This is the 3rd EP from Los Angeles, California emcee Shakewell. Coming up in the spring of 2017 off his debut EP Keystone Prince, he followed it up a year later with his 2nd EP Big Juice tha Sip resulting in the $uicideboy$ signing him to G*59 Record$ right when the pandemic started & releasing the full-length debut album Pray 4 Shakewell. 2 & a half years later, he’s coming off the Shameless $uicide & Kevlar Money Bags collaborative EPs with $B & Germ respectively to get Dangerously Close.
“Grimace Shake” is this synth-driven trap opener feeling like the Prince of Keystone calling back to his breakout debut EP whereas “Life at tha Moment” kinda gives me a Mobb vibe instrumentally telling us how life’s been at that exact point recording the shit. “.40 Talkin’” featuring Ramirez grimly works in keys & hi-hats getting on the gangsta rap tip lyrically while “Gun Louder” goes off-the-top boasting he has more mags than the New York Times does. “My Beanie Gone (Lame Killer)” morbidly looks to exterminate the lames & “When “My Way” Kills” featuring SXMPRA keeps the heat for every partner in case people want beef.
Big Juice tha Sip happens to be my favorite EP in Shakewell’s discography excluding Shameless $uicide & I was hoping for him to come out with something in 2024 due to the fact it’s almost been 2 & a half years since introducing himself to the G*59 audience but if Dangerously Close is his way of holding everyone off until the official Pray 4 Shakewell follow-up, then I’ll gladly take it. Instrumentally, it’s matches the bar that his full-length set & letting people know what’s been going on since we last heard from him.
This is the 2nd EP albeit Dirtcore Music debut from Chicago, Illinois emcee Mumm Ra. A member of the Mission: Infect collective, he eventually made his solo debut in 2008 with Remember the Name & the sophomore effort The AboM:Ination. His debut EP Clash of the Titans: The Return of 3rd Earth & his 3rd album The God Complex both came out back-to-back a decade ago, which later resulted in him following those up with Wrath of the Titans & House of M respectively. Madd Maxx just put out his new EP Dirtcore 24 at the beginning of the month celebrate his birthday, so it makes perfect sense to have The God kick off the Autogod trilogy.
After the “Chapter 1” intro, the first song “You Can’t Get Rid Me” produced by Crossworm is this incredibly dark opener addressing everyone who thought he was done making music whereas “Come On” talks about loyalty not being what it once was anymore over an electronic trap instrumental. “Had Enough” takes the apocalyptic trap route expressing his frustrations with rappers frontin’ while “King Omega” embraces the boom bap discussing his range being a beautiful thing. “1 Time” ends the EP dustily promising he’ll annihilate your squad.
Dirtcore has been steadily proving itself to be a dominant force within the underground ever since Crossworm started signing other artists to the label & Autogod not only proves my point further, but it has me feeling confident that the rest of the EP trilogy will go on to become some of the most important material in his discography. It’s more well-produced than some of his past material & you can really hear the reignited passion through Mumm’s verses.
RazoR is a horrorcore duo from Chicago, Illinois consisting of Tha Roka & Sin Rip. They introduced themselves to the underground wicked shit scene in the spring of 2016 by releasing their debut All Hail tha RazoR, which resulted in Scum signing them to his Denver gore hop powerhouse Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & making their official LSP debut on Halloween 2019 with heaRtless. 5 years later, Roka & Sin are linking back up to reintroduce themselves in the form of their 3rd full-length studio LP on the same day as Bloody Ruckus’ debut album Resurrection of the Broken Reflection.
After the titular intro, the first song “Raining Blood” begins by hopping over thunderous trap production declaring themselves as the kings of the hill whereas “D.T.O. (Death To Opps)” serves as a middle finger to all their opps. “Grosseries” works in synths & hi-hats warning they keep bodies in their fridge like groceries while “Beautiful” featuring Smallz 1 goes full-blown boom bap hauntingly getting hardcore.
“God Complex” goes for a grim trap vibe instrumentally to talk about having no shame at all instead possessing the feeling of pure vengeance just before “The Nothing” hooks up more kicks & snares personifying hate & the violence that the demonstrate. “Part of Me” switches into grisly trap turf again saying y’all a part of them now, but then “We’re the Ones” featuring Insane Poetry angrily warns to be aware if you take it far.
As for “Save Me”, we have Roka & Sin maintains the morbid trap flare from earlier coming clean that everybody got them feeling crazy lately leading into “Awake” infernally showing all y’all muhfuckas how phat they be on the mic. “Dummy” featuring Claas decently boasts that they be stealing bitches while the title track welcoming everyone to the pages of their life. The final song “Why So Serious?” ahead of the outro finishes the LP reminding that they’ll turn people into Casper.
heaRtless was a solid way of RazoR introducing themselves to the Lyrikal Snuff audience nearly almost half a decade ago & they return after all that time with what is easily my favorite body of work in their entire discography, turning up anticipation for the rest of the trilogy. It’s a whole new sound for the duo as they redefine themselves artistically, occasionally enlisting a few of their labelmates at points during the ride.
Bloody Ruckus is a 31 year old MC from Suamico, Wisconsin starting out in 2009 by releasing his debut EP Coming Out the Woods. This was followed up with the full-length debut Nightmarez from the Rez: The Rage, which was a popular piece of morbid art locally. The sophomore effort My Bloody Valentine after his 2nd EP Dark N Cold saw him gaining international attention since it came out around the same time as he infamously filmed a woman’s finger getting chopped off & her blood being drank a month after the 17th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in 2016, which was the last Gathering that Majik Ninja Entertainment performed at before they & Psychopathic Records severed ties only 6 months later. Scum signed Bloody Ruckus to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz once coming home & is following up his LSP debut Funeral Macabre with his 4th album.
“Vengeance” is this EVIL trap metal opener to the LP making it known that he’ll leave you in a body bag with the rest of your entire crew whereas “Night Terrors” featuring Rece’s Aura takes the cloudy trap route instrumentally talking about dragging the chains through the frost. “Cowbell Demon” turns the bass up to 11 daring anyone to step inside his slaughterhouse at their own risks & “I’m Gonna Nut in Your Urn” demonically calling out pussy muhfuckas.
DOWN6 joins Bloody Ruckus for “This World Hates Me” so both of them can get in their emo rap/trap metal bag for nearly 3 & a half minutes just before a personal highlight for me “Stop Glorifying Rats” angrily lashes out at people that praise snitches, which I am fully on board with. “Bright Lights” hauntingly encourages to let Lucy open up everyone’s 3rd eye whether you’re doing DMT or shrooms, but then “666 Up in da Sky” featuring C4$PA fuses g-funk & horrorcore excellently regardless of the average guest appearance.
“Misanthropic” kinda has this EDM flare to the beat detailing his dislike for humanity altogether hence the title leading into “Welcome 2 Wicked Wisco” mixing elements of both g-funk & trap together representing Suamico & the underground wicked shit scene as a whole. “Flatline” heavily warns everyone that anyone who takes him for a joke will be left with hollow tips in ‘em while “Modern Atrocities” featuring Warlord Colossus demonically talking about their brains not being the same.
As for “Say No More”, we have Bloody Ruckus eerily giving us a glimpse of his gangsta mindset living by the gun while “Lord of Grudge” unsettlingly talking about running out of medication watching shadows crawl again. “Omega” is this horrorcore/electronic dance hybrid leaving full clips in the mouths of anyone running their mouths speaking ill towards him while “Every Dog Has His Day” uncannily addresses the titular expression.
“Wendigo” nears the end of the Resurrection of the Broken Reflection getting on the rap rock tip once more referencing the evil spirit originating from Algonquian folklore while “Bring ‘Em to the Darkside” featuring Donnie Menace, DOWN6, S.O.S. & Saw da Ghozt comes through with a 6-minute posse cut with a reference to the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer & Real American Beer founder Hulk Hogan. “Reflejo Roto” heinously talking about being a broken reflection of a man & “Eternity” ends by hellishly painting himself as a demon on the throne.
Crazy to think that this the same guy who filmed that woman’s finger getting chopped off & her blood being drank because I vividly remember when the news of that broke out & never would I have thought that he’d sign to LSP & return home with his best album yet. The production’s more darker & refined than Bloody Ruckus’ previous material, overcoming all obstacles & letting new listeners know who he is.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada born albeit Compton, California raised emcee Jay Worthy as well as Honolulu, Hawaii born/Tokyo, Japan raised rapper, singer & producer MadeinTYO joining forces for a new collaborative EP fully produced by the latter. One of whom has been grinding in the underground for the last 7 years & the other landing a spot in the 2017 XXL Freshman Class producing Ransom’s latest EP Smoke & Mirrors earlier this summer. However, Mr. Tokyo’s continuing to apply pressure by linking up with Jay for Time After Time.
After the intro, the first song “Master Delux” is a drumless opener to the EP with both of them provide the soundtrack to motherfuckers making bread whereas “Nino” jazzily keeps the drums out the picture boasting that the paper be doing double flips in their dreams. “School Daze” hops over yet another bare jazz loop refusing to lay up having work to do prior to “Chop” drumlessly talking about having the milk & not referring to dairy whatsoever.
“Fashion Week” maintains the jazz rap vibes working some drums in this time hoping that God forgives them for their fortunes & after the interlude, “London Carry-On” goes drumless again keeping extra sugar in their sweet tea. The final song “Antiqua Barrio” telling wack MCs to get off the mic being black as they are Off-White & the outro finishes the EP with a 3-minute instrumental piece.
Like I said a couple months ago during the Smoke & Mirrors review: I’ve never considered himself a MadeinTYO fan other than maybe “Uber Everywhere”, but he & Jay Worthy cooked up a collab EP that’s as enjoyable as THE AM3RICAN DREAM. His production’s more jazzier than it was on the Ransom EP keeping it prominently drumless in addition to that & lyrically, he & Jay Worthy ping off each other impressively during the course of the 24 minutes you get out of Time After Time.
Pyrex Whippa is a 27 year old producer, rapper, singer/songwriter & audio engineer from Baltimore, Maryland notable for being a member of the seminal trap production team 808 Mafia. It should also be said that this isn’t even the first body of work that he’s put out, releasing a debut EP Separation Anxiety in the fall of 2019 & having his mentor Southside produce his 2nd one Blood on the Hills roughly 13 months later to more positive reception followed by Thanks for Holding On & Guns ‘N Romance. Sizzle gave us his full-length debut album Break the Silence under Epic Records last month & Rex is following suit.
“Burning Bridges” starts the album better than I thought it would singing over a groovy, drumless instrumental telling the homies he got them whereas “Screamin’” produced by Smatt Sertified takes the cavernous trap route calling out a hoe for playing with his love & couldn’t see it from the very beginning. “Met Gala” hooks up a reversed sample & hi-hats promising to get the ladder instead of the table & “Baby” further puts an emphasis on atmosphere going crazy for his new girl.
As for Unfair”, we have another pop rap/trap cut asking this woman how she gon’ do him the way she did since it was incredibly undeserving while “No Mercy” strips the drums again hopping over a bare guitar displaying the merciless side of himself. “Void” keeps it drumless dissing an ex because of the fact that her heart doesn’t make a sound & his shakes the ground, but then “DND” brings the hi-hats in again talking about the mode he’s in.
“Vacuum Sealer” goes for a spacious, bassy vibe to the beat discussing shit getting musty in the mansion & it’s so hard to miss this bitch the way he misses those racks leading into the plentiful trap banger “Wat I’m On” talking about making it out of the trenches & reaching the upper echelon. “All Wrong” despite the cloudily instrumental has some of the weaker subject matter throughout the LP that is until “Buddha Man” has a delicate trap tone generally shrugging off those treating him average.
The song “Skeletons” removes the drums from the equation encouraging the people in his life to do the right thing by grabbing his hand when he falls while the acoustic “All 4 U” sings about leaving it how it is after fucking around with his heart. “Exhale” finally closes Sincerely, Rex in the form of 1 last trap joint letting a homie with mob ties know that he’s refusing to let him leave on him tryna play it cool with ice in his veins.
Break the Silence as a commercial debut for Southside was disappointing compared to the Trap Ye mixtapes since his lyrical performances weren’t the best except I did appreciate the risk of departing from the signature sound that the 808 Mafia co-founder is known for. Pyrex’s debut here happens to be the better of the 2 surprisingly. The production here is more interesting bringing balance to drumless & trap displaying his life on wax.
This is the 3rd EP & major label debut from Los Angeles, California up-&-comer Molly Santana. Originally a streetwear influencer, the Fontana native began making music in 2021 by releasing her debut EP Molly’s World as well as her debut mixtape Neptune & her 2nd EP Mélange. Her eponymous full-length debut studio album just came out this spring to moderate reception, resulting in her signing a joint deal with Victor Victor Worldwide & Capitol Records. 5 months later, she’s continuing to apply pressure on Masonic Musik.
Supah Mario & Synthetic of Internet Money Records’ psychedelic trap production on the opening track “Greenlight” is actually a fun way of kicking things off talking about not wanting to take it slow with her lover on top of turning the world into her brand new speaker whereas “Want” works in some hi-hats & even some elements of dance music thanks to Noah Mejia & Vendr telling her new man that he’s the only one she wants encouraging him to open up as to exactly what he’s been running from.
“Nothing Like This” goes for a bombastic approach instrumentally with co-production from Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group to talk about people never seeing anything like the shit she’s on while “So Lost” has these rage undertones shrugging off that she knows everything that’s goin’ on when others say she don’t know a lot. The trap/dance-pop hybrid “Windows Up” talks about people turning on her & “Tell Me Nun” and ends the EP refusing to let anyone knock her off her spot over a cloudy trap beat.
Of the 5 projects that Molly has under her belt so far, Masonic Musik for only a 6 track/15 minute EP surpasses the level of quality that her self-titled debut LP had set earlier in the year & solidifies her place in the trap subgenre of hip hop. The production’s more hard-hitting than a lot of her earlier material top to bottom, enigmatically exploring mystical & urban themes along the way. Between her & Hardrock being on Victor Victor now, I’m ready for what their debut albums on the label have in store.
Detroit rapper, songwriter & actor Babyface Ray is back a year after claiming the previous summer to be his for the 4th LP on his discography. Starting in 2014 by joining the Team Eastside collective, he has since gone on to drop 5 mixtapes as well as 5 EPs & a well received debut within the last 6-7 years before turning heads worldwide & becoming one of the 2 biggest up-&-comers in the city next to Babytron, both of whom eventually landed spots in last year’s XXL Freshman Class. Coming off Mob & Summer’s Mine which were both enjoyable follow-ups to Face, he’s looking to tell the story of The Kid That Did.
“Groupies & Goodfellas” is an atmospheric opener to the album talking about muhfuckas moving goofy this day in age whereas “Count Money” featuring Bossman DLow was a weak choice of a single from the decently synth-based Detroit trap production to the underwhelming guest performance talking about stacking chips. “Rubberband Man” tells us how he responds when people ask what his name is over an orchestral Detroit trap beat prior to “Shy Kid” hopping over more synth/Detroit trap crossovers to talk about pacin’ through the house tryna find some service.
Moving on from there, “I Need Some Motivation” maintains his hometown’s distinct take on trap music altogether in a heavenly fashion flexing that he be smelling like money while “Wavy Navy University” featuring Veeze finds the 2 over one of my favorite instrumentals on the album from tana representing both of their crews Navy Wavy & Wavy Gang leading into another atmospheric joint “Watching My Page” produced by Pooh Beatz talking about monitoring his pager.
“Delusional” featuring Hunxho takes a spacious turn thanks to LulRose talking about the rollercoaster that’s called life while another highlight “Cherish” works in some guitars & hi-hats courtesy of DJ Esco talking about being stuck in his ways since he never really had shit. Funny enough, “Stuck in My Ways” featuring King Hendrick$ fuses cloud rap & Detroit trap further elaborating on a theme from the previous joint, but then “Nights Like This” passionately reassures everyone that his success ain’t luck.
Carlo Anthony has another one of my favorite beats on “2 for 6” with it’s bell-heavy Detroit trap sound & the lyrics flexing that he ain’t ever going back going from having crack to plaques just before “Fish Tail Fish Scale” bringing the synthesizers back in the equation once more to talk about how he’s been fucking up cheese & getting more. “Legacy” featuring Doughboyz Clay gives off a soulful trap flare flexing that he wen’t from being broke to the man while “Money on My Mind” spaciously tells us he’s got paper on the brain.
“$1M Baby” continues to go for an airy trap vibe instrumentally confessing his mom been having heart attacks with the amount of money that Face be blowing while “Ghetto Boyz” featuring Peezy brings the pair together for a grimy ass Detroit trap banger. “High Off Life” dreamily reps for the team while “Guardian Angel” addresses his own personal type of angels assigned to protect & guide him. “The World is Yours” featuring Fabolous ends with this empowering Boi-1da beat staying away of suckas & ditching groupies.
Summer’s Mine was a dope switch-up from cold climes to extreme heat & The Kid That Did in comparison sheds light on the subtle details about what success really looks like. Face makes his point clearly know that he’s a realist instead of an entertainer & his sweet spot counters opulence & drama with cold hard facts over a decade of establishing himself in the 313, eventually landing a spot as one of the city’s most respected artists in recent memory.
This is the 3rd full-length studio LP from Milwaukee, Wisconsin emcee/producer BLAX. Breaking out in 2012 off his debut mixtape BLAX x Life x Files followed by the debut EP Archangels & the debut album Be Well, he temporarily changed his moniker to Armstrong Ransome for his sophomore effort Dedicated & the 2nd EP Found before returning to the BLAX moniker on the next couple EPs Angeline & Wembenyama. Fast-forward only 5 months after the latter, BLAXPLOITATION here was brought to my attention & I gave it a shot.
“Dark Fronto” is this self-produced psychedelic boom bap opener telling his babygirl to come over pronto with the titular tobacco leaves & taking it as far as she wants to while “Blessed” takes the trap route instrumentally expressing his gratitude of being where he’s at currently in life refusing to rest. “Ballerina” kinda goes for a lo-fi vibe to the beat making all these muhfuckas out here dancing whereas the title track soulfully talking about his soul being made of gold.
The reversed sample throughout “Lil Boosie (Set It Off)” was a dope touch referencing a highlight off his 3rd album albeit major label debut Badazz leading into “Teenager” working in kicks, snares & luxurious pianos to talk about all of us being lost looking for a savior since everyone’s sinners in this land with blood on our hands. “Interpretation of Dreams” was a great choice of a single creating a captivating blend that highlights BLAX’s unique talent by combining clever samples with introspective storytelling.
“On My Soul” pushes further towards the final leg of BLAXPLOITATION by heading for a jazzier direction to the beach talking about freeing his soul while “Magician” maintains a mellow sound generally talking about living large & bold except it sounds unfinished, especially since he could’ve laid another verse instead of letting the instrumental ride out during the 2nd half. “Intelligent Beings” finishes the album quirkily asking what in the world is the world
Delivering a rich blend of beats that elevate its timeless appeal with its engaging storytelling and captivating hooks, BLAXPLOITATION achieves its promise of continuous replay value as a standout addition to hip hop & to The God Degree Records founder’s discography period. It captures the essence of classic hip hop while incorporating modern elements, ensuring it resonates with both longtime fans & new listeners alike.
Manhattan, New York rapper SosMula returning for the 3rd LP in his discography. Coming up as 1/3 of the now defunct City Morgue alongside fellow emcee ZillaKami & producer Thraxx, they’ve released 2 full-length albums & an EP together up before branching out on their own for a little bit. Sos was the first to step up to the plate by dropping 13 Songs 2 Die 2, which was a bit of a disappointment in my opinion due to the features & production. ZillaKami followed it up a month later with HIS solo debut Dogboy & the duo reunited to drop Bottom of the Barrel the month after that, both of those I found much more tolerable. 2 High 2 Die was better than it’s predecessor & the Sleez Machine EP that fall was the worst solo effort of his yet, which resulted in me hoping Sleez Religion would bounce back from it especially since City Morgue’s final album My Bloody America finally dropped nearly a year to the day as this.
After the titular intro, the first song “Confessionary” is this eerie trap opener talking about breaking all your bones whereas “Sleezy Bastard (Slasher)” brings hardcore hip hop, trap metal & gangsta rap together referring to himself as a toe tagger. “Candy Man” featuring Kim Dracula works in pianos & hi-hats referencing the titular horror film while “Death Dealer” morbidly talks about takin’ souls.
“Shark Teeth (Death Dealer 2)” has this devilish trap flare to the beat likening the Klean Up Krew to being sharks in the water leading into the energetic “Sgt. Slaughter” named after the WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & 2-time WWE United States Champion flexing that his mafia style is similar to that of one of my top 3 shows The Sopranos. “Fred Flinstonez” grimly lets everyone know the type of shit he’s been on since City Morgue’s disbandment, but then “Patched Jeans” goes some emo rap over heavy guitars.
After the “Thy Kommandmentz” interlude, “Dead Presidentz” shoots for a more psychedelic trap approach instrumentally thanks to ilykimchi of Working on Dying calling himself the Mickey to her Mallory just before the rap rock-driven “Sex Pistol” opening up about being on adderrall lately & smashing every single IG model. “Cydeborg” keeps the guitars in tact boasting that he’s in Hell being hella bored while “Passport to Magonia” cavernously expresses his desire of running to the stars & after the “Kommit Ur Life” interlude, “Santorini in Spain” menacingly gets in his gangsta bag.
“Boogie Man” hooks up some horrorcore undertones burning houses down like fireplaces as dumb as that sounds while “Slasher 2” pulls inspiration from the trap metal scene he helped pioneer once again further quenching for blood. “Sprain-Ankle” hops over a rage beat reminding everyone of the type of people he hangs with while “Supa-Savage” wickedly calling himself a knight in shining armor.
As for “Assault Rifle Facial”, we have Sos chaotically talking about clapping all your corny ass friends with the stick while “Sonic” featuring G Herbo sees the pair sharing their homicidal thoughts towards their opponents over a synth-based beat with Detroit trap bass. After the “Strangers in Barcelona” interlude, “Red Gutz” coldly discusses his ghetto mindset while “Burning Flags” warning that the .30 hitting your chest will devour you.
After the “Lost in Magonia” interlude, the penultimate song “Grimy-Hoez” featuring Sematary nears the end of the LP with this piano-trap crossover hanging with the slimiest homies they know & the shrilling “Berzerk-O” ahead of the “Immortal” outro happens to be a proper closer talking taking his own soul in kamikaze style being traumatized.
2 & a half years since Sos bounced back from his debut on 2 High 2 Die & unfortunately, I ended up liking Sleez Religion less than the predecessor. Maybe even less so 13 Songs 2 Die 2, joining Sleez Machine in being another subpar entry in his solo catalog. I’ll give him credit for the production mixing the sounds that he’s dabbled with up to this point all into 1 except it absolutely didn’t need to be almost 30 tracks.
Legends Will Never Die 