting of the Morales brothers LadiesLoveGuapo & Ricky Blanco, they went on to gain traction in late 2022 off their debut album Thicker than Water noted for its witty punchlines & East coast influences. Their sophomore effort L.Aliens last summer quickly became their breakout project to the point where people were recommending to me & easily understood the appeal, eagerly waiting to hear yoteLAndia coming off their feature on the new Reason mixtape I Love You Again.

“Sea of Darkness” is a sample-driven boom bap opener talking about being in the end days whereas “Dodging Bullets” kinda has a Memphis influence instrumentally showing off how violent both siblings can get when necessary. “SLAng” featuring B-Real & Zoe Osama samples “Deep Cover” by Dr. Dre marking the debut of WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg breaking down the west coast lingo until “Drop Top Down” featuring Doeman & & Paul Wall dedicates itself to those in the lowriders.

Ab-Soul teams up with Coyote on the lead single “Runnin’ All Fades” hopping over a cloudy trap instrumental with some notable switch-ups talking about a blizzard going on outside while “Face Tatts” featuring Lefty Gunplay finds the quartet over some drum breaks from Jason Martin formerly known as Problem and Mike & Keys to talk about hearing everyone caught a fade. “Goon” featuring Bizarre on the remix pulls from Latin jazz at the start prior to changing in favor of some bass-licks howling at the moon together just before “L.A. Verses Everybody” featuring Sirrealist feels like it’s their city against the world.

“Run a Muck” brings the Memphis undertones back in the fold & putting a dirtier south spin on it behaving in an disruptive, uncontrollable fashion leading into “Minor Setbacks” talking about relatively small or insignificant hindrances they’ve come across in their personal lives & their music career respectively. “Best Served Cold” featuring NEMS finds the trio over a boom bap beat discussing the way they prefer to serve revenge, but then “Who Want Problems” mercilessly asks if anyone wants beef with them.

Kruk 1 appears for “Not Done Yet” bringing a bit of a Mobb vibe to the table talking about putting it down for hip hop culture with no end in sight while “Product of Immigration” profoundly tackles their upbringings in light of the mass deportations & increased discrimination towards immigrants this year. “redruM Backwards” featuring Tash keeps it dusty thanks to DJ Lethal thirsting for blood while “Barrel of a 9” gets on the gangsta rap tip maintaining a boom bap flare.

“Strike a Pose” featuring Young Drummer Boy dabbles with a nervous sound pulling up to the spot with the main goal to leave with pretty, young women stealing them from their men while “Footang” talks about chopping bricks & to be paid if you want to try the product. The sampling of Latin music suits “Ni De Aqui Ni De Aya” perfectly so they can both get some shit off their chests & “Meet the Lambs” ends with their version of “Meet the Grahams” by Kendrick Lamar.

Starting the deluxe run, “Nasty Work” kicks down the door with a boom bap instrumental talking about being shameless while the doomsday trap aesthetic ms of “Don’t Be at the Club” takes a moment to call comfortability a luxury. “California” featuring Xzibit unites for a tribute to the sunshine state while “A.M.H.S.D. (All My Homies Slang Dope)” featuring Fre$h talks about their friends moving weight.

“Fly Guys” featuring JuJu Flaco reminds me of something The Neptunes would’ve produced in the late 90s while “The Scoop” talks about the slim chances of making it out the hood because kids be flexing trigger fingers. The final bonus track “Idiocracy” properly finishes with the Morales over a drumless sample to confess they’ve been losing their optimism because of the world falling apart & adults justifying killing children.

Over 10 months since they broke out after their freestyle on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, there wasn’t any better option for LadiesLoveGuapo & Ricky Blanco to capitalize on the success of their sophomore effort last summer than welcoming everyone to yoteLAndia. You still get palatable production like the predecessor whether it be boom bap, jazz rap, Mobb, nervous or trap in addition to the Yotes telling us their story & a list of guests joining them offering different perspectives in their world.

Score: 4/5

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Bruiser Wolf – “Potluck” review

This is the 3rd full-length studio album from Detroit, Michigan emcee Bruiser Wolf. A member of the Bruiser Brigade collective, his 2021 solo debut Dope Game Stupid would become an experimentally gangsta & comedic gem although the sophomore effort My Story Got Stories was more moderately received 16 months ago. “Rope Chain” last summer is already one of my favorite songs in Bruiser’s whole discography & even if it’s not on Potluck, some of the teasers from it held their own weight.

“Say No More” produced by Knxwledge was a groovy opener that sets the tone of what’s to come talking about this being the reason he’s hated & giving the audience what they’ve been waiting for whereas “Write or Wrong” turns up the funkiness thanking God for the microphone in his hand. “Air Fryer” takes a cloudier, sample-based trap approach thanks to Harry Fraud talking about using that very object to cook up dope while “Beat the Charge” brings a soulful flare to the table courtesy of Nicholas Craven likening his life to a movie.

Jake One hooks up a cloudy trap instrumental during “Lock In” so Bruiser can talk about having to focus leading into “Pee-wee Herman” featuring Chilly Gonzales bringing the 2 together over a quirkier beat flexing that both of them are always grindin’ & servin’. “Offer I Couldn’t Refuse” was a great cloudy trap single that F1LTHY of Working on Dying laced explaining that the street made him a deal so good to the point where he couldn’t turn it down prior to the soulful “Trust Issues” talking about trusting someone who eventually snitched.

“Baby You” shows off his equity & discusses a woman who desires to fuck with a real one over a bare chipmunk soul instrumental from both Harry Fraud & Danny G while “Guns & Squares” featuring Sir Michael Rocks finds the pair talking about fuckin’ with those 2 things in the past until ditching ‘em in favor of boom bap on top of prominent bass-licks. “Fancy” featuring Fat Ray crosses over synth-funk & hip hop referencing The Walt Disney Company-owned FX series Snowfall while “Whippin’” featuring Nebr, The Tiger jazzily talks about the drug game.

The song “Confusing” begins the final moments of Potluck stripping the drums once again venting over the perplexing nature of bitches that’re usually around him & lastly, “Over Looks” luxuriously finishes up the LP telling this women that she’s so much more than looks on top of pointing out the shallow nature of society these days & hoping the message he’s trying to convey doesn’t get disregarded.

Potluck exemplifies of how nobody in the game cooks like Bruiser Wolf as he invites us to a world where truth, absurdity & wisdom are doled out in even portions. Known for his signature voice along with vivid street narratives & off-kilter humor, Bruiser carves out his own space & singular voice further than before with the most expansive album in his discography taking on the sounds of drumless, jazz rap, Detroit trap & chipmunk soul telling the gangsta life.

Score: 4/5

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Oddisee – “En Route” review

This is the 7th EP from Washington D.C. emcee/producer Oddisee. Getting introduced to him through his incredible 7th album & Mello Music Group debut The Good Fight a decade ago weeks before my high school graduation, I also happen to enjoy his work with Diamond District, the Odd Seasons mixtape series, his 4th EP Alwasta & The Good Fight’s successor The Iceberg. I happened to cover & Yet Still exactly a year ago feeling like it was a solid jazz rap EP, staying En Route for a follow-up.

“Tomorrow Can’t Be Borrowed” delivers streams of consciousness over some jazzy piano chords disputing the “borrowed time” notion whereas “A Rare Thing” works in a horn-tinged boom bap instrumental talking about it being uncommon to know love & couldn’t help but make me think of the increased hate speech on Twitter in the past few years. “Small Talk” heads for a funkier approach putting everyone’s better days of their career’s in the rear view mirror & “Natural Selection” ends by doing his thing with no one to save him.

Marking his return to Mello Music Group after putting out a couple projects independently, Oddisee’s follow-up to & Yet Still exactly 365 days later elevates it’s above the predecessor making music for whatever journey we as humans are heading in our lives today. His jazzy production compliments the reflection of physical, emotional & spiritual movements we may have all tying into each other conceptually for a soulful snapshot of motion & meaning.

Score: 4/5

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