Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21” review

Starting the final month of 2025 by diving into the first of 2 new collaborative EPs from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE & the local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller extended play 3 years ago. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 produced by Nicholas Craven became their greatest joint offering yet, coming off the 17th as well as thr 18th & 20th chapters going back-to-back with not 1 but 2 installments.

“Cultivating” begins with a soul sample referencing the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan alongside 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair whereas “Deathtouched” likens their verses to The Jackson 5 & The Beatles combined.

We get some more chipmunk soul vibes on “I Kno What to Do” talking about nobody having the ability to dump like him regardless of how talented they are & once the drumlessly soulful “Let ‘Em Know” explains that the Dump Gawd remains destructive even in bunches, “Lucrative Offers” takes the boom bap route incorporating sampling into the fold so they can talk about meeting their competitors in the middle of the battlefield.

“Major League” gets the last few minutes of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 rollin’ with both MCs looking for payback on those from way back who hate seeing their money coming in haystacks & “Operation” sends it all off in the form of a crooning boom bap outro expanding on the topic of the cash flow, clarifying that it’s an everyday operation that requires patience & persistency.

Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga has mostly been collaborative efforts with Jay NiCE & I want to let it be known that none of them are wack by any means, but I prefer some more than others if that makes any sense. And the 1st of 2 new entries that we’ve gotten 12 hours apart from one another via YouTube could be my favorite, focusing less around the drumless elements than the predecessor did last month & swapping out the conscious lyricism in favor of slight boom bap influences.

Score: 4/5

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Papoose – “Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee & songwriter Papoose back with his 13th EP. Emerging under the mentorship of the late Streetsweepers Entertainment founder DJ Kayslay, he would go onto release 25 mixtapes building up towards his full-length debut The Nacimera Dream during my sophomore year of high school. Both entries of the Hoodie Season duology would later come in preparation for the sophomore effort You Can’t Stop Destiny couple months succeeding my high school graduation, with Back 2 the Streets & Underrated alongside Food for Thought & Endangered Species all following. He announced Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop earlier this week & it’s up on DSPs, coming off all 12 of the 2021 extended plays.

“Need for Speed” works in a drumless soul sample to get things going talking about not slowing down killin’ his competition & once “Big 3” takes the boom bap route instrumentally making French Toast out of puttin’ bread on these eggheads, “I Said What I Said” finishes up the 1st half maintaining a dusty vibe talking about wack muhfuckas flipping his spaz mode switch making a spooky return to the lab.

To kick off the 2nd leg, “Chill Button” justifiably speaks of residence in hip hop being where all the most notable names are sitting at the throne & making positive back-to-back business moves while “Fentanyl” drumlessly talks about the increasing deaths linked to opioids like the Season 2 premiere of Smiling Friends on April Fool’s Day 2024 had pointed out. The closer “Counting Green” featuring Busta Rhymes & Cuhdeejah finishes with a lively outro dedicated to stacking his chips.

As much as I highly respect Papoose’s lyrical technicality, I can’t say Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop will go down to be one of the best EPs he’s ever made although the culture is very much evolving as time goes on rather than being in a position where it needs to be saved. Sean 2Miles’ production on here is merely average compared to Brady Watt’s on Endangered Species during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but hardcore fans of Pap’s penmanship will enjoy it a lot more than others normally would.

Score: 3/5

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ILLtemper – “Paxil Rose” review

ILLtemper is a 36 year old MC from Trevose, Pennsylvania establishing himself for over a decade within the underground wicked shit scene by releasing a total of 8 EPs & 10 full-lengths. He’s also notable for being 1/2 of the Even Heathens with King Gordy, who also make up 2/5 of the Wic Kids. For his 11th album however, it marks his debut for Lyrikal Snuff Productionz only a few months after the Heathens made their LSP debut with Handful of Cancel & had me hoping it would become an important statement amongst the rest of his solo output.

After the “INTROvert” intro, the 1st song “Stayed the Same” produced by J Reno somberly begins talking about being a lost one who was never found whereas the title track compares himself to Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose except he’s taking antidepressants. “The Used” by the Even Heathens hops over a bluesy boom bap instrumental talking about not ruining other people because you’re a cunt leading into “Pitch Blackness” admits to feeling like everything’s darkening around him.

Stir Crazy jumps behind the boards for the rock/boom bap crossover “Felt” taking a more heartfelt approach to the songwriting telling anyone who thinks he’s stronger than this would be sorely mistaken while “Losers” featuring Jakprogresso talks about always being failures swapping the guitars out for pianos. “Games” brings these Atari-like synthesizers with kicks & snares suggesting that Mario should stop saving the Princess while “Ain’t Right” advises to think twice prior to taking your own life.

“Unease” featuring Killator comes out the gate with a rock sample panicking like they’re looking at the current state of the stock market while “Nice Guy” talks about the nicest people dying alone over another rock/boom bap fusion. “Orange Bottles” heads for a summery trap direction talking about taking paxil anymore & after “In Your Eyes” suggests he should play hardball, “Dear Ronnie” finishes with a tearjerking open letter to himself.

It’s not something that I’ve publicly disclosed, but I personally have been taking Paxil ever since I was in grade school & hearing ILLtemper making a whole entire body of work dedicated to his experiences with it whilst likening himself as a rockstar makes his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut arguably the greatest solo effort of his entire discography. The production maintains the consistency of Handful of Cancel & ILLtemper conceptually takes us all on a trip into the world of mental health medications.

Score: 4/5

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Esham – “The Golden Age” review

This is the 24th studio LP from Detroit emcee/producer & Reel Life Productions founder Esham. Widely acknowledged as the godfather of horrorcore alongside his former Natas cohorts Mastamind & the late TNT, his run from 1989-2005 (particularly the albums KKKill the Fetus, Closed Casket & Doubelievengod?) would go on to lay out the groundwork for subsequent horrorcore acts such as the Insane Clown Posse & even Eminem. His output from Sacrificial Lambz onwards (essentially after his 2-album deal with Psychopathic Records from 02-05) has been a little hit or miss even though I love the single “S.S.M.D. (Stop Selling Me Drugs)” & Dichotomy respectively. Psyops however was a creative detour for Esham as he self-produced the whole thing for the first time in what seemed like a while conceptually revolving around what it was like for him living in Minneapolis during the George Floyd protests & a more rap rock inspired sound. He escaped Purgatory & preluded The Golden Age by serving up his 8th EP Amuse-Bouche, ushering the new era in 17 months later.

“The Golden Hour” sets up shop talking about rappers with no hope needing to cleanse their souls & introducing me to Count Tracula whereas “Power of Love” incorporates a vintage self-produced instrumental explaining that you don’t really want war with him. “CEO Killer” talks about hating liars & thieves more than being on welfare when he was growing up leading into “30 Gucci Purses” admitting he has no regrets of the amount of cash he’s spent.

Meanwhile on “Rain Drop”, we have Esham bringing back the boom bap vibes talking about the hate coming with the way he puts it down for the city since he does it so big while “F.I.L.A. (Fall In Love Again)” blends trap & pop rap tackling themes of romance. “Run It Back” goes for a smoother approach to the beat telling his lover there ain’t no slowing down since he has a lot speed while “Sexy” experiments with hip house interpolating “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred.

“Omg” starts the 2nd half of The Golden Age returning to the boom bap thanks to Dead Heat talking about being more insane than the wicked clowns themselves while “Narcissist” keeps things in the basement instrumentally speaking to himself showing y’all what wealth really is. “Slush” meshes a piano with kicks & snares talking about his heart being way too cold while the title track flexing that his paper’s too tall to fold.

Nearing the conclusion of The Golden Age, the song “Killing Time” finds himself waiting for a sickness to take him away while “A.M.F.D. (All My Friends are Dead)” combines dubstep production with horrorcore lyricism that winds up leaving me somewhat torn about it personally. “I Miss You” talks about the voices that he was hearing in his head was the money this whole entire time & “The Truth” finishes us off with a 2 minute rock outro showing off The Unholy’s singing chops.

Looking back at how reckless he was with his words when he was younger & cringing at it because the godfather of the wicked shit has obviously gotten much older, The Golden Age thematically opens up in regards to chasing what Esham thought success looked like whether it be industry recognition or respect from his own peers. Him continuing to do his own production again brings a smile to my face since that’s where a lot of his post-Psychopathic material until lately has lacked, recalling everything from the anxiety & depression to conquering Hell.

Score: 4/5

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A$AP Ferg – “Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz” review

Another brand new studio LP from Manhattan, New York emcee & songwriter A$AP Ferg. One of the most prominent members of the A$AP Mob, his 2013 solo debut Trap Lord & the debut mixtape Ferg Foreverboth cemented that further although the sophomore effort A.$.A.P. (Always $trive And Prosper) received mixed responses for its more commercial heavy-sound. Still Striving & Floor Seats both marked a return to form for Ferg although Floor Seats II got divided feedback during the 2020 COVID lockdowns & Darold refined what A.$.A.P. (Always $trive And Prosper) was going for. Celebrating the Black Friday weekend however, Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz has arrived in the midst of a few singles.

“Ball” drops braggadocio over a generic trap instrumental, which ironically sets the tone for the entire album until the 3rd & easily most salvageable single “Big Dawg” produced by Lex Luger talks about his hustle game being too real. “Dem Boyz” blends trap & dirty south continuing bring more charisma to the boastful lyrics but after the “Cee-Lo Voicemail” interlude, “P.O.L.O” will go down as one of the worst A$AP Ferg singles of all-time mainly because of the goofy beat.

Lil B joins Ferg for “Fisher Price”, ending the 1st half with synthesizers & hi-hats talking about all of their bitches being on go & “Uptown Baby” could be the weakest Lex Luger track here mostly because of the pointless French Montana verse. “Focus on Me” featuring Denzel Curry joins forces to make their blocks look like parades whenever they pop out while the lead single “Ferg Strong” proved to be better than “P.O.L.O.” & worse than “Big Dawg”.

“Young O.G.” featuring Denzel Curry reunites the pair 1 last time over the final Lex Luger beat of Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz, looking to finish what A$AP Rocky & SpaceGhostPurpp both started after they squashed their beef this spring falling out started while “Shoot Up the Club” featuring Big Boss Vette finds the 2 getting raunchier topically. “Flip Phone Anthem” featuring エイウィッチ & Gucci Mane lastly finishes up with a tribute to the flip phone days 2 decades earlier.

Darold seemed like a step in the right direction for A$AP Ferg, but my biggest question coming away from Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz is: What the Hell happened? Ferg himself & a vast majority of the guests aren’t much of an issue to me besides only a couple of them. A lot of my criticisms however are directed towards the production being more trap-oriented than Darold because aside from all 4 of Lex Luger’s contributions, it feels uneventful & maybe a little cutrate. If we actually get Don’t Be Dumb in January, it already has everything going for it to be a stronger listen.

Score: 2/5

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A-F-R-O – “The Bad & the Ugly II” review

Los Angeles, California emcee/producer A-F-R-O running it back with Stu Bangas for his latest LP. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. The Drawing Board alongside The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First and Crimson Fury have all testified to his vengeful return in recent memory, preluding his upcoming 14th EP No More Patience with The Bad & the Ugly II.

A sequel to “Lost Souls” off the original Bad & the Ugly begins assuring that he still sees the finer things despite having glaucoma whereas “Pack It In” mixes sampling with kicks & snares calling back to the House of Pain single “Jump Around” in that battling him’s a sin. “Bring Ya Best Army 2” featuring One Be Lo dustily picks up where the predecessor left off last Halloween leading into “Mastermind” featuring Wordsworth talking about life ain’t a game to them.

“Use Your Brain” pushes towards the end of the 1st half advising one to think prior to stepping up to the microphone just before “Conductor” hops over an organ-inflicted boom bap instrumental to talk about conducting poetry whenever he’s in the booth. “Man of God” featuring Motion+ finds the 2 speaking being beyond blessed with their lives & having no tolerance towards disrespect while “My Saloon” talks about pouring up lyrical brew & not allowing any punk muhfuckas in his bar.

We get some pianos & a drum machine on “The Quick & The Dead” addressing the type of rappers who think they slick by busting their rhymes with speed when they’re really not while “No Regrets” featuring 4-IZE talks about living life without any remorse. “D’Amalfi” produced by Young Bangas marks the only track that Stu didn’t produce soulfully discussing being on this grind, but never thought he’d still be dreaming.

“Pandemic Posse” featuring Blaq Poet, EKYM1536, Emsee Prospekt, Horror City, Motion+ & Pulse Reaction takes up the next 6 minutes properly introducing themselves collectively while “Glistening” asks all the party people if they’re still listening to him rock the stage. “Stairway 2 Heaven” finishes with some rap rock undertones explaining that God told him to use his mind as a weapon.

The Bad & The Ugly II might be a little more heavier on the features compared to the original that came out last Halloween, but I’d certainly put it above Crimson Fury by only slight margin as much as I highly enjoyed that conceptual self produced extend extended play 5 months ago. The production almost entirely handled by Stu Bangas of course recaptures the flawlessly raw energy of The Bad & The Ugly, with A-F-R-O’s pen leveling up in terms of gruesomeness.

Score: 4/5

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Crimeapple – “Hanzai” review

Brand new full-length LP & the 19th overall from Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his in the fall of 2017 with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that next spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko, the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not That produced by Apollo Brown, Rose Gold & more recently the V Don produced Bulletproof Chicken. Almost 3 months since the latter, Hanzai has arrived in time for Black Friday.

“Mastery” kicks the door down by hooking up a drumless beat recalling a time where he was deemed more than worthy following a performance in Tokyo, Japan & with by the blade whereas “Cocainerose” cloudily talks about rising out the coke game to having his neck froze. “14hrflight” takes the boom bap route instrumentally going to get what’s his right off the payload just before “Talmbout” featuring RLX go at the throats of the type of people who have no business discussing smoke.

As for “Forever” produced by Billy Loman, we have Crime ominously talking about traveling around the world doing the most trying to motivate leading into “Zipfile” ruggedly making guap with the ziplock bags of dope that he’s been whipping up where his homie’s girlfriend stays at. “Bajo” strips the drums again lighting a black & mild over some sumptuous piano chords but after “Sayonara” reunites with DJ Skizz talks about leaving a hoe who loves toxicity way too much, “Madamewoo” advises to picture him running the game without using his legs.

“MetroPCS” starts the final leg of Hanzaiexplaining that raising fingers at his crew isn’t the way he does things around here while “1,000,000 Miles” talks about running laps around the entire city. “Brownbutter” including an uncredited feature incorporates a drumless soul sample clarifying that they only bang bitches & bank accounts while the V Don-laced closer “Tippytoes” sends it all off talking about doing his time acting humble, advising one should’ve taken advantage at that point.

Can’t say I came away from Hanzai enjoying it on the same caliber as Rose Gold or Bulletproof Chicken, but the 4th & likely final project from Crimeapple this year excluding the Escama collaborative EP with Primo Profit contains plenty of highs that make it worth your time. Some of the production may not stick out to me as much as his last couple albums & both guest performances were passable, although his lyricism remains gratifying.

Score: 3.5/5

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FlyG – “MENNBLVCK II” review

This is the 7th EP from Washington, D.C. emcee of Nigerian descent FlyG. Properly introducing himself to the underground last spring off his inaugural extended play Soulful Journey, SPCL_CHRCTRS would fully produce the next one Serenade Symphony at the end of February & rising French producer Drega33 helped him turn more head with MENNBLVCK this spring. He has since dropped an EP dedicated to the 10-time WCW World Tag Team Champions & WWE Hall of Famers Harlem Heat, reuniting with Drega for MENNBLVCK II after going back-to-back with SHRPNDBLDS & A Righteous Tale.

The title track begins with a drumless chipmunk soul instrumental talking about being thankful for his patience this Thanksgiving whereas “GO@T” works in this prominently heavy vocal sample referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “LFNTMS” soulfully talks about his father being a huge influence on him & a coward forcing him to an exit early while “TIMECOP” tells his dad that he wishes that he got to spend more time with him.

“CMBKHM” starts the 2nd half with crooning sampling chops talking about the concept of returning home while “B.R.T.$.” talking about his music being his calling & being the type to wind up on your favorite hip hop sites. The soulful “T.P.O.P.” confesses to things getting hectic missing his father & raising daughters of his own now just before “SHWNPRV” ends the EP making the game-winning touchdown with a chipmunk soul outro.

Harlem Heat & SHRPNDBLDS were both enjoyable for their own different reasons but considering that MENNBLVCK became my introduction to FlyG this past summer, I could’ve only expected MENNBLVCK II to join the ranks of it’s predecessor & I can confirm that it very much does. Drega33’s drumless production focuses less around the jazz rap elements of the original & prioritizing the chipmunk soul undertones, getting more personal than previously in terms of penmanship.

Score: 4/5

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Your Old Droog – “anything’s possible” review

48 hours following it’s announcement, Ukrainian-American lyricist Your Old Droog’s 10th EP is here. Breaking out through his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 4 last EPs he’s given us YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, The Yodfather & The Shining weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. Movie became a depiction of his life on wax & wants y’all to know anything‘s possible.

“Game 7” produced by Khrysis starts with a soul sample explaining that practice being the most important thing whereas “Confetti” featuring Count Bass D finds both of them talking about being willing & ready to feel the tiny pieces of streamers raining down. “No More” goes for a rap rock vibe admitting this shit doesn’t feel special anymore & after “Vanilla Fudge” flexes that not many can see him with the grammar, “Bronny” finishes by talking about having sons in the game already over a Kenny Segal instrumental.

Literally the only other time we’ve gotten to hear YOD in 2025 was his feature on “The Rose Bowl”off The High & Mighty’s reunion album Sound of Market, so it makes me happy he gave us a 12 minute extended play to hold fans off until Droogie Otis’ highly anticipated full-length debut. The production feels equally consistent as Movie’s was 17 months ago with the anything’s possible name playing a huge role conceptually.

Score: 4/5

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MAVI – “The Pilot” review

Here we have the 4th EP from Charlotte, North Carolina abstract lyricist MAVI. Emerging off his full-length debut Let the Sun Talk a day before his 20th birthday, he would go on to land a verse on “El Toro Combo Meal” off of Earl Sweatshirt’s 2nd EP Feet of Clay a month later as well as preluding the further well received Laughing So Hard It Hurts in the form of his previous EP End of the Earth. His 3rd album Shadowbox celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary this summer & The Pilotlooks to start the final week of November after signing to Loma Vista Recordings.

“Heavy Hand” is a lo-fi boom bap vibe to the beat talking about using his eyes because his heart’s somewhat like a blindfold whereas “Triple Nickel” featuring MIKE finds the 2 jazzily discussing pushing people far back when they see their dreams creeping up closely. “Silent Film” works in a psychedelic guitar riff getting honest regarding him never learning & not needing anyone to worry about him while “G-Annis” produced by Reuben Vincent references the current WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena.

Kenny Mason joins MAVI on the drumless “Typewriter” warning that anyone comparing them to artists below them will have lost credibility because of it “31 Days” hooks up a vocal sample telling us he’s been sober for over a month now. “Denise Murrell” goes for a jazzier vibe once again with a flute heavy instrumental talking about his grandma calling him asking when he’s gonna stop making sad shit prior to Jay Versace incorporating some bare sampling for “Mender” telling this romantic interest that they’re gonna be together some day.

“Landgrab” featuring Earl Sweatshirt began The Pilot’s rollout with a drumless lead single trading consciously abstract bars back-&-forth with one another while the 2nd & final single “Potluck”featuring Smino blends trap, cloud rap & neo-soul talking about detractors hating all they want. “Jammers Anonymous” featuring Niontaydeserves a mention of it’s own whether it be the plugg/Philly jerk beat or both artists nailing it with the “Landgrab” delivery for a 2nd time.

Taking control of this new sobered up version of himself in a time of constant travel as well as growing exposure to the arts/design & alienation from home, MAVI introduces himself as part of the Loma Vista roster with a 26 & a half minute EP setting the stage of what we can expect out of his 4th album 1st in Flight next year. The production explores old & new sounds for him from boom bap to jazz rap, drumless, lo-fi hop, trap, cloud rap, neo-soul, plugg & Philly jerk bringing a tight list of guests on board for less that half of it to properly celebrate his sobriety.

Score: 4.5/5

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