Benny the Butcher – “The Plugs I Met 2.5” review

Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher preluding The Plugs I Met III with his 10th extended play. Being in the game for 2 decades already, it wouldn’t be until the previous one 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 few years back. Coming off the Summertime Butch duology & Excelsior however, The Plugs I Met 2.5 has come 48 hours succeeding its announcement.

“Rise & Fall” featuring Elcamino & 38 Spesh after “The Dog & The Wolf” intro hops over a soulful instrumental from Harry Fraud explaining that there’s a certain price of the game that we haven’t accept even if we don’t want to leading into “Big Difference” featuring Bruiser Wolf & Fuego Base produced by the late DJ Shay works in a symphonic boom bap beat so the trio can respond to all of the haters criticizing them for their recent acquisitions.

Daringer & Beat Butcha get behind the boards on “Once Upon a Time” to kick off the 2nd half of The Plugs I Met 2.5, replacing the strings with a more sinister backdrop explaining that every leader was a good soldier at a certain point in their lives just before “Talk Shows” featuring Raekwon reunites with Harry Fraud to discuss having no respect for those who buy their runs since they hustled to earn theirs. The closing track “Can’t Be Much” sends off the EP with a symphonic trap outro getting in his coke rap bag lyrically.

Many will presumably say that The Plugs I Met 2.5 is the best thing Benny the Butcher has made since Tana Talk 4 or Everybody Can’t Go, but I did enjoy it a lot more than Summertime Butch 2 almost a year earlier as much of a huge improvement it was over it’s predecessor & has me anticipating a forthcoming trilogy chapter. The production feels like a mix between both installments of The Plugs I Met series letting Harry Fraud handle most of it outside of Daringer & DJ Shay’s contributions, bringing a stellar guest list on board for all but 2 tracks excluding the intro to break down the mafioso life.

Score: 4.5/5

Pz’ – “No Turnin’ Back” review

Yes, we finally have another extended play from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & fashion model Pz’. Emerging a couple years ago off the strength of his debut single “Sun”, he would eventually blow up last summer when “Hedis Bussin’” came out & has since collaborated with the likes of billi0n for his debut mixtape Revenge as well as the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ eponymous tape earlier this spring. B4NTB came out a few days ago & No Turnin’ Back has arrived after a 48 hour delay as promised.

“Never Gon’ Home” opens with a bassy intro explaining that it’s difficult for him to specifically say where he’s headed leading into “Live Strong” hazily talking about how he prayed for his success to come & all of his ØWay brethren playing their individual roles. “Dis Ain’t Right” speaks of being trained to kill along with smoking up all his weed because he can’t sleep at night while “Canes” talks about all this internet shit being a joke to him & coming from a city where all the artists are homegrown.

dragnutz makes the EP’s sole guest appearance on the synth-driven “No Ceilings” so they can discuss reaching new heights together just before “X Tape” talks about possibly changing this woman’s life after having sex. “Fête Feeling” experiments with Afrobeats observing that the woman he slept with has been acting strange around him & after “Claim to Fame” talks about constantly thinking of money, the outro “Maxfields” finishes up suggesting he might make a bag only to put it in his will afterwards.

No Turnin’ Back retains the similar trap & pop rap production that made B4NTB such an interesting prelude although there are more elements of rage being incorporated & a small dosage of Afrobeats towards the backend of it contrasting the previous EP’s futuristic swag undertones. Pz’ could potentially be the most versatile member of the ØWay collective the more I think of it & I already know his discography will only improve going forward.

Score: 3.5/5

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vax – “Steeze” review

West Palm Beach, Florida rapper/producer vax staying busy with his 7th extended play. Someone who’s eventually go on to drop his last 6 EPs since 2023 after beginning to make music at the age of 12 including New Jazz as well as Forgive My Sins & Pyramid Scheme, with Is This You? following my personal favorite of the bunch Throne. Coming off #B4BlueDawn & the full-length debut Blue Dawn merely 8 weeks earlier & he’s applying more pressure by releasing Steeze.

“Parade” kicks things off with a rage-inducing intro talking about being with slayr in his hometown & looking for all the hoes back in the South shaking ass at a local parade while “Hetereo” bridges Steeze boasting that nobody can do this music shit the way he does it. “Screamer” spends the final minutes of the EP with 1 last hypertrap instrumental talking about going dumb whenever he’s on stage & making sure his bitch can’t walk for a week after sex.

Ditching the primary digicore influences of Blue Dawn along with the cloud/pop rap undertones, vax gets ready for the next era of his career dropping of a 6 minute 3-pack that I find to be average in comparison. The rage production doesn’t make a lasting impression on me as much as the debut a couple months ago & maybe a track or 2 could’ve been more fully fleshed out, but you can definitely still hear the hunger in his performances.

Score: 3/5

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Key Glock – “Project X” review

Here is the 5th studio LP although his 2nd for a major label from Memphis, Tennessee rapper Key Glock. Notable for being the cousin of the late Young Dolph, he signed to Paper Route Empire in 2017 after his debut mixtape Whole Lotta Errthang & has since released 4 more tapes in addition to an EP & his last 4 full-lengths. The most notable being Glockoma 2 & his previous one Glockaveli. Over a year later since making his debut for Republic Records, Project X has arrived in time for summer.

“Mannish” produced by the late Tay Keith who unexpectedly passed yesterday afternoon opens up with a cloudy trap intro talking about having too many hoes whereas “50 Hoes” flexes that he has bitches in every state over some pianos & hi-hats. “Hardknock” talks about embracing the rockstar lifestyle now that he’s been blowing up over an eerier instrumental while “Face Down” runs it back with Tay Keith again for an effective club anthem.

As for “Big 5”, we have Glock slowing the pace for a groove-heavy cut talking about standing on business every single time leading into “6AM” discusses waking up early in the morning so he can make some bread. “Dummy” acknowledges his continued success over a boisterous Tay Keith beat with co-production from Cubeatz looking to add more commas to his bank account just before “Drug Luv” talks about women being in love with drugs & guys staying bitter.

“Work It” hits us with another club anthem although I don’t think it’s better than “Face Down”, but then “Faded” ends the 1st half of Project Xexperimenting with plugg to talk about getting fucked up. “Sick” kicks off the 2nd leg flexin’ without having to go to the gym over an Honorable C.N.O.T.E. instrumental & making it clear that he ain’t nothing like these bitches while “SRT Muzik” talks about nobody being able to compete with him musically.

Tay Keith returns behind the boards once again for “Benzo” showing off this new Benz that he copped while “Cash Money” pays tribute to Mannie Fresh, who’s certainly underappreciated for architecting the titular Republic imprint’s signature sound 3 decades earlier. “Cherry on Top” talks about poppin’ his shit with confidence over a more psychedelic trap instrumental while “Loco” wasn’t that impressive of a single in my opinion.

“Go” winds down the last few moments of Project X talking about still being the same as he was prior to the fame while “Seeing Red” luxuriously becomes self-aware of needing his medication after fucking around & waking up on the wrong side of the bed. “Houston Flow” nears closer towards the end of the album showing his appreciation for the 713 & the outro “Reminiscing” couldn’t have finished off on a more introspectively reflective note.

Looking to further push himself artistically, Key Glock explores a broader range of southern hip hop styles without abandoning his trap roots & that’s what makes Project X my 2nd favorite entry in the Paper Route Empire’s flagship delegate’s whole discography. Tay Keith’s many contributions are bittersweet to hear considering his tragic death only 24 hours earlier & although I’d like to hear some guests who’re on his level lyrically, I appreciate him continuing to hold the fort down individually.

Score: 4/5

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D12 – “D12 Forever” review

D12 is a duo from Detroit, Michigan now consisting of Kuniva & Swifty McVay. Other members included B. Flatt, Bizarre, the late Bugz, the late Dirtty Ratt, the late Eye-Kyu, their late de facto leader Proof, Killa Hawk, DJ Head, Fuzz Scoota, mR. pOrTeR & most notably Eminem. Becoming the first act to sign with Shady Records after Interscope Records helped launch it, their full-length debut Devil’s Night has become a hometown classic & the sophomore effort D12 World went for a more commercial sound, carrying the legacy forward 2 decades after Proof’s murder by dropping their 3rd album under Compound Interest Entertainment.

“My Salsa” after the “Again, Another Public Service Announcement” intro produced by Jake Bass opens up sampling “My Band” talking about giving what the world’s been missing whereas “Tear It Down” featuring B-Real & Xzibit finds the quartet linking up for a hardcore hip hop single. “Proof & Eli” lets Derty Harry shine posthumously with his son Eli Ble$$ed for a couple minutes just before “Better Dayz” talks about having faith in God when times are hard.

As for “Kill the Engineer”, we have Swift & Kuniva trading bars over a boom bap instrumental talking about an audio engineer being murdered in their studio leading into “Tenderism” featuring Method Man finds all 4 of them getting back in their hardcore bag lyrically. “Dirty Nation” flips the Funkadelic single “1 Nation Under a Groove” for an carefree g-funk anthem while “Still Hating” featuring King Iso & Tech N9ne after the “Nick’s Coffee House” skit returns to a more hardcore hip hop sound.

“Bugz ‘98” pays homage to their fallen brethren in the vein of “Bugz ‘97” off D12 World while “Even Knights Kneel” talks about kings having to meet their Gods over a rap rock beat. “Nightmare Walking” featuring Xzibit includes a touching callback to “Kurt Kobain” off Searching for Jerry Garcia during Kuniva’s verse & after “What If?” takes a few minutes to paint vivid scenarios, “Forever” ends the D12 Forever talking about representing the team for life.

Regardless of Eminem saying at the end of “Stepping Stone” that D12 was over, I have all the respect in the world for Swifty McVay & Kuniva keeping the group’s legacy alive even if it’s only them going forward. That said: If we’re gonna get a whole series out of this considering that sequel to D12 Forever is being hinted, I wouldn’t mind it & feel like fans would still appreciate it as a gift coinciding the 25 year anniversary of their debut. Jake Bass’ production reminds me of the Dirty Dozen’s earlier output, the guests are all carefully selected & the performances of both members are harder than the My Brother’s Keeper EP in comparison.

Score: 4/5

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Boldy James – “Trapper’s Alley 3: Hell or High Water” review

Brand new mixtape & the 7th overall from Detroit, Michigan veteran Boldy James. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), there was a point where Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records had them on their roster for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. Manger on McNichols produced by Sterling Toles was as equally fantastic & the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership, Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave, the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks the Harry Fraud-produced The Bricktionary & the Carlo Anthony-produced Hidden in Plain Sight were all welcomed to warm reception additionally. Token of Appreciation produced by Chuck Strangers was much better than both Murder During Drug Traffic & Permanent Ink, the Antt Beatz produced Hommage left people divided although I didn’t mind it, although the V Don-produced Alphabet Highway along with the Killing Nothing sequel Conversational Pieces & Late to His Own Funeral were more positively received. Coming off his Roc Nation Records debut Criminally Attached, he & Craven are running it back for Trapper’s Alley 3: Hell or High Water.

The 2nd & final single “Summer’s Eve” kicks things off with a soul sample talking about seeing so many leave to the point where he no longer fears death whereas “Mama Maxine” featuring 218bojay keeps the drumless vibes going ensuring anyone who fucks with them will end up in the trauma unit. “My Last Try” blends chipmunk soul & boom bap talks about trying to put wings on a brick to make the glass fly prior to “Beautiful Snow” featuring Chip$ & Dave Hill getting in their coke rap bags.

“False Accusations” reaches the halfway point of the tape soulfully recalling a point in his life where he was incarcerated for a crime he didn’t even commit & once “Hamburger Helper” featuring Chip$ reunites the pair to kick off the 2nd leg opulently talking about counting up all the extra money they have laying around, “Powerhouse” featuring Chip$ & Lethalias Grain finds the trio asking if having green thumbs makes them gardeners & the cocaine hitting harder than powerpunches.

Wrapping up Trapper’s Alley 3: Hell or High Water’s final moments, the song “Grinding My Gears” soulfully talks about how he wouldn’t have ever imagined making a career out of his criminal experiences while “Don’t Tell Me (Trinidadian James)” flexes that his whole entire squad’s in the heavyweight division. The lead single “Death & Taxes” finishes up with this drumless gangsta rap outro explaining there being only 2 things in this world that we can’t escape.

Boldy James never disappoints whenever he locks in with Nicholas Craven for an entire project & that’s the main reason I’m usually very praiseful of their material, but I would necessarily put Trapper’s Alley 3: Hell or High Water on the same pedestal as Fair Exchange No Robbery & Penalty of Leadership or Late to My Own Funeral if you wanna include a more recent example. Craven’s drumlessly jazzy yet soulful production & Boldy’s gangsta/coke raps are like Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen although the guest list can be somewhat spotty.

Score: 3.5/5

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tana – “Me” review

Here is the sophomore effort from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & producer tana. Starting in 2018 as a member of the plu2o9 collective under the original moniker BabySantana, he would go on to drop his first 2 EPs Recreation! & Planet Sosaalongside his debut mixtape Quan before signing to Lil Tecca’s very own Republic Records imprint Galactic Records the next fall. tana later preluded his full-length debut bana by putting out Gaultier as well as London & Dale, celebrating his independence by dropping Me.

“keep rollin’” begins with a self-produced 2-parter talking about nobody being on his level artistically whereas “me & my gun” takes a more psychedelic trap approach instrumentally so he can get in his gangsta rap bag. “Insane (For Your Love)” swaps out the psychedelia in favor of pop rap elements expressing how obsessed he is with a woman he’s in love with leading into “i like her” talking about his girl chiefing blunts & the beat reminds me of KiD CuDi’s early material at points.

As for “take u there”, we have tana over a druggier instrumentally explaining that he likes to count up his bread & mind his own business just before “pray for my mama” talks about making sure his people are good where they’re rising. “Everything Will Be Fine” dismisses acting right since he credits his selfishness to being the main reason he became wealthy while “control” provides words of encouragement, telling the audience he believes in them.

“nsfw (the prelude)” kicks off the 2nd leg of Me on some 808s & Heartbreak vibes singing about being from the future while “again” returns to a trap sound dissing 9 Vicious & admitting that his days have been getting somewhat darker. “laptopnotebook” mixes some hi-hats with sampling techniques talking about not needing anything else other than those 2 specific items while “PMD” details being in love with the way she sits on his ambition.

Cardo gets behind the boards for the song “show it off” talking about wanting to link up with his shawty because he finds their relationship to be nothing short of gorgeous while “dear jodie” produced by Zodiac of Vanguard Music Group pens an open letter to a woman he knew wanting her to know that he’s a changed man. The outro “philly” spends Me’s final minutes talking about coming to fuck shit up & arriving to the function throwing bands.

Despite being happy for tana no longer being held back by a major label, I wouldn’t put Me above Bana or even Gaultier although I’m adamant of him putting something out of that caliber regardless of whether he signs somewhere else or not. The cloudy yet poppy trap production could’ve been better especially during the 2nd half of it other than a few occasional highlights & would’ve loved a guest appearance or 2.

Score: 3/5

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The Alchemist – “Liquid Form” review

New surprise EP & the 13th overall from Beverly Hills producer, DJ & rapper The Alchemist. Beginning as 1/2 of the duo The Whooliganz in 1993 with Scott Caan, they would only disband a year later after recording a debut album that eventually got shelved & Scott went onto acting like his father. Mudfoot on other end quickly established himself as one of the greatest producers in hip hop history with a resume including ranging names from Mobb Deep & Eminem to Travis Scott & even Drake. The Genuine Articulate found himself rapping more & he’s returning behind the boards once again to drop Liquid Form in celebration of the New York Knicks winning the NBA Finals.

“Gutter Pain” by Kool G Rap begins with a boom bap intro telling hood stories others aren’t his parts weren’t able to whereas “Beat Like a Key” by 2 Chainz maintains the dustiness talking about blowing shit down right when he pulls up. “Streets Don’t Change” by Conway the Machine kicks off the 2nd half on some more dark boom bap shit & Con explaining that the streets will always be the same, but “On the Spectrum” by Boldy James gives us a prelude of an upcoming Boldy LP produced by Uncle Al himself.

This has been a long time coming for the Knicks since their last championship was over half a century ago, so I completely understand why The Alchemist said “fuck it” & hit us with a 4-pack returning behind the boards in preparation of the upcoming self-titled debuts from the Forensics and Abi & Alan. Rather than continuing the abstractly drumless vibes The Genuine Articulate went for, the guests comprised of individually established veterans depict the life of gangstas & there are significantly more drums.

Score: 4/5

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che – “Empty Clip” review

The 2nd surprise EP of 2026 & the 6th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist che. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it, it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 & followed it up in the form of X or the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions a few summers ago. Crueger that same Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & sayso says was an acclaimed rage debut of it’s own, coming off the beloved Rest in Bass & Fully Loaded to unload an Empty Clip.

The self-produced “Like Lil Mexico” starts us off with a bassy instrumental talking about being tatted whereas “Tuesday” produced by CXO samples “I Don’t Sell Molly No More” by iLoveMakonnen to discuss women & drugs. “DMX” turns up the bass so he can pull out his Mr. Krabs voice & after “O.G. Ginobili” talks about knowing he’d play with guns since he was a kid, “Los Santos” runs it back with CXO for a rage-inducing outro.

Continuing to tease his upcoming 3rd studio LP set to drop sometime before the end of the year, this most recent extended play of che’s could likely be my favorite of the 2 that we’ve gotten from him within these last few months. Empty Clip’s production is predominantly hypertrap-oriented although there are some secondary influences of trap metal & experimental hip hop, basically refining what he was trying to do at the beginning of the spring in time for summer.

Score: 4/5

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Chlöe – “Resurrection” review

Atlanta, Georgia singer/songwriter, producer & actress Chlöe enlisting Norfolk, Virginia producer Timbaland to handle all of her debut solo mixtape’s production. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo Chlöe x Halle with Halle Bailey, they introduced themselves in 2018 when Beyoncé signed them to Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records for their decent full-length debut The Kids Are Alright. The sophomore effort Ungodly Hour in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns would prove to be their most acclaimed body of work yet but coming off In Pieces & Trouble in Paradise, I went into Resurrection hoping Timbo wouldn’t be using any AI on it.

“Talking Dirty” begins with a sultry R&B intro singing about her lustful intentions whereas “Hold It” gives off a catchier vibe altogether from the instrumental to the lyrics of being drawn into someone. “Priorities” shifts towards an alternative R&B direction stylistically airing out the people who think she’s breakable for misunderstanding her leading into “World on Fire” singing about feeling safe with her partner even if the globe’s in turmoil.

Meanwhile on “Caught”, we have Chlöe over a seductive R&B beat realizing that maybe you lose ’em how you get ’em just before “Sensitive” lusciously addresses an ex-boyfriend telling him to move on already. “Better Than She Can” leans towards a dance-pop direction trying to convince a guy to leave his current girlfriend for her to reach the halfway point while “On Your Own” slows down the pace singing about her keeping a close eye out for a specific individual.

“Believer” feels like a throwback to Timbo’s early 2000s output admitting that she didn’t mean to come off too strong while “Main Attraction” sings about wanting to get sexually active. “Mama’s Boy” sends shots a cornball whining to his mother of her being the problem in their relationship & after “Belong to You” confronts her soulmate telling him that they were meant for each other, “Jittery” ends Resurrection taking accountability for the way things panned out.

Considering that Timbaland’s recent production placements on Conway the Machine’s 5th album You Can’t Kill God with Bullets & more recently Juvenile’s 12th album Boiling Point didn’t really warrant a lot of criticism out of me, I’m happy to say that he keeps that same energy throughout the greatest achievement in Chlöe’s solo career providing her a consistently tasteful batch of R&B production & holding off on having any guest appearances compared to both of her previous LPs.

Score: 4/5

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