Nettspend – “him” review

Richmond, Virginia rapper & songwriter Nettspend surprise-releasing his 2nd mixtape on his SoundCloud. Blowing up in 2023 off his debut EP Kickdoor, he would also team up with Hooligan Lou for the poorly received collab EP 3rd Knock preceding him signing to Grade A Productions & Interscope Records a few months afterwards. His debut mixtape Badass Fucking Kid was welcomed to divisive feedback although I personally enjoyed it more than Kickdoor or Nettgenes’ eponymous debut EP. Coming off the introspective Early Life Crisis a couple months ago, him looks to prepare us for the next era.

“kriss kross” opens up with him talking about not having any friends & for his sidekick to slide back over a rage beat whereas “sumthin’ different” describes him taking 10s all day to the point where he feels like he’s spinnin’. “medicine taste like shit” produced by che sticks out amongst my personal favorites on the tape detailing his dislike of fentanyl & cocaine until “strong” samples “hey, hello” encouraging this person to take hard-hitting drugs with him over yet another hypertrap instrumental.

We get a cross between plugg & cloud rap on “bliss” suggesting the problem between him & this woman was him waking up & asking her which drugs he should take prior to “change on me” bringing the rage beats back into the picture talking about having the ability to steal hoes before becoming famous. “goin’ dumb” embraces a more prominent digicore sound discussing all the hoes knowing exactly how hard he’s been going while “team x” shifts towards a pluggier direction again getting on his gangsta shit.

“high off life” contains one of my favorite hypertrap instrumentals on the tape courtesy of gyro advising for this individual to never hit up his line again going forward & if I had to pick a least favorite track, “breesh breesh” takes the cake talking about having guns & drugs inside his bag. “$ MF” blends cloud rap & plugg again moderately flexing his cash flow while “H.Y.W.D.S. (How You Wanna Do Shit)?” goes full Chicago drill to talk about having no time for the power.

The rage lets itself loose once more during “young ho” detailing him being at the point in his life where he’s used to hearing gunfire & what he refers himself to be instead of an O.G. while the Early Life Crisis outtake “pocket bag” incorporates some jerk undertones confessing that he isn’t playing for keeps. “killin’” emphasizes the jerk influences with a bit of a plugg twist talking about being a real villain while “sallys” cooks up another outstanding hypertrap instrumental from CXO shouting out the place he dyes his hair.

“problems” spends almost a couple minutes colliding cloud rap cautioning for everyone near him not to test your luck since he has the ability to leave muhfuckas dead but after ”Snapchat” swaps out the cloudier elements in favor of standard trap music talking about women sending him nudes through the social media app itself, “sonder” experiments with mixing characteristics of emo rap & jerk asking if the chick he’s addressing meant what she said.

The last 3 songs all have their own rage-inducing auras to them, except “10k ona dogg” talks about his savagery & making out of the rap shit off the rap shit itself while “beep beep” calls out the crowd of individuals who stay envious of him experiencing the lifestyles of the rich & famous from his Range Rover to his fit. “shootin’” finishes him by posing the question of why things have gotten worse for him in the midst of trying to find a way out of this dead end while “fuck tsa” starts the deluxe run dissing the TSA over a jerk beat.

“mona lisa” talks about having bitches who’re works of art the way he see thems & money making their worlds spin while “u not a demon” calls back to both “plan b” & “paris hilton” off the last album. “forever never” might be my favorite bonus track of them all talking about his plans of replacing everything that’s was built & ironically, the weakest of the bunch “maybach” reserve my least favorite for last bulletproofing his luxury car in case he runs into some haters.

Wasn’t anticipating Nettspend to drop again so soon, but I suppose it makes up for the delays Early Life Crisis faced taking a couple leftovers from those sessions & throwing some unreleased material in there ahead of his upcoming sophomore effort Slut vindicating why he’s been him. I’d even put him above 2slimey when it comes to that experimental rage style & there’s more variety between jerk, trap, cloud rap, plugg, digicore, Chicago drill & emo rap than the hardcore/pop raps of his debut.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Edward Skeletrix – “Body of Work” review

This is the sophomore effort from Atlanta, Georgia rapper, producer, clothing designer, graphic artist & creative director Edward Skeletrix. Coming up during my high school years under the original moniker cight, he would go on to make his full-length near the end of 2023 with Skeletrix Language followed by The Perfect Background Music for Any Situation & the 2-disc Museum Music mixtapes last year. But after several months of delays, his newest Body of Work finally dropped & hopefully it won’t be his last.

“Everyone & Everything” made for a decent electronic/experimental hip hop intro talking about the masses wanting to listen to clones of each other whereas “Turn Off the Lights” blends cloud rap, wave, rage, Chicago drill, witch house & plugg yearning for his lover to let him see her body. The self-produced “정말많이정들었어요! Im So Attached” sung in Korean explores psychedelic folk, folktronica & bossa nova while the ambient plugg-infused “Ariana, Bella Hadid” talks about trying to get the bag.

We have Edward sampling “Lovefool” by The Cardigans and “Wet” by Mowalola & Deto Black during “Art’s Sucking the Life Out of Me Ok” prior to experimental hip hop, sound collage, industrial hip hop & wave music colliding for “House Party” so he can talk about wetting up the home of this person he has beef with. “Slavery” comes through with an art pop/experimental hip hop fusion including additional elements of alternative R&B & classic crossover venting his frustrations with label drama.

“Pain & Torture” after the heavenly “Art’s Sucking the Life Out of Me 6” intermission brings the ambient plugg vibes back in full gear talking about his inability of expressing his emotions properly while “Art’s Sucking the Life Out Of Me” takes a moment to discuss his views on religion. “Conference” has this experimental ambient plugg flare to it talking about needing more motivation to continue his musical career while “Let’s Take a Break From the Negativity” protects his energy.

North West gets a song of her on with “Let’s Have Some Fun” playfully looking to turn up over an ambient house, outsider house, hip house, hardstyle, lo-fi house, deconstructed club & experimental hip hop instrumental prior to “Art’s Sucking the Life Out Of Me..” ending the 1st half on a compositional note. “Love Me Not!” however kicks off the 2nd half shifting towards an experimentally & impressionistically ambient vibe admitting that he’s a fucked up guy himself.

“Guest List” after the “Art’s Sucking the Life Out of Me!” skit details his own likings for women over a beat mixing elements of ambient plugg, experimental hip hop, sound collage & neoclassical darkwave while the ambient “Art’s Sucking the Life Out of Me Wow” talks about him feeling like he’s drowning. “Luxury Delusions Aéronef” cloudily opens up regarding his experiences of being schizophrenic & after the “Art’s Sucking the Life Out of Me Fr” interlude, “Back Back” featuring Slime Dollaz decently gets on some gangsta shit topically.

After instrumentally repurposing the late XXXTENTACION loosie “elegant”, the song “Never Feel Again” continues to talk about his dwindling passion for music while “Mercay” discusses his relationship within the industry altogether. “Chaos in the Order” collides experimental hip hop, ambient, art pop, progressive electronic, spoken word & utopian virtual for a repetitive statement about his boundary-pushing music while “1 More Song Til I’m Famous” optimistically believing he’ll get more exposure if he drops anything going forward.

Putting the beef with his former mentee Brennan Jones to the side, Edward Skeletrix has always proven himself to be the most musically gifted of the 2 & Body of Work proves it by surpassing his debut. The experimental hip hop production amalgamates an eclectic number of sounds including electronic music, experimental music, ambient plugg, cloud rap, ambient, art pop, sound collage, epic collage, glitch pop, wave, rage, Chicago drill, witch house, plugg, psychedelic folk, folktronica, bossa nova, alternative R&B, classic crossover, neoclassical darkwave, ambient house, outsider house, hip house, hardstyle, lo-fi house, deconstructed club & progressive electronic to describe his love for the game fading.

Score: 4.5/5

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

Razakel – “The Possession of Razakel” review

I believe this is the 5th extended play from San Antonio, Texas rapper & Shrunken Head Entertainment founder Razakel. Known for being 1/3 of the Slice Girls as well as the Dead Girlz & 3FRMHELL in addition to her formerly comprising 1/2 of the Serpentines, she also has over a dozen solo albums under her belt along with her last 4 extended plays. She had a song on her most recent full-length Surprise, Surprise! last fall that was produced by Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm and that has now led us to The Possession of Razakel.

“Sum1 Like U” begins with this industrial boom bap intro lyrically talking about figuring out the kind of people who’re fake & live always wishing for those specific types of individuals whereas “Funeral” further embraces an industrial vibe instrumentally, advising for the crowd who’re against her to begin planning their own memorials in advance & lacking any mercy. “Slasher” on the other hand ends the EP fusing horrorcore lyricism with EDM instrumentation.

Come to think of it: Pretty much everyone on the current Dirtcore roster has already put out new music on the label over the course of these past 4 years, so I can get on board with Crossworm’s idea of reaching out to other artists in the underground & do a brief takeover of sorts. Mainly because I firmly believe people will consider The Possession of Razakel to be some of greatest material she’s recorded in whole career, sharpening her pen for 10 minutes over a small handful of industrial hip hop beats.

Score: 4/5

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

Farma G – “Nearly Nothing’s Enough” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Farma G enlisting Brighton, East Sussex producer Relense to solely produce his sophomore effort. Known for being a member of the Mud Family collective & 1/2 of the Task Force alongside his brother Chester P, he would go on to produce for several big names within the underground from Rome Streetz to Vinnie Paz & the latter’s Heavy Metal Kings cohort Ill Bill. Signing to High Focus Records a few years ago, How to Kill a Butterfly was a solid beginning of this new chapter in his career & the chances of Nearly Nothing’s Enough outdoing it were very likely given some of the teasers.

“‘Till I’m Gone” begins with a boom bap-tinged 3rd & final single celebrating his journey so far whereas “Ya Dead Now” talks about the trials & tribulations of a nomad being on the line. “Mr. Moany” portrays himself to be an depressed individual who can’t see to leave his own home due to the messiness of his life while the lead single “Makes Me Wanna…” makes some commentary on the state of the scene in an age of overinflated egos & social media clap trap.

Meanwhile on “Peace Pipes”, we have Farma talking about law enforcement officers who abuse their power just before “The Circus” works on a vocal sample so he can ask himself if anyone in this game has balls. “Punch Up” demands for everyone to give him everything they have or put their heads on the chopping blocks while “Matters of the Heart” talks about having the process of mending heartbreak lasting our whole lifetime.

“X-Files” kicks off the 4th quarter of Nearly Nothing’s Enough taking a more conspiratorial approach to his songwriting while “Psycho with a Lexicon” talks about analyzing murder scenes in order to identify the victims. The 2nd single “Sun Wukong” stunningly brings the anciently supernatural Monkey King from Journey to the West to life & the outro “Never Be the Same” finished the album talking about things constantly changing throughout our existence.

I can still picture Farma G making a full-length where he’s handling all the beats by himself with a few guests, but Nearly Nothing’s Enough will suffice as the greatest entry of his solo discography for now. Relense’s gritty analog production is a cut above How to Kill a Butterfly’s, soundtracking the venom & introspection that fuels a great deal of Farma’s wide range of topics taking him back to a corner where he once sat & studied the world as it passed him by.

Score: 4.5/5

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

Grafh – “Sometimes Money Cost Too Much” review

Here is a brand new LP & the 5th overall from Queens, New York emcee Grafh. Emerging over 2 decades ago off his debut mixtape The Bang Out, he went on to release 7 more tapes before dropping his full-length debut Autografh only a few years later continuing that with a total of 10 mixtapes & an EP. The sophomore effort Stop Calling Art Content produced entirely by the late DJ Shay & released through Benny the Butcher’s very own MNRK Music Group imprint Black Soprano Family Records as well as his TCF Music Group debut Art of Words would become his most acclaimed material to date, coming off God’s Timing to explain how Sometimes Money Cost Too Much.

“Word Up Son” represents his home borough over a horn instrumental produced by 38 Spesh to open up shop whereas “Squeeze 1st” featuring Benny the Butcher finds the 2 talking about asking questions after initially firing shots over a bloodcurdling boom bap beat from Mike & Keys. “Outside” featuring Mitchy Slick & Styles P brings the trio together so they can let everyone know they’re still out in the streets leading into “Documented” talking about everything with him being kept on record.

Tech N9ne appears on “Suicide” explaining that crossing either one of them will result in the death of those doing the backstabbing while “Better with Time” featuring Bun B goes for a cloudy trap vibe instrumentally talking about improving as they get older. “Big League” featuring Joyner Lucas was one of the weaker singles teased fusing rock & trap to speak of being in the majors when Grafh’s the better lyricist of the 2 until “Brick by Brick” decently continues talking about the gangsta lifestyle.

“Rollin’” featuring Don Paul & Dope Gang Porter experiments with a more nervous sound encouraging the listeners to look at him & his squad now while “Twin” incorporates a sped-up soul sample to get more romantic on the lyrical side of things. “Lil Vybe” was another single that I wasn’t head over heels for continuing the sensual subject matter over a cloudier beat while “Some Wounds Never Heal” finishes with a drumless outro where we get hit with gut-wrenching introspection.

The last 3 albums we’ve gotten from Grafh within almost 5 years have been some of the most important material in his entire 2-decade career & that alone has raised my anticipation for Sometimes Money Cost Too Much. However since it’s finally out following some delays within the past couple months, I’m a little torn by it although there are certainly more highs than lows. He does his thing on the mic as do a great deal of the guests, but some the production left me underwhelmed & the 2nd half feels weaker than the 1st.

Score: 3/5

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

Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa – “Roofless Records for Drop Tops” review

Brand new 2-disc collaborative mixtape & their 3rd together overall from New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y as well as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa. Proving themselves to be hip hop’s Cheech & Chong of the late 2000s when the Jet Life Recordings & Taylor Gang Entertainment founders dropped their How Fly mixtape, they would return a decade later for the 2009 album & are back again 7 years later to have Cardo & Harry Fraud respectively produce each side of Roofless Records for Drop Tops by themselves.

“Close Your Eyes” was a psychedelically cloudy intro talking about getting it because they’re going the hardest until the wheels fall off whereas “Jet Life Taylor” represents each of their respective crews over a calmly nocturnal beat. “So Many Flavors” kinda has this smooth west coast vibe instrumentally talking about having several different strains of weed leading into “Stoned & Leave” going for a pop rap direction wanting their partners to pull up to get high.

Cardo makes a turn for cloudy trap territory during “Bounce Back” so Spitta & Wiz can talk about feeling down bad sometimes & coming back from it by catching more Ws prior to “How Could I Lose?” suggesting that others are right when they say both artists are running the game. “The Same One” has a more subdued tone to the beat telling their lovers they can’t be at their houses unless there are no neighbors while “Live Fast Burn Slow” explains the way the game goes.

“Ashes Out the Window” experiments with somewhat of a pluggier sound calling for everyone moving slow to pick up the pace while “Rrari Twins” ends the 1st leg flexing their Ferraris & meaning big business whenever they pull up to the spot. “Pink Panther” gets the 2nd half going over a jazzily drumless loop taking a more sensual approach to their songwriting while “The Coin Toss” express a desire of making their families rich by the end of the summer.

We have the jazz rap influences making their back in the spotlight on “🍾🍾🍾” talking about smoking wherever they go & hosting meetings chillin’ inside of yachts but after “Smoke N’ Pray” combines some keys with more hi-hats to detail the complications that come with their boss statuses as well as wakin’ up early being an obligation, “Long as You Live” expresses the way they feel over a predominant woodwind instrumental talking about how touching $1M doesn’t mean shit to them.

“Storm Shadow & Snake Eyes” winds down the last 7 & a half minutes of Roofless Records for Drop Tops incorporating this bluesy guitar to discuss riding around their sports cars stoned as fuck & commending those who’re actually wise enough to stay out of their way while “z28” luxuriously talks about shit being far from sweet out in their hoods & people knowing your whip before your name because the game’s dirty like that. As for the final song “Palm Island”, it cloudily ends the mixtape boasting their expensive habits 1 last time.

Similarly to Jay Worthy’s debut album Once Upon a Time last fall, I choose to wait until both sides of Roofless Records for Drop Tops were officially released so that way I could cover the whole tape start-to-finish & I’m happy I did considering the mixed reception Disc 1 generally got at the end of the month will likely be reevaluated now that the other half’s here. It could potentially become amongst Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa’s greatest material as a duo since I’m at it, trading verses depicting their stoner rap escapades over Cardo & Harry Fraud production varying from trap to drumless & jazz rap.

Score: 4.5/5

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

Rafa – “Good Girls Don’t Exist 2” review

New surprise mixtape & the 3rd overall from Detroit, Michigan rapper Rafa. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, he would also begin a solo career of his own starting on Thanksgiving 2020 with his debut EP Not for Household Use & followed it up earlier this year in the form his debut tape Dog$hit & Ammunition. His eponymous mixtape was a pivotal point in his career & Good Girls Don’t Exist was a superior EP, coming off R.A.F.A. (Rockstars Are Fucking Awesome) as well as Madman & Lil Dogshit to drop Good Girls Don’t Exist 2.

“Toxic Lovers 4L” opens up with a pluggy intro talking about being a poisonous coupling until the end whereas “Love the Way” atmospherically boasts that this female’s ex is mad because of him stealing her. “The Game” continues the cloudy vibes talking about treating this shit like it’s a monopoly & people biting him while “All In” asks why some waited for him to reach the top to fuck with him.

Moving on from there, “Get Rich or Die Trying” has this peaceful trap instrumental with a guitar talking about his primary mission while “No Rules” produced by WTM Niketech admits that he’s been feeling someone out of place recently. “RAFA vs. RAFA” hops over a distorted beat to talk about scooping up a chick from Texas just before “Tell Me Lies” discusses him putting his whole life on the line for his music career to take off.

“Broke Bitch K / Seasick” comes through with a 2-parter that has a cloudy beginning & a pluggier 2nd half talking about not being the same ever since he lost a homie of a his until taking another shot at those who’re trying to ride off his coattails but after “Overlyyy” flows over a LulRose instrumental talking about never going back to his old life again, “Everyday is Valentine” incorporates some 808s promising to show his partner the world.

The song “Stuck in the Past” cloudily talks about taking his own path & not going anywhere since he’s constantly in the studio while “Ball Player” psychedelically observes the way some of these artists switch up on each other a lot similarly to NBA players who wind up being apart of several teams in the league. “Not Mad” however spends Good Girls Don’t Exist 2’s final 2 & a half minutes melodically talking about his love no longer being angry at him for always traveling.

Originally teased 7 months ago literally days preceding Lil Dogshit’s release, Good Girls Don’t Exist 2 revisits everything that made it’s predecessor so special a couple years ago from the plugg/cloud rap production to Rafa’s lyrics continuing to further explain the belief he initially expressed regarding there being no such thing as faithful women & pulls it off in a manner that I would consider to be superior to it’s predecessor along with the most I’ve enjoyed something from him since R.A.F.A. (Rockstars Are Fucking Awesome).

Score: 4.5/5

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

Sonnyjim – “Rob Ford” review

2nd extended play of 2026 & the 19th overall from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sonnyjim. Making his debut in the summer of 2011 with The Psychonaut, he would go on to drop 8 more albums as well as his last 18 EPs & a mixtape. Most notably the No Vi$ible Means of Income trilogy produced by Giallo Point, the Buckwild-produced Coke Le Roc, the Illinformed-produced The Chemistry Must Be Respected, the Leaf Dog-produced How to Tame Lions, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Money Green Leather Sofa, White Girl Wasted and finally the Lee Scott-produced Ortolan & Armagnac. Coming off the Sumgii-produced Chinatown Chicken Tour a couple months ago, he’s reuniting with Lee for Rob Ford.

“Tuscan Pleather” starts by talking about his phenom status whereas the only single “Krayzie, Layzie, Flesh, Wish-N-Bizzy” featuring Shyheim gives Bone Thugs-n-Harmony their flowers. “Lump Sum” featuring Jehst & King Grubb references 2-time 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 while “BOGOF” talks about being literature practitioner.

As Serious as Your Life 2 last month ago felt a lot more like a single with a b-side than an actual EP, so I was grateful to see that Rob Ford was somewhat longer. And despite not putting it in the same conversations like I would Chinatown Chicken or Ortolan & Armagnac, I’m sure a great deal of the fans who enjoyed the latter will still come away from this satisfied considering how well it recaptures the chemistry between Lee Scott’s production & Sonnyjim’s distinctive lyrical style.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Kehlani – Self-Titled review

Kehlani is a 31 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from Oakland, California who introduced themself in 2014 off their debut extended play Cloud 19 followed by the debut mixtape You Should Be Here during my senior year of high school. They would later make their full-length debut SweetSexySavage under Atlantic Records & later appeared on RƎVIVAL, which is universally accepted as the shittiest thing Eminem’s ever made. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Blue Water Road, the While We Wait series & Crash were all moderately received too & it seemed like their eponymous 5th LP might change that.

After the intro, the opener “Anotha Luva” featuring Lil Wayne begins with both of them talking about not wanting to love anyone else than those they’re currently with whereas “No Such Thing” featuring Clipse samples “Runnin’” by The Pharcyde to let their soulmates know how special they are to each of them. “Folded” made for a great contemporary R&B/smooth neo-soul single singing about the end of a relationship while “I Need You” featuring Brandy produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis surprisingly details the aftermath of a breakup.

“Oooh” moves on from there singing about nothing mattering when they & their romantic interest start fucking with the windows open while “Back & Forth”fuses contemporary R&B & pop rap although the interpolation of a song R. Kelly did of the same name with the late Aaliyah was ok. “Shoulda Never” featuring Usher links up over a Babyface instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced for a duet about wasting each other’s time until “You Got It” describes their partner as heaven sent.

Hip hop soul & contemporary R&B collide on the 2nd single “Out the Window” revisiting the themes of “Folded” pleading for their ex-girlfriend not to throw everything they had away while “Still” gets over a DJ Camper beat to sing about this person they’re addressing eventually apologizing for losing them. “Call Me Back” featuring T-Pain joins forces depicting a couple trying to contact each other cellularly while “Pocket” featuring Cardi B talks about needing someone to lift up them up.

“Lights On” featuring Big Sean goes for a smoother R&B/pop rap vibe thanks to both Jermaine Dupri & Allen Ritter getting sexual topically while “Sweet Nuthins” featuring Leon Thomas III continues the themes of lust together, wanting nothing but to make sweet love. “Cruise Control” sends a message to a partner who’s trying to go a bit too fast in a new relationship & “Unlearn” ends with them singing about the difficulty of loving an individual who’s still healing.

A lot of Kehlani’s previous output to come out in the past decade are average at best but looking at the list of guests appearing on their eponymous album, it’s an improvement above everything she’s done previously although there have been other full-lengths in the R&B genre in 2026 that’re significantly better. The production furthermore takes secondary influences from the hip hop soul, neo-soul & pop rap styles to provide a sweet glimpse of their artistic evolution.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Billy Danze – “The Answer” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Billy Danze dropping his highly anticipated sophomore effort. Known for being 1/2 of M.O.P alongside Lil’ Fame, he would put out a 6 Pack in 2019 & following it up with the full-length solo debut The Listening Session entirely produced by TooBusy & his 2nd extended play Top 5 respectively. All of which were moderately received, but each had songs that I appreciate. He’s been teasing The Answer for a couple years already & it’s finally arrived fresh off a handful of singles.

After the intro, the soulful title track sets it all off talking about showing y’all how to move when catching Ws whereas “Got Time” featuring Jadakiss finds the 2 teaming up to explain that they’re ready to give us what we need. “Brooklyn Confidential” goes for a luxurious trap vibe instrumentally talking representing what Gang Starr referred to as “The Planet” while “Let It Be” featuring B-Real shows off both of their O.G. statuses.

“Gotham 2” featuring Ghostface Killah links up for an ode to all the real believers of their home state just before “Beginnings” featuring Busta Rhymes talks about nothing changing with either of them other than the vision. “Blessing & Prayers” ends the 1st half explaining that things would be easier for people if they believed in themselves while “What If” featuring Conway the Machine passionately brings both of them to talk about their own individual family members who they obviously cherish.

Pharoahe Monch & Styles P both appear on the gospel-influenced “For You” passionately boasting that you can’t find anyone who’s lyrically better than either of them while “Hope” featuring Evidence soulfully dismisses the false narrative that hip hop’s dead when that correctly couldn’t be any further from the truth. I applaud the concept of “Maverick” featuring Inspectah Deck for talking about both of them showing independent thoughts & actions while “The Fix” makes it know that he’s done with the cookie cutter bullshit.

“In Case You Forgot” reunites M.O.P to wind down The Answer’s final moments responding to all the dumbasses who think they’ve broken up when by confirming that they’re still very much still friends to this very day & that not ever changing but once “Win or Lose” featuring Redman talks about putting in the work until the wheels fall off, “No Losses” finishes up the LP coming to the realization of there being no love lost when it didn’t even exist since the beginning.

It’s been said that Fizzy Womack’s long-awaited solo debut Walk of Fame is close to being done after being teased in 2018, so I completely understand why Billy Danze ran it back with TooBusy on The Answer in preparation for it & hopefully an M.O.P album entirely produced by DJ Premier now that he did Light-Years with Nas last winter. The guests all feel unparalleled to Billy’s mature subject matter & most importantly, I’d consider the production to be an improvement above it’s predecessor.

Score: 4/5

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