Lady Gaga – “Mayhem” review

Lady Gaga is a 38 year old singer/songwriter, actress & Haus Labs founder from New York City breaking out into stardom in 2008 off her full-length debut The Fame after signing to Konvict Muzik & Interscope Records. Her debut EP The Fame Monster & the sophomore effort Born This Way later inspiring the name of the Born This Way Foundation marked her final offering for Konvict, remaining on Interscope for Artpop along with Joanne & Chromatica. Her previous LP Harlequin was better than Joker 2: Folie a Deux itself, coming off the disappointing film for her 7th studio album.

“Disease” draws from electropop, dance-pop, midtempo bass, French electro & futurepop singing about making sinners into believers whereas “Abracadabra” works in elements of dance-pop, electro house, electropop, acid house, hardbag & French electro facing the challenge of life, the challenge of the night & finding the magic in it all. “Garden of Eden” produced by Gesaffstein maintains the dance pop vibes mirroring Adam & Eve’s biblical paradise prior to “Perfect Celebrity” serving as the theme song of the current WWE Women’s Champion & former NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton’s upcoming WrestleMania XLI match against 14-time WWE women’s champion, 2-time NXT Women’s Champion & WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair making some stunning commentary on the manufacturing of those types of celebrities.

Moving on from there, “Vanish Into You” sings about wanting to merge into a singular identity of her partner’s in order to insulate herself from the worldly emotions just before the synth-funk “Killah” pushes herself out of her comfort zone swing herself as a killer both in a literal & metaphorical state. “Zombieboy” remembers her late friend Rick Gernest who passed away in the summer of 2018 with celebration of the nights when fun leads to feeling like a zombie the next morning, but then “LoveDrug” basically comparing the feeling of love to an addictive substance.

“How Bad Do You Want Me?” questions how much her partner loves her in the midst of him dreaming about another person while “Don’t Call Tonight” goes for a warm pop rock flare suggesting not to hit her line unless the targeted individual wants to cause her harm. The irresistibly catchy “Shadow of a Man” sings about not wanting to be under the darkness tonight & to have the light shown to her while “The Beast” shows her evil alter ego telling her partner to colloquially free the beast from within him.

The track “Blade of Grass” dedicates this moment to her fiancé Michael Polansky recalling conversations of proposals in their backyard & simply wrapping a blade of grass around her finger would be her act of grace until “Die with a Smile” featuring Bruno Mars ends fusing pop soul, pop rock, soft rock, adult contemporary & piano rock really crossing over “Shallow” off the A Star is Born soundtrack & Bruno’s work with Anderson .Paak of the duo Silk Sonic wanting to be with each other during the end of the world.

“Can’t Stop the High” starts the deluxe run mixes electro & grunge music for a harder successor to “Perfect Celebrity” while “The Dead Dance” meshes nu-disco, dance-pop, synthwave, synth-funk & electropop to sing about music’s ability to save the lives of others. The final bonus track “Kill for Love” finishes with somewhat of a spiritual successor to “The Beast” in the sense of the werewolf she was speaking of is replying back to her dismissing the idea of wearing it’s disguise.

Stemming from a period of deep introspection & personal challenges, Lady Gaga celebrates her love for music by bringing together a wide variety of genres, styles & different dreams from a place of joy. The production built around dance-pop, electropop, nu-disco, pop rock, synthpop, soft rock, adult contemporary & piano rock, synth-funk, electro house, acid house, hardbag, French electro, midtempo bass & futurepop results in the most memorable songs that’s she’s written in roughly 15 years embarking on a transgressive journey through genres reflecting her diverse musical influences & life experiences.

Score: 4/5

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

Mike Shabb – “Shabb Van Gogh” review

This is the sophomore effort from Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb. Coming up in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out 6 EPs & his last couple of mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery along with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses from top to bottom. Hood Olympics & Sewaside III were both solid in their own rights, returning 10 months later with Shabb Van Gogh.

“breakadawn” is this self-produced jazz rap intro asking how you know so much about him when he ain’t ever been around you whereas “merry go round” takes the lo-fi boom bap route instrumentally to dirty dance harder than the late Patrick Swayze did. “underground legend” soulfully with co-production from Nicholas Craven addresses his legacy since his popularity keeps increasing while “Jank” hooks up these bare pianos showing a serious side to him dealing with pain.

As for “Krump”, we have Mike bringing the soul samples back in the fold to speak in Ebonics for a little over 2 minutes prior to “can’t wait” after the “brand new sound” interlude continuing to show off his sampling techniques talking about feeling important these days. “nothing is the same” maintains the soulfulness except he’s going drumless to discuss everything always changing, but then “crews pop” featuring Niontay unites the pair to talk about nobody fucking with them.

“splash bros” featuring Trapmat Savior has to be my favorite collaboration of the 2 making me hope they got a Splash Bros EP from them coming out like the Moncler Boyz did while “Van Gogh” talks about others getting pissed over his girl playing his music. “Disco Duck II” is a highly enjoyable sequel to the Hood Olympics standout & “Rope” strips the drums for the final moments calling the most wanted dead men.

Preparing himself for Hood Olympics 2 in a couple months from now, one of Montréal’s finest in recent memory comes off the 3rd & final installment of the Sewaside trilogy that came out last spring with an album that I find myself enjoying more than Northwave. Regardless if I found myself enjoying the other more than the first one, Mikea artistic growth in the last 7 years on the mic & as a producer is widely put on display for almost an half hour.

Score: 4/5

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

6 – “Homebody” review

6 is a 34 year old producer from Bowie, Maryland notable for being the longtime in-house producer for Logic & his independent label Bobby Boy Records. They’ve known each other at least since 2009, putting out a debut mixtape of his own called the 6ixtape celebrating its 2-year anniversary this spring. Taking himself to the next level though, he’s bringing a whole list of performers on board to compile an official full-length studio debut album peaking interest for any Logic fans who love the work they’ve done with each other up until this point.

The first song “Why Should I?” by Guapdad 4000 & Juicy J after the intro was my favorite single of the 3 asking why should they give a fuck over a vibrant trap instrumental whereas “Roundabout” by Pardyalone & Phil Adé spaciously talks about being sick of these bitches in their living room. “Firmament” by Buddy, Blu & KYLE finds the trio suggesting that everyone listening to continue balling leading into “293” by D.R.A.M. & Guapdad showing a romantic side to them.

“WMD” by Logic heads for a jazzy boom bap direction with the beat getting in his shit-talking bag for a bit & after the interlude, the title track finishes the first leg of Homebody with a nearly 2-minute instrumental cut. “A Lot Like” by Bobby Boy Records artist Travis Stacey stylistically departs from hip hop in favor of rock music & pulling it off better than I would’ve expected, but then “Messi” by Jazz Cartier & TOBi keeps it on lock with a spacey trap heater.

Cousin Stizz & Felix team up on “Foreign” kinda throwing it back to The Neptunes in the early 2000s sonically while “What Do You Say?” by ChloTheGod heads for more of a neo-soul direction. “Raw” by Buddy, Blu, Joey Valence & Brae and KYLE fully embraces the boom bap sound to bring it hardcore while “Palace” by AQ & TK Rhodes smoothly gets back on the melodic tip. “Bright Lights” by KYLE & Skizzy Mars ahead of the outro finishes 6’s debut with a decently stripped back closer.

Meant to push himself out of his comfort zone, Logic’s longtime collaborator truly is a homebody by nature & the urge to step out & show the world more to who who he is finally reveals itself with a debut album that I personally find myself a little mixed on his. The versatile production revolving around trap, jazz rap, boom bap, R&B, rock is very tasteful since his talents behind the boards have always been there. My biggest complaint about it though is the inconsistency amongst the guests.

Score: 2.5/5

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

Ankhlejohn – “The Michelin Man” review

Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn teaming with Cookin’ Soul for his 7th mixtape. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground a total of 6 full-length studio albums as well as 27 EPs & his last 6 tapes in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below & the Rome Streetz collaborative effort effort Genesis 1:27. I was however interested in hearing The Michelin Man after his verse on Gangrene’s comeback effort Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.

“Landlord Member” sets the tone by hooking up this gospel sample to talk about being the kind of father that actually lives with his children whereas “Rump with Me” takes the boom bap route instrumentally asking if anyone out there wants smoke with him. “The Hell Pit” goes drumless talking about everyone already knowing the deal with him for these past several years leading into “Lance Vance” featuring Premo Rice praising God for keeping their affairs in order.

As for “Deuteronomy 28”, we have Cookin’ Soul continuing to strip the drums once again making way for Ankhlejohn feeling like Onyx telling everyone to do the knowledge just before “Seed of Chucky” featuring Tony Shhnow marks the soulful collaboration I never thought I needed to hear. “Sturgeon Eggs” returns to the boom bap putting his street life on full display lyrically while “Halfway” featuring Mike Shabb sees the 2 leaving y’all shot in the mouth.

“Riga Mortis” officially starts the final moments of The Michelin Man referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin following the premiere of the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s new developmental brand Evolve revived by EVOLVE Wrestling’s original founder Gabe Sapolsky showcasing talent under the WWE ID (Independent Development) program on tubi yesterday prior to “Feel the Breeze” finishing us off on a jazzier note making his mother proud with his words.

Some of LORDY’s output in the past 7 years has been hit-or-miss & heads I know who’ve been following him for the same amount of time as me have agreed on that when engaging in conversations of his discography, but The Michelin Man easily sticks out as Anhklejohn’s finest offering of the 2020s elevating Cookin’ Soul’s production run that began last year & the D.C. artist’s finest performances in a while.

Score: 4.5/5

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

Lost Membranes – “The Empty Diaries” review

Albuquerque, New Mexico emcee, songwriter, producer & architecturalist Lost Membranes dropping his debut EP on his YouTube channel. Inspired by a multitude of artists in different genres from the almighty Wu-Tang Clan to post-punk pioneers Joy Division & the pioneering nu metal band KoЯn, he first introduced himself at the very beginning of 2022 & has put out numerous singles since then. However, he’s opening The Empty Diaries as his 1st official body of work in order to make a broader statement in the underground.

“Awakening” starts the EP by screaming in the brightest moonlight until it’s time for the almighty to show him what he has in store for him next whereas “Bleached” has this occult atmosphere that I find fitting talking about how the world got him feeling & he’ll never be the same again. “Confront” goes for a rap rock to discuss life being a daily struggle while the solemn “Discord” marches on to a war’s parade. “Paradox” ends by talking about everything coming down to the decisions he’s made.

Each song on this 5-track EP gives you an inside look into the constant grind & fights we have with the battles we face in life such as our personal struggles, our faith, our ups & downs, our hopes & dreams, having loved ones or losing loved ones & what we do to maintain our sanity through it all. A mix of hip hop as well as punk & metal music, The Empty Diaries is an emotional journey from beginning to end.

Score: 4/5

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

Action Figure 973 – “Dark Side of the Ring” review

This is the 6th EP from Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973. Somebody whose growing discography comprised of 2 mixtapes & 5 EPs has been steadily making waves in the underground for a few years already, gearing up for the hit Vice docuseries Dark Side of the Ring’s upcoming 6th season at the end of the month 48 hours succeeding John Cena’s shocking heel turn attacking the current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber XV this past weekend.

“Villain Eyes” sets it all off with an uncanny boom bap instrumental talking about the way he sees the game whereas “Rap is Crap” gives a nod to The West Texas Rednecks from WCW’s dying days led by the late WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Curt Hennig and calling the game cornier than WrestleMania IX.

WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund gets referenced on the jazzily drumless “Laughing at Your” just before “Mook vs. Arty” references both the late 3-time ECW World Tag Team Champion & SMW Tag Team Champion New Jack and WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE world champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker.

“Skip the Pleasantries” goes for a jazzier direction instrumentally talking about being stronger than record 10-time WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat just before “Jack Veneno vs. Carlos Colón” acknowledges the former NWA Worlds’s Heavyweight Champion & WWE Hall of Famer of the same name respectively. “Are You Not Entertained?” sends off the EP with a boom bap outro talking about his presence drawing results.

Focusing on topics like former ECW World Tag Team Champion Eddie Gilbert & WWE Hall of Famer The Sheik to name a couple this spring regarding the show itself, the Dark Side of the Ring EP musically takes the love Action Figure 973 has had for the professional wrestling business throughout his career & incorporates it significantly heavier into his music with a hardcore boom bap project turning up the amount of nods to it’s long & rich history.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Queen Herawin – “Awaken the Sleeping Giant” review

New York emcee Queen Herawin returning ahead of her solo debut Metamorphosis turning 10 this spring with a sophomore effort. A member of the Juggaknots, she eventually went on to drop an EP after her debut The Space Between Things & appeared on Vinnie Paz’ 5th album as above so below only a month away from the world changing forever because of the pandemic. However after some recent singles, she’s teamed with Coalmine Records to help distribute Awaken the Sleeping Giant.

“Focus” is this spacious boom bap intro exploring the idea of resetting perspective until the aperture is properly set & allowing you to see things from a much more clearer perspective whereas “Anger” talks about time feeling like a ticking bomb to her occasionally through genuine angst. “Gluttony” featuring Breeze Brewin’ works in this crazy gospel sample venting that their people feel like straight meat sometimes just before “Denial” featuring Illa Ghee & Pretty Bulli finds the trio on a blink away from savagery.

Open Mike Eagle joins Herawin on the synth-heavy “Shame” delivering a relentless verbal onslaught over some additional organs leading into “Anxiety” produced by J. Depina somberly opening up about her struggles with the universal plague of anxiety & showing how her lyrical craft becomes her remedy. “Power” featuring Ke Turner hits y’all spiritual sound codes on top of these pianos & strings while “Arrogant” featuring Poison Pen ruggedly takes charge thanks to Johnny Slash.

“Love” featuring Aaqil Ali continues to go for a darker sound portraying 2 romantic partners wonderfully referencing to one another as their favorite monsters, but then “Manifest” featuring Apathy & Mickey Factz concludes the Sleeping Giant being awoken with them showcasing their elite style of lyricism each of them are known for in the underground & Supastition showing off some crazy sampling with the guitar flip he has to offer.

A whole entire decade after her solo debut, the Queen of the Juggaknots returns with a musical memoir of waking up to your true self, to your inherent power, embracing it & celebrating the entirety of who you are with a cathartic blend of stunning tales of her own personal growth addressing issues that she wanted to bring more awareness to with raw speaker-shaking production & consistent performances amongst the guests.

Score: 4/5

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

Big Hit – “Free Big Hit” review

Los Angeles, California rapper Big Hit dropping his 3rd studio LP from behind bars. The father of Hit-Boy, he was found guilty & convicted of a hit & run resulting in great bodily injury almost a decade ago & unlawfully being sentenced to 12 years & 4 months in prison including a 5-year GBI enhancement connected to Count 1. His petition for a writ of habeas corpus was later granted & became a free man on his son’s 36th birthday. Hit would have his father join forces by making Surf or Drown 2 a collab effort tailored for Father’s Day Weekend & put out a debut album of his own The Truth is in My Eyes only 6 months later. Blacks & Whites produced by Hit-Boy & The Alchemist outdid the debut last spring, finding himself incarcerated again 4 months ago & Surf Club Inc. has put together Free Big Hit.

“The Game Just Forced Me” is this summery intro talking about wanting to live his life & not wanting to make any sacrifices whereas “Got What You Need” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Doggshows off their mob ties over a west coast trap instrumental from Hit-Boy. “It’s Obvious” featuring Lefty Gunplay & X4 cloudily brings the trio together to talk about being allergic to the bullshit while “Slow Your Roll” featuring Ty$ melodically breaks down the coldness of the ghetto.

Meanwhile on “Bigger Than Life”, we have Big Hit on top of more sampling aiming to plan for the future in the midst of the price increasing with the appetite just before “Fuck Me Back” featuring the Baby Stone Gorillas was an underwhelming choice of a single that came out couple months back when winter began. “Thug Love” featuring Jay Worthy & TeeFLii makes up for it with a dedication to the thugs leading into “Awake” featuring Hit-Boy stands a warming father-son moment.

“Beyond Solid” continues to push further towards the 2nd leg of Free Big Hit with a boastfully cloudy trap heater assuring that he still has it even with all the bullshit he’s been dealing with these last few months while “Crunch Time” shows a bit of a jazz rap flare instrumentally heading for the riches. “They Say They Proud of Me” featuring Joe Moses ends with them addressing everyone who claims to be happy for their success.

Wouldn’t be fair at all to say it’s Big Hit’s fault that this album didn’t do as much as his last couple did because he’s back on prison for some bullshit, but Free Big Hit even with the highlights it has could quite possibly be his most average listening experience. His performances are unquestionably on par with The Truth is in My Eyes and Blacks & Whites, the guests’ though either come off as exciting or disappointingly underwhelming.

Score: 3/5

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

O.T. the Real – “The Devil You Know” review

This is the 8th studio LP from Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping his last 7 albums as well as a mixtape & 8 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living, so Nickel returning for The Devil You Know only makes sense.

“GOATS” grimly starts with this boom bap opener warning to watch what you say around him because you might wind up dead because of it later on at some point whereas “Silverspoon” morbidly keeps it in the basement instrumentally talking about making it out on his own. The beat on “Wall” kinda gives me a Griselda feel to it giving praise to the plug who helped him get into his current position while “Countryfried” featuring Smoke DZA cops a turkey on the low without knowing what it took.

As for “Highland”, we have O.T. over an uncannily raw instrumental suggest to watch who you servin’ just before “Eyes” ruggedly demand you show him the product & the bread right on the spot. “Insane” maintains the boom bap sound talking about staying outside trappin’ for what his leading into “Talez” taking about the stories of a hustler & wanting others to have his back whether it’s right or wrong.

“Devil” aggressively kicks off the final leg of The Devil You Know with O.T. getting right back in his zone over this rap rock/boom bap crossover while “Friends” featuring Dun Dealy finds the 2 talking about being unable to enter Canada & having homies out in Mexico. The song “Damn” is a dreary one reflecting on a homie texting him saying he needed to talk to him & “62” ends by explaining his come up was a dream come true.

Starting the deluxe run, “Bracelets” brushes off any notion of his competition being anything like him while “After Midnight” featuring SKNJ decently trades the mic back-&-forth with each other. “Carved” talks about being the only one who can see the blood on his hands while “Dead Opps” featuring Lik Moss talks about how nasty it is out here. “Lows” speeds up his flow over a piano-driven boom bap beat & the final bonus track “Junkie’s Son” coincides with his Long Bright River appearance.

Both You Are Who You Eat With & Cost of Living remain quality bodies of work within what’s already an impressive discography for O.T., unless The Devil You Know can now be included during conversation. Nickel Plated’s production for a good run of it primarily sticks out as being based around boom bap locking in with the Philly standout for another round of pressure.

Score: 4/5

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

Paris Texas – “They Left Me with a Gun” review

This is the 5th EP from Compton, California experimental hip hop duo Paris Texas. Consisting of Louie Pastel & Felix. These guys started to become popular several years ago after their first few EPs I’ll Get My Revenge in Hell alongside Boy Anonymous & Red Hand Akimbo. Their debut album Mid Air garnered co-signs from Ye formerly known as Kanye West & Tyler, The Creator with the latter having them open on his ongoing Chromakopia Tour. Their previous EP They Left Me with the Sword came out last weekend & are quickly putting out They Left Me with a Gun as a successor.

“Superstar” breaks the door off the hinges with this rap rock intro talking about the way they be living now that they’re becoming famous whereas “Twin Geeker” kinda gives me a Gorillaz vibe instrumentally talking about having everything you don’t because of you going idle. “Stripper Song” blends rap rock, post-punk revival & synth-punk for a refreshing strip club joint while “mudbone” maintains a synth-punk/hip hop vibe. “H A L O” asks to be let in out of desperateness & “No Strings” refuses to go back to their previous selves.

Keeping a prominently hardcore west coast hip hop vibe to the table, they completely ditch the trap undertones that were shown during the EP these guys put out last weekend so they can keep the experimental details in the picture & putting a bigger emphasis on the rap rock influences that made them so popular making up for it not being as prominent a week ago in addition to both synth-punk & post-punk revival.

Score: 4/5

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