Teknology – Self-Titled review

Teknology is an east coast hip hop duo consisting of Tek & Termanology. One of whom hails from Brooklyn, New York & the other coming straight outta Boston, Massachusetts. Collaborating with each other multiple times over the years from tracks like “Walk with Me” to “Nobody” & “T2”, they’re coming off an appearance on UFO Fev’s 8th album Strapped from this summer to deliver a full-length debut of their own to start 2024’s final month.

After the intro, the title track produced by Statik Selektah sets the tone of what’s to come with a boom bap cut introducing us to both underground veterans as an official unit whereas “Hustler’s Soul” featuring Freeway groovily talks about the hustler mindset they have. “Money Deposits” featuring Ea$y Money works in more kicks & snares from Cartune Beatz advising to put your hands up just before “The Connect” featuring Bun B, Lil’ Keke & Paul Wall dabbles with trap for a homage to the south.

“I Got What You Need” featuring UFO Fev & Wais P atmospherically calls out those who don’t really want smoke when they be fakin’ it for the bullshit they be pullin’ leading into “She’s Got a Thing for Me” featuring 5 Mics shows off a more sensual side to all 3 performers & even the Statik beat gives off a laidback approach. “Boom Bap or Die” featuring Flash is Hip Hop pays homage to the titular sound that Nottz whips up, but then “The Sun Will Shine” featuring Steele warns the convo ain’t happening if money ain’t involved.

Meanwhile on “The Game Ain’t the Same”, we have Teknology atmospherically talking about the fact shit done changed while “What They Want” morbidly asks these bitches what exactly they want from them. “Toe to Toe” goes jazz rap & delivers well-articulated hardcore lyricism while “No Stoppin’” talks about them not slowing down over a Dom Dirtee instrumental. “Been Around” featuring UFO Fev ends it all by reaffirming their legacy on top of a Sndtrak instrumental.

Soon as I first heard “UFO Teknology” off Strapped during the summer, I knew that both of east coast MCs would eventually come together for an official body of work sooner rather than later & they sure did deliver on it. The production’s consistent, the guests all match the duo’s energy & they elevate their chemistry even further outstandingly bouncing off of each other’s intensities.

Score: 4/5

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Siete7x – “Stucc in the Hole” review

This is the 2nd mixtape from Compton, California up-&-comer Siete7x. Breaking out in 2019 off his debut mixtape Ccut from a Blue Cloth in the summer & later the full-length debut Compton Soul Child that same winter, he returned last fall off the sophomore effort Long Live My Therapy & recently had a verse on “dodger blue” off Kendrick Lamar’s latest album GNX couple weeks ago. Keeping that same energy, he’s striking while the iron’s hot on Stucc in the Hole.

After the “3704” intro, the first song “Make It Out” starts the mixtape by hopping over a solemn trap instrumental to discuss making it out of the trenches whereas “Feelin’ Me” featuring Bino Rideaux” takes the synth-trap instrumental talking about letting him pick his girl’s brain. “Trynna Make Away” has a bit of a cloudy trap edge as he addresses needing a way just before “Dive In” featuring Kalan.FrFr produced by Blxst fuses pop rap & trap in an enjoyable fashion.

“Make It Right” brings an acoustic trap flare to the table as he does whatever he can to make it up to this woman that he’s been seeing leading into “Anybody” featuring Sietegang Yabbie talking about both of them not simply being any other dudes out here. “Tell Me What You Know” brings back a stripped-back trap vibe wanting this chick to come clean with him regarding everything she knows, but then “Keep Going” featuring Kalan.FrFr playfully talks about the checks being nonstop.

Lil Bean & Siete team up on “Auntie Baby” warns not to trust any of these lames out here since they stay cappin’ in their music while “Only 1” featuring Lefty Gunplay shows ‘em somethin’ when the beef cracks off. “Up Late” featuring AD finds them tryna touch $1M while “All My Life” featuring Wallie the Sensei talks those envying them because of the cash flow. “Who Can I?” featuring RJmrLA gets on more of a raunchier tip topically & “Real True Story” admitting it’s been hard for him to focus for a couple minutes.

Siete7x’s sophomore tape here comes off the biggest guest appearance of his career applying further pressure out in the streets of Compton telling his story along with hoping to become a leader in his community & uplift the youth. I very much appreciate the entire concept of everyone involved trying to make it out of the hole they’re stuck in, except the features take up roughly half of it with their performances being either hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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Rich Amiri – “War Ready” review

Boston, Massachusetts up-&-comer Rich Amiri returning for the final month of 2024 with his 3rd full-length studio album. Beginning to turn heads since the fall of 2021 off the strength of his debut EP Ethereal, the 4ersona member would go on to follow it up with 6 more EPs before signing to Internet Money Records & introducing himself to a wider audience on the aptly titled Evolution followed by the sophomore effort Ghetto Fabulous. He landed a spot in this year’s XXL Freshman Class over the summer & is now War Ready roughly 6 months later.

“Amiri Trendsetter” featuring OsamaSon finds the pair kickin’ things off with this psychedelic trap instrumental from Noah Mejia talkin’ about people bitin’ their styles & that life can’t be any better in 2025 whereas “Oh Myy” has a bit of a rage influence living life as if it’s a movie. “Don’t Make Me” hazily suggests that he can show y’all how to move & finesse thanks to Internet Money in-house producer Synthetic & venny just before “U Want That?” flexes that he’s at Maggianos with a baddie over a siren & hi-hats courtesy of Rio Leyva.

OsamaSon & Amiri link back up on the futuristic trap joint “I’m wit It” explaining that shit’s getting gnarly in addition to showing off their new sticks & everyone else’s glitching while “Touché” works in a hypertrap beat talking about bitches tryna fuck him for his paper being outta their minds. “Count My Bandz” with co-production from Taz Taylor triumphantly clarifies that the world don’t owe you shit, but then the hypnotic “That’s It” boasts his lifestyle.

“Hunchos” ends the first half of War Ready expressing his fear of telling a bitch that he loves her because he’ll feel completely stupid if she ends up cheating on him while “Same Old Me” samples “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” by Tame Impala to talk about those thinkin’ shit’s sweet being goners. “I’m Gone” admits that he doesn’t want to choose violence & he’ll dead any beef if they bring it to him over a rage-inducing instrumental while “Stormi Daniels” likens his girl to the titular pornstar.

Meanwhile on “Keep It Cool”, we have Amiri maintaining the hypertrap vibes saying y’all better keep it cool ’cause shit could get ugly at any point while the carefree “So Easy” talks about having his way. “Gutta Gutta” promises that he won’t ever switch on his Day 1s shell shocking people & leaving them wrapped up while “G23” turns the bass up staying focused off the adderrall.

“U Like?” reaches further towards the backend of War Ready turning the distortion up a bit addressing a mischievous bitch who doesn’t love him at all & actually wants to beef him coming to the apparent realization that he doesn’t think he can save himself anymore while “Day After Day” finishes the LP with a cavernous trap cut knowing he’s been making it look like a breeze as a result of doing it from the very beginning.

Starting the deluxe run with a bang, “Heavy Steps” that Toom of Vanguard Music Group helped laced asks how you saying you have a check when you can’t even afford your rent while the intergalactic trap cut “New Celine” talks about him refusing to cop a plea deal. “Ray Charles” happens to be the final bonus track of the 3, treating a bitch as if she’s the rhythm & blues icon not seeing shit alluding to his blindness when he was still here.

Many have criticized Amiri for having a supposed “lack of authenticity” & he pretty much takes the opportunity to silence those individuals by putting out an album that reinforces why he landed a spot the 2024 XXL Freshman Class nearly 6 months ago. Although he’s been experimenting with his music for a while now, he’s trying out more new sounds on here & it results in his most eclectic offering.

Score: 3.5/5

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C. Ray – “Ray Al Ghul” review

Pasco, Washington emcee, singer/songwriter & producer C. Ray releasing his 5th EP on Bandcamp without any warning. Notable for Twisted Insane signing him to Brainsick Muzik over a decade ago, he would go on to become one of the label’s biggest artists dropping a total of 8 full-length studio albums along with his last 4 EPs & a mixtape in almost 14 years. But with the 2-year anniversary of both Ray Day & Know0n3 approaching this upcoming spring, Ray Al Ghul has finally returned.

“Oblivion” begins with an apocalyptically self-produced instrumental clarifying that he doesn’t even speak without contemplating whereas “N.T.T.S. (No Time to Stop)” brings more of a general trap flare to the beat talking about how he don’t have time for slowing down. “In My Bag” works in some horns & hi-hats making way for him to get in his element for 3 & a half minutes ahead of “Here We Go” making it known not to fuck with him.

Meanwhile on “All That”, we have C. Ray expressing his dislike for everything being all cap over more trap production while “Hold Up” talks about never hanging with heroes & fighting to make it out a deep hole. “Bombay” pulls from reggae for a weed smoking anthem while “Halo” featuring Jag mixes g-funk & trap layin’ low whilst being in the clouds. “Watching” ends the EP with a hardcore boom bap heater reserving some of the hardest bars for last.

Light Born has quickly become my favorite full-length in C. Ray’s discography since he initially put it out a year & a half ago, but Ray Al Ghul maintains that high level of quality revealing itself as his best work since & his finest EP yet. His production pulls from boom bap to trap or even both g-funk & reggae music to lesser extents demonstrating his versatility as a performer with his flows & captivating lyrics.

Score: 4/5

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GT – “Great Timing” review

GT is a 33 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan who got his start at the beginning of 2018 by releasing the debut mixtape Relentless along with both his full-length debut Timeless & the sophomore effort Relentless during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. He would later follow these up with 2 more albums Call Me GT & Motion, his first EP Money Counter Music spawned his own label of the same name & the sequel became the 5th LP in his discography. GT’s previous album Owe It to Myself got mixed reception the summer prior & is returning with a month left in 2024 for his 2nd EP.

“I’m Straight” produced by Pooh Beatz is this cloudy opener assuring everyone he’s been doing good whereas “Get ‘Em Back” works in a rubbery bass-line & pianos talking about being the same despite being stressed. “Stay Low” cautions those coming in your life with bad intentions just before “Money, Power & Respect” stand sour from the Helluva instrumental to the boastful lyricism.

Landstrip Chip joins GT on “The Streets Dead” clarifying that both of them can break down how deep shit can get while “Prayed for It” heads for a sample-driven Detroit trap vibe speaking his dreams into existence & finally being fortunate enough to be in a place where he can finally live them out. “This Life of Sin” featuring Streetlord Juan ends the EP with 1 more Detroit trap cut calling themselves living legends.

Right when you thought that the Detroit trap star wasn’t gonna drop anything in 2024, he came in the game during the 4th quarter & dropped off an 18 minute EP reaching the same caliber as both Money Counter Music offerings along with Timeless in being essential listens for those new to his discography. The features are alright, but the productions sees some notable improvements & GT sounds focused ahead of whatever he’ll do next.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dax – “From a Man’s Perspective” review

This is sophomore full-length studio LP from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada rapper Dax. Working as a janitor before blowing up after dropping the single “YourWorthIt.org” with Hopsin in the summer of 2018, this was followed up with his debut EP It’s Different Now shortly after & the I’ll Say It For You EP under the Strange Music subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment. Pain Paints Pictures was one of the worst debuts of this decade & 3 years later, he’s returning From a Man’s Perspective now that he’s signed to Columbia Records.

The title track starts with a melodramatically cloudy opener talking about wanting to be with this individual for the night whereas the acoustic “Took My Heart Out” whines about not wanting to use his heart anymore & comes off as sappy than genuine. “Place of Peace” works in a guitar & some fingersnaps telling his significant other than he wants to go to her for peace while “A Real Man” talks about what this woman wants not being legitimate.

“Soldier” featuring Tom MacDonald ends the first leg with a tedious far-right propaganda joint which is odd because neither of them are from the United States just before “To Be a Man” takes a laughable shot a county rap & it’s not Darius Rucker’s fault. “Lonely Dirt Road” mixes cloud rap & pop rap escaping to a place where no one knows, but then “You’re the Problem” tries to gaslight his critics saying their dislike for his music comes from a reflection of theirselves.

The penultimate song “Diary of a Man Trying” nears the conclusion of From a Man’s Perspective talking about trying to move on GPSing all his thoughts even if they wind up leading him to places that’ll hurt him & finally, “I Hate That I Love You” ends the album by dissing the mother of his child as if he’s Eminem in the late 90s/early 2000s, who has always been an influence to Dax except that he exemplifies Em’s worst traits to a new level.

From the moment that Falling in Reverse put out Popular Monster this summer up until now, I wasn’t sure if there could be a hip hop album that could match the metalcore offering in terms of being unlistenable & Dax sure enough manages to do it with a month left in the year. The mainly country rap influenced production is tasteless & his subject matter delivered From a Man’s Perspective feels more trite rather than sincere. Tyler, The Creator’s 7th album Chromakopia does a significantly better job of providing introspection than this.

Score: 0/5

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Nettspend – “Badass Fucking Kid” review

Nettspend is a 17 year old rapper & songwriter from Richmond, Virginia notable for being an affiliate of both the Novagang & 1c34 collectives. His debut EP KiCKDOOR was released a year & a half ago to mixed reception, although his subsequent singles have been skyrocketing his popularity in the jerk & lowend subgenres to the point where he landed a record deal with Grade A Productions & Interscope Records for his official debut mixtape with an interesting list of production credits that could make it clear the breakout EP.

“Growing Up” starts the album on some atmospheric trap shit talking about not wanting to grow up although Tyler, The Creator did the concept better on “Parade” off his only mixtape Bastard whereas “Leader” goes for a rage-inducing vibe instrumentally thanks to Kenny Beats & Ok talking about trying new things, which I’m all for. “Project Pat” keeps the hypertrap vibes going paying homage to the titular Hypnotize Camp Posse member & “Tommy” flexes his girl street slimin’.

Moving on from there, “Tyla” maintains the rage beats talking about needing a bitch as lit as the mononymous Queen of Popiano prior to “A$AP” incorporating some pianos & hi-hats making it clear to pull up soon as you can referencing Rocky’s upcoming 4th album Don’t Be Dumb. “Fuck Cancer” talks about being on the run like he’s Foxy Brown & his girl being on the daily grind, but then “Skipping Class” sampling “Genesis” by Grimes cuts straight to the chase that he’s done being bad with this specific person.

“Beach Leak” is another favorite of mine from the drill instrumental from Evilgiane to him likening himself to a Gen Z version of Future while “Shut Up” gets back on the hypertrap tip talking about feeling like it’s a glitch considering how big he is on ‘em & being the shit. “Bird Box” bombastically makes an interesting comparison to the 2018 film that it’s named after while “Drop the Blunt” playfully steadily stays smoking dope.

The song “Perc Soda” begins the encore of Badass Fucking Kid talking about lacing his pop with percocets & he’s the baddest kid of 2024 while the energetic penultimate track “Laughin’” wants to know exactly why these fuckboys be bluffin’ out here. The closer “Say Please” finishes Nettspend’s debut fusing cloud rap & drill talking about how it ain’t his fault he got as much swag as he does.

Announcing his arrival officially, the Virginia up-&-comer hailing from the same city that made Pharrell from the greatest production duo of all-time The Neptunes as told in Piece by Piece a couple months ago showcases his promising future with the production ranging rage to cloud rap, drill & trap in addition to Nettspend giving us a look at who some of his influences are musically.

Score: 3.5/5

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Roy Wood$ – “Rolling Stone” review

Roy Wood$ is a 28 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Brampton, Ontario, Canada whom Drake signed to OVO Sound a decade ago already. He has since gone on to release a total of 3 full-length studio LPs & 3 EPs, with the most notable of the handful being the 2015 debut EP Exis & of course the debut album Walking at Dawn the following winter. Following the sophomore effort Say Less, his output since then has been welcomed to generally mixed to negative responses across the spectrum & I wanted to go into his 4th EP open minded.

“Solo” is this mediocrely melodic trap opening talking about the way this bitch be freakin’ him whereas “She Don’t Care About My Name” feels like a throwback to his earlier stuff from the atmospheric instrumental to the heartbroken lyrics explaining that this particular romantic interest could give a fuck less of getting to know him more. “Rockstar Baby” hooks up some pianos & hi-hats to talk about his new chick being so down while “Outside” hops over a generic trap beat tryna take this woman out of the party.

The song “Hold Still” reaches the starting point of Rolling Stone’s final leg by heading for a cloudy direction instrumentally & laying these thirsty ass lyrics on top of it prior to “Bring It to the Room” hilariously ripping off The Weeknd, who Drake almost signed to OVO & fell out with him after dissing on the We Still Don’t Trust You highlight “All to Myself” this spring. “Nobody Else” featuring 03 Greedo ends the EP talking about a woman who doesn’t want anyone else loving her & Greedo going the hardest.

My opinions on some of the OVO artists’ latest output including Majid Jordan’s 4th album Good People named after the singer/producer duo’s original moniker or Naomi Sharon’s debut album Obsidian & namely PARTYNEXTDOOR’s 4th album PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 haven’t really changed, but Rolling Stone has to be the most underwhelming body of work that the camp has put out in a while. The production is generally subpar & Roy himself sounds like as if he’s uninterested for at least 60% of the time.

Score: 2/5

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Stress Eater – “Everybody Eats!” review

Stress Eater is a newly formed east coast hip hop supergroup consisting of The Bronx, New York emcee/producer Kool Keith alongside Boston, Massachusetts emcee/producer duo 7L & Esoteric. They’ve collaborated with each other plenty of times whether it be “Daisycutta” off the penultimate 7LES album to date A New Dope or multiple CZARFACE projects since, so to hear that they were forming a new trio together & putting out a full-length debut of their own as a way of preluding CZARFACE’s next studio LP was only a matter of time. Only a day after WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff gave CozyMax a record-setting 2nd reign as MLW World Tag Team Champions.

After the “Hunt for CZARFACE” intro, the first song “Rocket Science” is this slowly produced opener that The Czar-Keys laced as always declaring D-Day on all these wack MCs whereas “Here’s Some Homicide” featuring Ice-T takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about stepping in front of a bus being a better option than fuckin’ with ‘em. “Cold Wave” moves on with a 81 second 7L & Esoteric solo cut returning to their battle roots & after the “People Want Sugar” interlude, “Willrow Hood” reunites the trio for a funky lyrical driving courses including a reference to WWE Hall of Famers D-Generation X.

“Top Men of Rap” makes their claim in the titular position referencing current AEW performer & commentator as well as former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight while “Mecha & the Sole Brother” if you couldn’t tell homages Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s iconic debut album Mecca & the Soul Brother. “Genuine Lifestyle” dustily talks about the way they live not being phony, but then “Off the Bones” feels like a passable Czar-Keys instrumental interlude.

“Space Cowboy” returns to the boom bap nearing the conclusion of Everybody Eats! referring to themselves as the sheriffs of this town while the song “Aladdin’s Castle” featuring Mega Ran notable for making the entrance theme of 12-time WWE tag team champions The New Day mixes an organ with kicks & snares making way for a 4-minute nerdcore banger. “Giving Back to the Universe” properly finishes Stress Eater’s debut on a mellow boom bap note coming in as if it’s a Mecha-Godzilla.

Creating a funky full-length adventure, Kool Keith and 7L & Esoteric become a counterpart character that can even give the mighty CZARFACE a run for his money after working together for nearly 2 decade by giving fans a rich blend of what makes both underground acts so special whether it be the block-rocking beats that The Czar-Keys cook up or the bizarre & mind-bending lyricism from both MCs.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lateef the Truthspeaker – “Experimental Slap” review

Oakland, California emcee Lateef the Truthspeaker tapping in with Nick Andre for his official sophomore effort. A member of the Quannum Projects collective in addition to their subgroups Latyrx alongside Lateef & the Chief and The Mighty Underdogs, his first few solo mixtapes Ahead of the Curve including Truth is Love & Truth at Sea were all decent ahead of his official 2011 solo debut FireWire surpassing them in quality. 13 years later, he & Nick got more of an Experimental Slap for the underground.

“Show Love” is this sample-driven trap opener demanding his flowers considering that he’s been in the game for 3 decades already whereas “Tic Tac Toe” taking a much calmer route instrumentally relying heavy on drums talking about holding his own. After the first of 3 “Slap” skits, “Things Never Seen Before” psychedelically reminds everyone that he’s the coldest with the pen while the bassy “Watch What You Say” featuring Phesto from the Hieroglyphics subgroup Souls of Mischief puts everyone in their place.

As for “California Sober”, we have Lateef putting it down 7 times for the struggle on top of a playfully fun beat that Nick cooked up just before “Snake Bite” featuring the late Zion I frontman Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse airs out every last individual who happened to turn a blind eye to them. “Guns 2” featuring Jumbo & nOOdy Oddy after another “Slap” skit serves as a sequel to a 2018 joint picking up right where the predecessor left off leading into “Freed Up” featuring Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse setting out to convert nonbelievers.

“Started Dreaming Again” featuring Aima the Dreamer pairs both of them talking about their recent dreams of coinciding within them starting to feel their pens while the crooning boom bap “Waiting on My Time to Come” featuring the late Blackalicious frontman Gift of Gab eerily expresses the self-awareness of his demise quite possibly coming soon. After the final “Slap” skit, “Not Asking” feels like a cool homage to one of my favorite groups A Tribe Called Quest while “Last Night” featuring Slug takes it back to the basement talking about how ain’t nobody tryna eat off your peace.

Latyrx gets together with Baba Zumbi, Casual of the Hieroglyphics crew, The Grouch of the Living Legends & finally Lil B the Based God formerly of The Pack for a sequel to “Life is Awesome” showing their gratitude regarding the way life’s been treating them at this point in all of their careers & “Almost as Blue” finishes Lateef’s long-awaited follow-up to FireWire with this heartfelt tribute to Baba Zumbi, who passed away in the summer of 2021 following the 48 year anniversary of hip hop culture’s formation.

Mostly made during the pandemic, Experimental Slap was made during a time of great change, turmoil & personal revelation composed with fun and love as well as terror & tragedy. It’s emotional, intelligent & irreverent & while we’ve never really been for the drama. And there is in fact some drama because this album is a reﬂection of the time it was recorded. Personal & political. Intense polarization & isolation, coupled with extreme communal connection & service. Humanity in the face of death.

Score: 4.5/5

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