Craig G – “The World’s Cooked” review

Craig G is a 51 year old MC from Queens, New York who started out as a member of the Juice Crewcollective. His full-length debut The Kingpin produced by Marley Marl & the sophomore effort Now, That’s More Like It came out in the late 80s/early 90s through Atlantic Records & returned over a decade later with This is Now!!! like he never left. Marley Marl went on to produce Operation: Take Back Hip Hop, which resulted in Craig signing to Soulspazm Records for his last couple albums Ramblings of an Angry Old Man and I Rap & Go Home. 8 years later, he’s back for his 7th full-length LP.

After the “Few Words from tha Teacha” intro, the first song “The Okey Doke” fuses rap rock & boom bap telling everyone to hold themselves accountable for what they fell for whereas the sample-driven “Dumb Down” featuring B-Real talks about this era that we’re entering. “America’s Dumbest Criminals” vividly tells the story of a couple criminals who later got arrested the same night just before the chipmunk soul title track discusses the current state of the world.

“Fortitude” flips an organ representing hard work & after the Chuck D interlude, “Gossip Sites” disses everyone who posts online for attention. “Expand Ya Mind” featuring Chubb Rock sets out to exactly that over a boom bap instrumental while “Reconsidered” tells a sad tale for 3-minutes. “Smartest 1 in the Room” featuring Freeway takes us back in the basement tryna inspire & making the community legitimate while “Wise Words” ends by telling everyone to go for theirs.

Craig has always been a bit underappreciated when it comes to members of the Juice Crew & although I don’t think it’s one of the best albums that he’s ever done per se, I did enjoy the half hour listening experience. The production is prominently based around the traditional east coast boom bap sound & Craig observes the cons of our world today.

Score: 3.5/5

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Bodies Below Sea Level – Self-Titled review

Bodies Below Sea Level are a duo consisting of Grand Rapids, Michigan emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm alongside Hampton, Virginia recording artist Samson Samson. Both of whom have already collaborated with each other on a handful of songs over the years up to this point like “Killmode” or “Open Up Your Mind” & of course most notably “Bodies Below Sea Level”, but are finally taking it to a new level by coming off Hallowicked to release an official eponymous full-length debut studio album.

After the “Respawn” intro, the first song “The Devil’s Own” is this industrial hip hop/rap rock mixture talking about being heathens right down to the bone whereas “Laughter (Bang, Bang, Bang)” industrially raps about being guaranteed to stop your momentum. “Evil” works in some dark synthesizers to talk about being wicked people & “Sever” embraces the rap rock influences further on top of the horrorcore lyricism.

“Loser” officially reaches the halfway point of the LP on the rap rock tip letting off some angst for almost 3 minutes just before “Infinite” hooks up some hi-hats & a blobby bassline to talk about the wicked shit always being inside of them to this very day. “Trouble in the Library of Corpses” happens to be another well-crafted industrial/horrorcore blend leading into “Unrepenting” pulling inspiration from Depeche Mode.

Meanwhile on “Eat Myself Alive”, we have Grounds joining over a trap beat admitting that’s the way they feel sometimes & the official closing track “We’re the Dead” proceeding the “Summoning” interlude ends the way they started from the industrial hip hop/rap rock influences to the lyrics talking about them traveling beyond the grave.

Assuming this is only the beginning for them, Bodies Below Sea Level’s self-titled debut gets November going by taking 36 minutes to properly introduce themselves as a unit. The production balancing industrial hip hop & rap rock proves to be a refreshing change of pace within the underground wicket shit scene, building most of the lyrical themes around horror.

Score: 4/5

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Tuxedo – “Tuxedo IV” review

Tuxedo is a synth-funk/boogie duo consisting of producer Jake One & frontman Mayer Hawthorne. Forming almost a decade ago, their eponymous full-length debut came out a couple months before I graduated high school with a sophomore effort coming down the pipe a couple years later & more recently their previous LP. It’s already been 5 years since we last saw Tuxedo together & since they took a break to focus on their own endeavors, I was thrilled for their 4th album.

“Hold Us” is a g-funk opener co-produced with DJ Battlecat reminiscing of the late, great king of hooks Nate Dogg to melodically detail shit sounding expensive so they pour up wanting to know if you know anything about that whereas “This is 4 You” brings a nu disco flare to the table reserving this ballad for a specific person in particular tonight. “Back 4 More” has a boogie driven direction singing of a love that’s never felt this good & “Think Twice” goes synth-funk advising both of their romantic interests not to overthink.

As for “Good Time 4 Ever”, we have Tuxedo maintaining a synth-funk vibe making sure you have a good time for the rest of your life & “Cake” right after the “Jake’s Groove” interlude inspired by DJ Quik of course throws it back to the Parliament-Funkadelic days a bit. “Ride with Me” returns to a g-funk edge homaging Nate once more, but then “Windows Down” charismatically throws it back to the Zapp/Roger Troutman era. The upbeat “4 Sure” dances on the ceiling above the floor & “We Made It” properly finishes the LP by shifting towards a smoother direction celebrating the duo’s success.

Bonding over a shared love of Parliament-Funkadelic & Zapp amongst other Zodiac signs in funk music altogether, Tuxedo finally make their comeback after their longest gap between releases yielding a bevy of absolute slappers that are packaged perfectly for dance floors in 2024 whether it be Jake One’s production pulling from g-funk to synth-funk & boogie or Mayer Hawthorne’s catchy vocal performances detailing the duo’s exuberant lifestyle.

Score: 4/5

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The Cure – “Songs of the Lost World” review

The Cure are a well regarded post-punk/goth rock band from Crawley, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom consisting of bassist/keyboardist Simon Gallup, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, guitarist Perry Bamonte, drummer Jason Cooper, guitarist Reeves Gabrels & frontman Robert Smith. They’ve made some of the most essential music within both subgenres like 17 Seconds, Faith, Pornography, The Head on the Door, my personal favorite Disintegration, Wish & even the eponymous effort that Ross Robinson produced. 16 long years later, they’re back together for their 14th album.

“Alone” starts by fusing goth rock with dream pop & ethereal wave drawing it’s inspiration from the Ernest Dowson poem “Dregs” whereas “& Nothing’s Forever” is a slow & string-heavy number singing about a promise Robert made to be with someone on their deathbed. “A Fragile Thing” crosses over into alt/goth rock turf with additional influences from drean pop & baggy music clarifying there’s nothing you can do to change the end, but then the gloomy “Warsong” sings that we’re all born for war.

To get the 2nd half going, “Drone:Nodrone” easily stands as the catchiest & most upbeat moment on the entire LP from a musical standpoint acknowledging a tumultuous relationship just before “I Can Never Say Goodbye” passionately laments the death of Robert’s brother Richard for 6 minutes. “All I Ever Am” sings about way love turns out every time from his perspective will never be enough & “Endsong” wraps things up with a 10-minute epic of a closer inspired by a starlit night that reminded Robert of a similar evening in 1969, stargazing in the back garden with his father when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

The goth rock/post-punk icons return after an over a decade dealing almost exclusively in death, dying & the relentless march of time inspired by David Bowie’s 26th & final album ★. The songs move slowly & many go on for minutes before Smith opens his mouth. No pop hits, no hooks & really no fun. It’s also some of the band’s most engrossing work, a statement that like most great Cure songs can’t be taken lightly.

Score: 4.5/5

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Conductor Williams – “Conductor, We Have a Problem 3” review

Conductor Williams is a 42 year old producer from Kansas City, Missouri notable for being 1/3 of the Griselda Records in-house production trio The Heartbreakers. His popularity in recent memory has been growing exponentially, earning himself a chance to work with those from Drake & J. Cole to more recently REi the Imperial for his Operation: Flamethrower EP last month. This ultimately resulted in the 3rd installment of the Conductor, We Have a Problem series having guests perform on every song as opposed to previously releasing beat tapes up until this point.

After the “Modus Operandi V” intro, the first song “Paint Pictures” by Evidence uncannily starts us off talking about fitting it less the more that he does whereas “Get Away!” by Rome Streetz was a great choice of a lead single attacking their opposition for being washed. After the “Board 40” interlude, “Hell in a Hellcat” by eLZhi takes the boom bap route instrumentally to talk about being an anomaly prior to the soulful “Space Heater” by Domo Genesis points out that this ain’t what they thought it’d be.

“Ecstasy” by Russ has this underwhelming, melodic delivery throughout that just kills the vibe for me personally leading into the dusty “Hold You” by Benny the Butcher & Wiz Khalifa making up for it by telling everyone who ain’t in the game to stay in the bleachers. After the “Skin” interlude, “Guilty” by Leon Thomas III shifts gears in favor of a passionate R&B ballad just before the sample-driven “Down Bad” by Bishop Nehru preludes his upcoming self-produced album Solace in Shadows later this weekend.

The penultimate track “Necessary Cherry” by Wiki pushes towards the final moments of the 3rd installment of the Conductor, We Have a Problem trilogy talking about shipping, mundane & amazing at the same time “Kent” by Elijah Hooks ends with the latter singing on top of this subdued instrumental promising his lover that he’ll be there when they call him.

Other than a couple performers who punch under their weight, this is damn near everything that I would’ve expected from Conductor Williams making a producer project. The overall sound mostly sticks with the signature hardcore boom bap aesthetics that many know him for with a hint of R&B thrown in on the side with a primarily well-curated list of artists joint him for the ride.

Score: 4/5

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Lloyd Banks – “Halloween Havoc V” review

This is the 19th mixtape from Queens emcee Lloyd Banks. Gaining notoriety in the 2000s for his witty punchlines along as well as being an original member of G-Unit alongside childhood friends 50 Cent & Tony Yayo, he kept himself busy for a little while after the group’s disbandment in 2015 by releasing A.O.N. 2 (All Or Nothing 2): L.I.U. (Live It Up) & Halloween Havoc 3: 4 Days of Fury just before taking on a 5-year hiatus that really lasted until he received a song placement on the soundtrack for Griselda Records’ theatrical debut Conflicted a year & a half ago along with the whole Course of the Inevitable album trilogy gaining renewed interest in the PLK himself. A year after Halloween Havoc IV: The 72nd Hr, Lloyd’s keeping the saga alive.

“You Have My Word” produced by Ron Browz eerily starts off by telling anyone who crosses him to make sure that they stay crossing him for the rest of their lives whereas “Complications” takes the Hellish boom bap route instrumentally talking about being careful of when you speak before you get all the facts. “Season of the Psychos” with Haas Almahdi morbidly promises that he can handle his own weight, but then “Connoisseur” takes us back in the basement calling himself the top seed when he gets on.

Meanwhile on “Broken Hearts”, we have Lloyd over more kicks & snares from Cartune Beatz to talk about the city of heartbreak just before “Double Up” maintains a somber boom bap flare to the beat calling victory the love of his life. “Love is Love” dustily seeks to fuck up the arguments & hypothetics of someone he used to know that fell off musically leading into “Choose Wisely” ruggedly, talking about how there ain’t no money behind these fake pages.

“Resources” rawly observes that everything’s strange now & everyone feeling his energy the second he sets foot in the room while the cold-blooded “Taking Notes” talks about the fact that where he comes from ain’t no joke to him whatsoever. “Shooting the Messenger” aggressively check the temperature since he’s burning up again while “Seminar” publicly expresses his frustration towards everyone else out here & he’s pretty much sick of ‘em.

Starting the 5th installment of the Halloween Havoc series’ final leg, “Regrets” looks at all the possibilities in his future & going broke not being an option while “In the Mix” kinda has some trap undertones talking about expecting a snitch since this life’s a bitch. “Keep It Solid” pushes further to the end keeping it legit & “Graduated” viciously ends reminding that what goes around comes around.

Cartune Beatz has been getting a lot of attention as of late & only a couple weeks after fully producing Machine Gun Vocabulary for Tha God Fahim, he produces nearly half of Halloween Havoc V improving on the predecessor that we got 365 days ago exactly. The production is prominently built around the traditional boom bap sound, refined from The 72nd Hr so the former G-Unit member can go even harder with his signature punchlines.

Score: 4/5

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Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes XI” review

Buffalo, New York emcee, songwriter, entrepreneur, curator & now professional wrestling promoter/booker with the founding of his own 4th Rope independent circuit promotion Westside Gunn restarting the Hitler Wears Hermes series with his 6th EP. Proving his legend status & that he’s to be a force to be reckoned with all in nearly a decade whether it be running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele. Last we heard from West was And Then You Pray for Me which as a trap-heavy sequel to Pray for Paris, but is dropping Hitler 11 on Halloween & in 24 hours’ notice of Still Praying.

After the “Stone” intro, the first song “Big Dump Ballad” is a soulful opener produced by Denny LaFlare throwing in bars about WWE’s current VP of Global Talent Development in former 4-time WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion William Regal taking on former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 4-time WCW World Television Champion, 8-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 5-time WWE United States Champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat.

Former NXT Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & now The Wyatt Sick6 leader Bo Dallas of the RAW brand gets “Unkle Howdy” named after him working in a rich piano instrumental referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, the inaugural 6-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Kurt Angle whom 4-time WWE tag team champion Chad Gable has drawn comparisons to.

“Cain Tejada” takes the boom bap route recalling the 1994 SummerSlam bout between Tatanka & former 2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 2-time WCW World Television Champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion Lex Luger that is until “Paulin Paulin Paulin” brings a soul flare back turning 1 to 3 through the luck of the pot.

Hitler Wears Hermes X was a great place to finish the saga since it since it came out around the same timeframe as Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s infamous antisemitic meltdown calling himself a Nazi on InfoWars over a month later, but we still got an enjoyable 15 minute listen with Hitler Wears Hermes XI. Denny LaFlare gets to shine more behind the boards since he’s most underrated member of The Heartbreakers & the FLYGOD calls to let Sly Green home without any guests.

Score: 4/5

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A-F-R-O – “The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First” review

Los Angeles emcee/producer A-F-R-O teaming up with Boston, Massachusetts underground veteran Stu Bangas for a new mixtape. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. I got to cover his self-produced 9th EP The Drawing Board earlier this spring & while thought that it was his best work yet, The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First surely had more than enough potential to top it.

“Hip Hop Tournament” starts with a horn-inflicted boom bap instrumental addressing those who wanna battle him whereas “Bring Ya Best Army” brings an uncanny atmosphere to the table keeping it raw talking about his opposition bringing the best out of their arsenal. “Lost Souls” works in more kicks & snares to discuss the titular kind of people wandering around his parts just before “From Dusk ‘Till Dawn” featuring Lil D ruggedly talks about being unstoppable.

Moving on from there, “Pay Attention” maintains a boom bap edge advising y’all to actively listen to him very carefully as he shows how it’s done leading into “Hallucinogenz” sampling a bit of psychedelic rock with nothing on the mind but the dimesack. “Story of a Scumbag” grimly gets in his storytelling bag discussing a young kid with a cold heart prior to “Eyes Closed” boasting that he could do this shit in his sleep.

“Breakadawn” featuring Horror City & Motion+ nears the conclusion of The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First by linking the trio up promising that they’ll always keep it moving prior to “Run 4 Ya Life!” rounding things out in the form of this murderous closer advising for everyone listening to bring a pen & a mic instead of a gun clarifying that your demise will be a good time for him.

For over a decade, I’ve always felt that A-F-R-O had more than enough potential to make a classic studio LP someday & it finally happened on Halloween wiping almost everything else that he’s done up until this point. The features are just ok, but Stu Bangas’ production top to bottom reveals itself to be a great match for A-F-R-O’s cutthroat lyricism.

Score: 4.5/5

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Icewear Vezzo – “Live from the 6, Pt. 2” review

Detroit trap veteran & Iced Up Records founder Icewear Vezzo releasing a sequel to his Quality Control Music debut album although the 4th full-length overall in his discography Live from the 6. For over a decade now, this dude has been making waves locally by releasing the Rich Off Pints trilogy of LPs & over a dozen mixtapes. The previous Paint the City hosted by DJ Drama over a year ago being Vezzo’s first project to come out though the Motown Records/Virgin Music imprint & it was a solid prelude. The major label debut proved to be a well-crafted collection of songs that detailed life in 6 Mile & he’s taking us back on Devil’s Night.

“Musty” starts with an occult Detroit trap beat talking about going from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 & being a real demon whereas “Add It Up” takes the standard trap route instrumentally boasting that he’s still with the same people that he was with back then aside from everything else. “Money Counter” once again puts the Motor City’s unique take on trap music on full display feelin’ like Blade Icewood with all the jewelry while “Family Ties” hooks up some bells & hi-hats bringing one of his children on the mic for the opening verse.

Moving on from there, “Chosey One” kinda has this cold atmosphere professing himself to be the chosen one representing IUR in the midst of it just before “6 & Daisy” featuring Los & Nutty finds the trio coming together for a Detroit trap banger clarifying that this shit ain’t only rap. “Musty 2 (Shit on ‘Em)” brings more bells & hi-hats in the fold for a sequel to the opener maintains that occult edge, but then “Nobody” featuring Lauryn Amore on the hook takes a jab at pop rap showing a romantic side to Vezzo.

“Different Day” starts the final leg of Live from the 6, Pt. 2 talking about how he’s still the same person as he’s always been except his bag’s much bigger now while “Basquiat” offers a triumphant trap flare to the beat referencing graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiathomaging the oldest of the 4 hip hop elements. The suspenseful tone of “Walk Down” featuring Bankroll Freddie is cool even if I wasn’t too big on the latter’s guest appearance walkin’ everyone down hence the title & finally, “Mudd Baby” serves as a bonus track since it originally saw the light of day on Rich Off Pints 2.

Live from the 6 earlier in the year has since become one of my favorite projects in Vezzo’s entire discography & almost 6 months later to the very day, he’s done it again except it’s solely through his own imprint that’s thriving since I’ve already reviewed Iced Up Records signee Krispylife Kidd’s last couple projects. The production is prominently Detroit trap based with trap & pop rap undertones, the few features were ok & the IUR founder breaks down the madness of the city the day before Halloween.

Score: 3.5/5

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Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Bukshot – “Blockwork Morgue” review

Here we have a brand new collaborative EP between alongside Detroit, Michigan emcee Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Louisville, Kentucky emcee Bukshot. One of whom broke out within the underground by signing to the Insane Clown Posse’s very own label that runs beneath the streets Psychopathic Records for his 2000 eponymous debut EP & the full-length debut 1 Less G n da Hood, with the other notable for founding Mobstyle Music. Both of whom have collaborated with each other numerous times in the past & are taking it further with Blockwork Morgue.

After the “Night at the Morgue” intro, the first song “Blockwork” produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 starts with an off-the-wall trap heater explaining the way shit works around the block whereas “Panicking” featuring Jamie Madrox delves further down the hardcore rabbit hole altogether getting everyone against them in panic mode. “Do It” fuses boom bap & rap rock talking about how they was out in the streets pushing weight while the grisly “War Story” addresses the people who want beef with them.

“J.A.F.U.D. (Just Another Fucked Up Day)” featuring Monoxide on the remix puts some rap rocks influences up on display as the official closer of the EP talking about going through another stale day & the remix of “Take an L” featuring Drive-By off Helter Skelter: The Accomplices II includes a new verse from Boondox that can hang with the original highlight from that previously mentioned album in Buk’s discography.

Buk’s been teasing this EP for almost a couple months now & I’m happy that he decided to finally put it out after a phat opening set at the St. Andrew’s Hall basement The Shelter for the release party of the House of Krazees’ reunion LP 31 last night. 7’s production doesn’t miss & both MCs elevate their chemistry by colliding 2 unique worlds in the underground wicked shit scene to start Devil’s Night 2024.

Score: 4/5

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