Rollinthrax – “B4” review

This is the sophomore effort from The Bronx, New York rapper Rollinthrax. Delivering a slew of EPs from Fuckui<3u & 24×7 to SSX & ¡ridescentearly on in the decade, all of which built up for his full-length debut 2eZ celebrating his birthday with a fun batch of cloudy trap/rage songs. His debut mixtape One2Nun came out at the beginning of 2023 & he’s ready to take himself to the next level on B4 to the delight of many finishing up a feature run he’s been on since.

Fitting enough, “Is U Ready?” opens with synthesizers & hi-hats eagerly awaiting to run up a check leading into the cloudy “Wassup” produced by Cade feeling reminiscent of Lil Uzi Vert talking about a chick who acted like she loved him & later switched up. “It’s History” gets into his rage bag with the help of Jwade making different investments as of late prior to talking his shit during the single “Check Ur Phone” using crazy sampling techniques from n9ck.

“Almighty” pulls from the hypertrap subgenre again feeling zombified off too many drugs & wanting to be omnipotent just before “Opponent” gets back on a cloudy trap vibe talking about seeing dead bodies all around him. “VIP” hops over more rage beats comparing life to a game of chess & fucking with him being your worst mistake, but then “Irregular” fuses trap & glitch hop to talk about sticking out from the rest.

Thrax used the horn-inflicted “How U Bomin’?” to flex that he’s always 2 steps ahead while “Pass da Cup” clarifies making it to the next level is part of the rule of survival with another creatively used sample. “Putiton” jauntily talks about living in luxury because he used to be broke while “Grey Anatomy” makes hypertrap a secondary influence telling his brothers to keep going. Regarding the closer, “Say It Say It” samples rock music to vent about giving her enough & her acting like it ain’t a thing.

Some were keeping their fingers crossed when Rollinthrax got his own track on Xavier Anthony’s debut compilation The XA Tape this past Super Bowl Weekend of him finally getting himself back out there & B4 makes his return 30 months following his debut for a comeback recapturing the sounds of trap along with rage & cloud rap summing up what he’s been up to all this time.

Score: 3.5/5

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Alex Warren – “You’ll Be Alright, Kid” review

California singer/songwriter, YouTuber & influencer Alex Warren releasing his full-length debut. Co-founding the Hype House collective of TikTokers, he would go on to sign with Atlantic Records in 2022 & teased the 2nd disc of this very LP last fall as a precursor of what we could expect to hear exactly 4 weeks after the Hype House’s disbandment. It’ll be almost 2 months since Addison Rae’s own debut Addison revealed herself to be the most musically talented of the crew & Alex looks to catch up by unveiling the full version of You’ll Be Alright, Kid.

“Eternity” was actually a decent intro culminating in adult contemporary, pop rock & pop soul singing about his father passing away when he was 9 whereas “The Outside” throws a hint of CCM in the picture asking for sign because he’s down & out of his mind. “First Time on Earth” opens up about the regret he has of holding his late mother to a perfect standard when she has her own flaws leading into the below average stomp & holler/country pop single “Bloodline” featuring Jelly Roll.

Alex’s past & memories that made him the person he is today moderately get recalled over the course of the pop rock track “Never Too Far” just before one of the worst singles of the year “Ordinary” whips up a generically corny & uninspired take on adult contemporary, stomp & holler, pop rock, pop soul & gospel. “Everything” works in some pianos to sing about feeling like he’ll lose it all if his wife Kouvr Annon leaves him just before “Getaway Car” obnoxious mutates stomp & holler with pop rock feeling like the Devil’s catching up to him.

“Who I Am” hooks up some occasional gospel choir vocals in the background with more pianos loathing in self pity wanting to know who he is in the eyes of his lover, but then “You Can’t Stop This” comes off as an overly preachy stomp & holler song about being unstoppable when the reception of his music speaks for itself. The final single “On My Mind” featuring ROSÉ was an adult contemporary stomp & holler duet that utterly fails at attempting to capture any form of chemistry between the pair to end Disc 1 while another pop soul, pop rock and stomp & holler single “Burning Down” addresses the Hype House’s demise.

Disc 2 continues with the country pop-tinged “Catch My Breath” singing about being off his head since the night he & Kouvr met on Snapchat while the open letter Alex penned to Kouvr on the day of their wedding “Carry You Home” feels ripped off from “Hey Brother” by the late Avicii swapping out it’s initial country pop & festival progressive house influences in favor or pop rock. “Troubled Waters” continues the torturous stomp & holler/pop rock mutations singing about the only thing he’s learned is that love leaves him while “Heaven Without You” promises he’ll have Kouvr’s heart in every lifetime.

“Before You Leave Me” makes another mediocre attempt at a stomp & holler/pop rock single singing about the concept of 2nd chances while “Save You a Seat” tries to go in an indie folk direction for a tribute to his parents. “Chasing Shadows” bites Lewis Capaldi a little finding himself missing his deceased mother & father while “Yard Sale” uses the concept of garage sales as a weak metaphor for letting go. You’ll Be Alright, Kid‘s title track puts an end to Alex’s debut by looking back on his 12 year old self wishing he knew back then everything would be alright.

Justin Bieber & Benson Boone both being named amongst Alex Warren’s biggest musical influences makes the most sense in the context of You’ll Be Alright, Kid being an equally unlistenable album as American Heart was a month ago & Swag surpassing them both by only a slight margin. It’s conceptually reminiscent of Chance the Rapper’s debut The Big Day with an adult contemporary stomp & holler twist, but the songwriting & vocals are more grating.

Score: 1/5

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Jim Legxacy – “Black British Music” review

Jim Legxacy is a 25 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Lewisham, London, England, United Kingdom emerging off his first 3 moderately received extended plays: Dynasty Program: A Metrical Composition Inspired by the Nights Spent as the Raiider as well as BTO! & Citadel. His debut mixtape Homeless N*gga Pop Music in the spring of 2023 would mark a creative breakthrough for him, signing to the local indie label XL Recordings last fall. 9 months later, he’s ready to make bigger waves with a 2nd mixtape in preparation of the youngest RPW British Cruiserweight Champion Leon Slater becoming the youngest TNA X Division Champion this weekend.

“stick” after the “context” intro begins with a jerk, lowend, pop rap, alternative R&B, cloud rap & chipmunk soul single sampling “Going Through It” by Skepta talking about selling “Charli to the brats” whereas “new david bowie” flips “Wash” by Jon Bellion for a tribute to the late glam rock icon who passed almost a decade ago. “sun” featuring Fimiguerrero finds the 2 coming together for a tropical banger wanting to get drunk while “’06 wayne rooney” blends emo-pop, post-punk revival, pop rock, pop punk, jangle pop, jerk & dance-punk revival interpolating “Hey Ya!” by André 3000.

Things take a folkier during “issues of trust” singing about the death of Jim’s sister leading into the pop rap, lowend, jerk, chipmunk soul & conscious hip hop single “father” opening up regarding why it was like for him growing up without a dad. “d.b.a.b. (don’t be a bitch)” starts the 2nd half of Black British Music with a chipmunk soul jerk crossover sending that message clear as day while the Afrobeats-inspired “big time forward” sings about women shaking ass.

“sos” samples “Missing You” by Case so he can describe being in love with a woman who happens to be falling for a completely different guy but after “i just banged a snus in canada water” chops up both “brief” & Fortnite for a jerk/boom bap fusion refusing to let anyone treat him the way they did when he was younger, “dexter phonecall” comes across as a dexter in the newsagent solo cut talking about life not being what it used to be.

Dave joins Jim for “3x”, kicking off Black British Music’s final act bringing back the same atmosphere “sun” went for earlier explaining to their partners that they’d rather be alone while “tiger driver ‘91” references the late 5-time AJPW三冠ヘビー級チャンピオン, 8-time AJPW世界タッグチャンピオン, プロレスリング・ノア founder, the inaugural 3-time GHCヘビー級チャンピオン & 2-time GHCタッグチャンピオン三沢光晴. “brief” last but not least wraps up the tape singing about getting wasted & living life like he’s a heathen.

Getting a couple of 2025’s best singles out of this rollout, Black British Music properly introduces the world to Jim Legxacy both as a person & a creative mastermind whose debut album ranks amongst my most anticipated releases of 2026. His inventive production pushes boundaries of pop rap experimenting with jerk, alternative R&B, Afrobeats, lowend, alt-pop, emo rap, chipmunk soul, chillwave, boom bap, cloud rap, folk music, emo-pop, post-punk revival, pop rock, pop punk, jangle pop & dance-punk revival for a half hour sharing his appreciation for Black British artists entirely.

Score: 4.5/5

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BabyBartier – “Awe$ome” review

BabyBartier is a 20 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California introducing himself to the underground trap scene a few months back off his debut EP Baby Blanco & was followed up 7 weeks later with another EP Diablo, receiving co-signs from the likes of Internet Money Records founder Taz Taylor along with both of YSL Records’ newest artists 1300SAINT & 9 Vicious although they fell out with one another recently. Only a couple months have passed since Diablo & he doesn’t look to slow down dropping his 3rd EP.

The title track was a 72 second intro desiring to get so high that he won’t ever land whereas “4 da Gang” gives off a cloudy trap vibe instrumentally thanks to Patrick Garza talking about who he does this shit for. “The Plug” reaches the halfway point of Awe$ome flexin’ that he came in with a drum even though he’s not a rockstar while “No Hook” featuring Unitus pulls from the plugg scene dropping off a couple verses for 2 & a half minutes. “Off the Wall” turns up the rage a little talking about his eccentricity prior to “Heaven’s Gate” closing the EP by talking about being the king of the jungle.

For an up-&-coming west coast trap artist beginning to put out projects a few months ago after releasing his debut single in 2023, the BabyBoyRecords founder comes off both of Awe$ome’s predecessors from this spring by having more fun musically as we approach the halfway point of summer. Drawing inspiration from trap to plugg & rage regarding the production, BabyBartier’s got his own unique swag & a lot more than the new Justin Bieber album we got outta nowhere last weekend.

Score: 3.5/5

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Benny the Butcher – “Summertime Butch 2” review

Here is the 18th mixtape from Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher. Being in the game for 2 decades already, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he alongside his cousins Westside Gunn & Conway the Machine would take the culture by storm off projects like Tana Talk 3 & The Plugs I Met. Harry Fraud came in for a sequel to the latter following the mature Burden of Proof & finally, Tana Talk 4 took it back to the basement a couple years back. We got Summertime Butch last August & only a couple months following Excelsior, a sequel to Summertime Butch has arrived.

“Jasmine” featuring Westside Gunn was a drumless opener immediately after the “Summer Feelin’” intro talking about the state of rap being the same since 2Pac got killed almost 3 decade ago over a Daringer beat only 4 days after West performed during the AEW World Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate’s entrance at All Out IV last Saturday during their defense against JetSpeed & former AEW World Trios Champions The Patriachy whereas “Hood on Fire” featuring Bruiser Wolf finds the 2 coolin’ down their respective streets after they started getting hot.

Benny rubs his success in the faces of all his detractors on “Told You So with a Mike WiLL Made-It instrumental backing him & after the “Where’s Butch?” skit, “Summer ‘25” orchestrally boasts that you can find him outside. G Herbo joins Benny on the cloudy trap crossover “Why Would I?” wanting to find a reason for forgiving the people who’ve switched up on them as their popularity in music continued to grow just before “77 Club” keeps giving the middle finger to naysayers calling him washed talking about the analytics never lying.

“Gold Plated Leica” featuring O.T. the Real brings the pair together to flex their dope line from Pittsburgh to Austin while “In the Wall featuring Bun B gets back on the trap vibes thanks to Cory Mo talking about having drug money for everyone. “Pandoras” featuring Duckman & Elcamino begins the last 5 minutes or so of Summertime Butch 2 with the trio bringing up the fact B$F’s been making the whole rap game play follow the leader all decade up to this point trying to save a few regardless of the Everybody Can’t Go lesson while “Lo Lo’s” sends off the tape with a Bink! heater advising to trust what you see & let your eyes be the proof.

The original Summertime Butch EP still remains the most polarizing entry in Benny’s discography over 11 months since it initially came out because a large crowd of people felt like he was on autopilot that whole time, but Summertime Butch 2 clears both the predecessor & Excelsior as a result of more consistency within the production & a tighter list of guests compared to the previous EP he gave us over a couple months ago.

Score: 4/5

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Acetone Boogie – “R U Still Dead? (Remember Me)” review

Acetone Boogie is a 36 year old MC from Tucson, Arizona releasing his debut album Karma Circus in the spring of 2013 & dropping a sophomore effort The Divine Trickster during the summer of 2017 respectively. He has since joined the Swamp Society collective, dropping Rayamiento & Southwest Phonk both produced by Devereaux along with forming the Gloom Unit with Frankie Goldie. And to coincide with him performing at the Gathering of Legends next month, his 3rd studio LP looks to gives juggalos a preview of what’s to come during his set.

After the “R U Still Dead?” intro, the first song “Gittin’ Nutty” was a great southwest phonk single talking about making money being reckless whereas “Self Inflickted Success” produced by Devereaux talks about working overtime simply because he wants what’s his. “Suffokate” featuring Jvztizzo finds the 2 fusing the Memphis phonk sound with horror-themed lyricism just before “Double Dosin’” thinks of the days when he had no worries or pain when the maggots get in his head.

“Mantra uv da Maniaccs” starts the 2nd half of the album talking about shawty making it crash like it’s broken & the cash flow leading into “Juggin’ in Hell” bringing a cloudy trap vibe to the table representing the juggalo lifestyle until he can’t anymore. “Disposable Stalefaced Raps” talks about people loving what he can do for them instead of loving him personally while “Santacruzriver” pulls inspiration from the Memphis scene once again keeping only real ones around.

The song “Dead Dude Muzik” starts the clock regarding R U Still Dead? (Remember Me)’s final minutes turning the Memphis influences up even higher fusing horrorcore & gangsta rap subject matter with one another prior to “Bleeding Out” featuring Jvztizzo wrapping everything up with a rock ballad & both artists we got to hear team up 18 months ago on their Children of the Moon collaborative EP produced by Shaggytheairhead getting emo thematically.

You’re gonna wanna give Rayamiento & Southwest Phonk when discussing Acetone Boogie’s EPs, but R U Still Dead? (Remember Me) sticks out as some of the craziest shit he’s ever done in his whole entire discography & any juggalo getting to see him rock some of these cuts on the Detonation Stage on August 14 at 1am at the Gathering will be very lucky to hear his continued artistic growth whilst celebrating the biggest family reunion’s silver jubilee.

Score: 4.5/5

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UFO Fev – “The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge” review

Harlem, New York emcee UFO Fev surprise-releasing his 12th studio LP. Coming up a little over a decade ago off his full-length debut Around My Way, it wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. This was all followed up with Magnum Opus along with the Vanderslice-produced Enigma of Dalí & 4 EPs: The Most High, Prayer, Weed & Music, E Pluribus Unum, Sunsets in the Ghetto & of course the Finn-produced Blood on the Bills. I even enjoyed the Fredro Starr produced Strapped & Pyramid Schemes, although The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge already raised the expectations looking at it on paper.

“Road to Redemption” gets the ball rollin’ on The Ghost of Albizu sequel talking about spending it all & making it back twice because he’s a hustler with a Jose Santiago hook performed in Spanish whereas “The High & Mighty” embraces a sample-heavy boom bap direction admitting to thinking before he speaks now. “My People” loops up some sped-up vocals talking about Puerto Ricans wanting to be free since he himself has Puerto Rican origins while “Scarlet Fever” featuring Red Inf makes sure they leave no prisoners boasting that nobody can stand a chance against them.

Jose Santiago comes back to kill it with the choruses 1 more time on “Work Hard, Play Harder” blending rap rock & boom bap together except he’s singing in English this time about getting it out the mud off the muscle just before “Puerto Rock” leaves wack rappers layin’ on their backs & flexing of him opening up his own lane for Puerto Ricans who’re nice on the mic. “Culture Cypher” jazzily takes us all the way back to the South Bronx where hip hop all started leading into “Vengaza” dustily talking about the concept of revenge.

Lil D saves my personally favorite guest verse of the 2 during the boom bap & chipmunk soul fusion “Benicio” to kick off The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge’s last 6 minutes or so assuring that the plug knows his face & he’s been simply running in place as of late prior to “The Cornerstone” finishing up the album with 1 final jazzy boom bap joint about being emotionally generated rather than AI generated & a hook homaging “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by the almighty Wu-Tang Clan.

Crazy to think it’ll already be 5 years this upcoming Halloween since I first got introduced to Fev by hearing The Ghost of Albizu and catching up to both Fresh Air & From El Barrio, With Love afterwards. And I understand that some weren’t feeling Pyramid Schemes as much as Enigma of Dalí, but most people are gonna enjoy The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge a lot more since it continues the hardcore/conscious themes & jazzy boom bap sounds of the predecessor expanding it occasionally in favor of rap rock & chipmunk soul.

Score: 4.5/5

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Cactus Jack Records – “JACKBOYS II” review

This is a brand new mixtape from Houston, Texas label Cactus Jack Records founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott. The current roster includes Don Toliver, SoFaygo, Sheck Wes, Luxury Tax, DJ Chase B & Wallie the Sensei with both Smokepurpp & Malu Trevejo being signed at one point except neither one of them officially put anything out during their short time. They collectively dropped a JACKBOYS EP days following Christmas 2019 & have returned for a sequel since they’ve brought a few new artists on board since.

The first song “Champain & Vacay” by Don Toliver & Travis Scott after the “JB2 Radio” intro finds the latter subtly responding back to Pusha T with the “Made a hunnid off pushin’ T’s” line over some synthesizers & hi-hats whereas “2000 Excursion” by Don Toliver, Sheck Wes & Travis Scott finds Cardo mixing trap, pop rap, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B & rap rock homaging the titular brand of Ford cars. “Kick Out” by Travis Scott gives me a gritty dirty south vibe until the switch-up during the last minute courtesy of T-Minus talking about getting the boot of shit gets complicated prior to “Dumbo” also by Travis Scott guaranteeing that the baddie he with is going stupid.

SoFaygo gets his own song with “MM3” shutting down the rumors of him being unhappy on Cactus Jack by giving us what we can expect on his forthcoming sophomore effort Mania rapping like the rent was due sampling “Ski Mask” by Project Pat just before “Velour” finds Don Toliver prominently singing a refrain & chorus with Sheck Wes providing a sole verse & Bugz Ronin musically backing them. “Contest” by SoFaygo & Travis Scott marks the first time they’ve collaborated with each other jumping over a rage beat talking about catching Ws their whole lives while “I.L.M.B. (I Love My Bitch)” by Sheck Wes & Travis Scott made for an average trap single with secondary hypertrap influences.

“Where Was You” by Travis Scott featuring Future & Playboi Carti produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying reunites the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams of trap so they can kill all these hoes wanting to eat their bones while “No Comments” by Don Toliver kicks the synths back in full gear to talk about sprinkling more hi-hats in the fold trying to get to know a woman. “Beep Beep” by Travis Scott ruins a self-produced instrumental by giving SahBabii the weakest feature on the entire compilation while “PBT” by Travis Scott featuring Tyla & Vybz Kartel feels like an outdated attempt at dancehall.

Glorilla’s appearance during “Shyne” by Travis Scott makes sense heavily pulling from Chicago drill & crunk referencing Matthew McConaughey in light of his upcoming appearance in the A24 Films thriller The Lost Bus & hitting the wiggly wobbly while “Outside” by Travis Scott featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again links the 2 up over synthesizers & hi-hats talking about stealing people’s bitches. “Can’t Stop” by Don Toliver & Wallie the Sensei brings both of them together to deliver a psychedelic tribute to ingesting all sorts of drugs & “Florida Flow” by Travis Scott featuring Kodak Black finishes the tape with them beat reflects on the Miami scene speedin’ people’s shit up the way H-Town slows shit down over a Tay Keith beat.

My favorite Travis Scott solo song is actually the one that starts off the deluxe run “Da Wizard” dropping braggadocio over Metro Boomin’ & TM88 production while “Trip Out” feels like a Yeat song featuring Sheck Wes considering Yeat’s all over it except for the final verse out-rapping Sheck & it’s catered to the rage sound Yeat became known for when his popularity grew. The final bonus track “110 South” by Luxury Tax & Wallie the Sensei marks Luxury’s only appearance on the entire compilation joining Cactus Jack’s newest member backed by a ghostly trap instrumental giving no fucks.

So much going down in Texas this weekend considering Adam Page became a 2-time AEW World Champion ending Jon Moxley’s 4th & worst reign, オカダ・カズチカ defeating his biggest 新日本プロレス rival Kenny Omega to become the new AEW International Champion, the longest reigning ROH Women’s World Champion Athena becoming the current 4-time AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm’s #1 Contender, the seeds being planted for a reunion between former 7-time WWE Tag Team Champions Adam Copeland & Christian Cage since the current ROH World Television Champion Nick Wayne turned on the latter and lastly the current ROH World Tag Team Champion & ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes becoming the new AEW TNT Champion because of Adam Cole vacating it due to career-threatening health issues at All In IV yesterday. Regarding the Let God Sort ‘Em Out & JACKBOYS II debate, Let God Sort ‘Em Out sweeps because JACKBOYS II feels reminiscent of Drake & 21 Savage’s collab album Her Loss.

Score: 3/5

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Bizarre – “He Got a Gun 5: Basement Jazz” review

5 installments deep into the He Got a Gun saga & the 9th studio LP from Detroit emcee Bizarre. Emerging as an original member of the now defunct D12 led by the late Proof, he was also among the first in the crew to put out solo efforts with his 1998 debut EP Attack of the Weirdos being a hometown classic in my eyes. Fast forward 7 years later, Biz followed it up with a worthy full-length debut Hannicap Circus & has continued to put out music on his own since, with the last time we heard him being his 11th mixtape 18159 Stout during the first quarter or the year. The Foul Mouth-produced He Got a Gun has since become a whole entire series of it’s own, releasing Basement Jazz as a way of celebrating THE DƎATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) turning 1.

“Therapy” opens with a drumless gospel sample talking about having eternal loyalty for his brethren refusing to be friends with somebody whose brother got popped by him whereas “Screws Loose” featuring B-Real takes the boom bap route instrumentally still getting psycho with it. “Deep into Thought” works in some pianos to talk about living life to the fullest & showing y’all how to ball just before “Warrants” angrily gets involved with criminal activity.

L.A.R.S. or the Last American Rock Stars reunite on “Bag ‘Em Up” talking about servin’ it up & turning up all the smoke that all the hoes bring to them while “Cooley High” strips the drums to spit that gangsta shit asking why a knife got brought to a gunfight. “He’s Nice” featuring Cassidy finds the pair over a rap rock/boom bap hybrid filled with battle raps leading into “All Gas No Breaks” featuring Kain Cole grittily talking about not slowing down.

“Purpose” featuring Fool Boy Marley gotta has my least favorite guest performance on the entire thing despite the theme of not wanting their friends & family to worry for them, but then “Raised in the Ghetto” hooks up a crooning sample to talk about coming to rob instead of poppin’ bottles. “Practice What I Preach” brings some finger snaps & pianos to the fold speaking on being no good until “I Just Wanna Have Sex With You” ruins synth-lenient beat with average depictions of romance.

Meanwhile on “I Miss My Dogs”, we have Bizarre reflecting over the people in his life who can’t be with him presently while “Motion” by L.A.R.S. featuring X Factor works in a trippy guitar riff talk about steadily being on the move. “Mid July” combines themes of sex with the rockstar lifestyle he’s been on for 2 decades prior to Bruiser Wolf linking up to make some “Junky Music”.

“Get Off My Corner” featuring Jalen Frazier & Max Hilli begins the final quarter of the album with the trio advising certain people to back up from their respective blocks while “David Starr” featuring Foul Mouth & Nick Speed brings a jazzier vibe to the table for them to dismiss being soft. “Tap Dance” featuring Lokye ahead of the “Basement Jazz” outro as a closer hops over some pianos, kicks & snares taking on the lustful themes better than “I Just Wanna Have Sex With You”.

All 4 of He Got a Gun 5: Basement Jazz’ predecessors carry some of Bizarre’s most essential material by himself & I can say the same for most of what we got throughout this latest entry. Foul’s production a whole 365 days since the most vital placement of his resume lives up to the name in that it’s than what he’s done with his longtime collaborator almost a decade since their creative partnership began regardless of the few moments where the performances lack.

Score: 4/5

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Giffy Pluggo – “Luxury Manifesto” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee & ATIP Records founder Giffy Pluggo dropping his 3rd EP ahead of the Douda reissue. Emerging a couple years ago off his debut mixtape Paid Leave & it’s sequel last summer, he put out an expanded version of his debut album Los Pluggos several months ago followed by Pluggo’s Birthday & Douda respectively. The latter mostly produced by Myles becoming the most beloved entry in his discography thus far, coming back after a few months for a Luxury Manifesto.

The title track produced by Scott Storch will arguably surpass “Casino” in being his biggest hit from the exuberantly cloudy instrumental to the lyrics about having the winning head whereas “Long Distance” featuring Global blends cloud rap & jazz rap taking on more romantic topics. “Livin’ Life” brings a soulful trap vibe to the table expressing gratitude for being in his current position until “Smoke & Stack” featuring BSF Tone 066 pleas for their homies who took risks to come home from the penitentiaries.

Shifting focus away from the conceptual Douda this spring letting the world inside of Giffy Pluggo’s personal life, Luxury Manifesto turns the pressure up for the midwestern Black Soprano Family affiliate to state his aims of fortune ditching the predecessor’s balancing between boom bap & trap in terms of production opting in favor of ditching that traditional east coast sound in favor cloud rap along with jazz rap & chipmunk soul.

Score: 3/5

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