EARTHGANG – “EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm 2: Robophobia” review

Atlanta, Georgia duo the EARTHGANG consisting of Olu & WowGr8 back with their 7th EP. Starting out a little over a decade ago dropping 3 mixtapes along with 2 albums & an EP independently, this resulted in J. Colesigning them to his Interscope Recordsimprint Dreamville Records in 2017. This resulted in a trilogy of EPs leading up to their major label debut Mirrorland, which revealed themselves to be one of the best artists that the label has to offer. They went on to give their Spillage Village collective some shine by dropping their 4th album Spilligion on Dreamville the next year & Ghetto Gods further cemented them as the 2nd best signing on the roster behind J.I.D of course. EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm: R.I.P. Human Art this past fall Dr. Dot & Johnny Venus severing ties with Interscope to solely stay with Dreamville, but are returning to give insight on EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm 2: Robophobia about the technological advancements we’ve seen in recent years.

After the intro, “Blacklight” starts off by encouraging one to expose their flaws over a funky instrumental while “Put In Work” featuring Tommy Newport turns the funk up to 11 so both of them can get romantic. The futuristic R&B/pop rap crossover “Osmosis” has be my least favorite track on Robophobia asking if the love’s real in an cumbersome fashion & the warm “Perfect Fantasy” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg closes the EP asking what’s inside these walls.

The last EP we got from Olu & WowGr8 was a good introduction to the story of the trilogy & the follow-up has to be my favorite chapter thus far. A song or 2 I can do without, but the EARTHGANG still embarks on a sonic dive as they explore new soundscapes & topics on imperfections connections & projections within humanity’s relationship with each other & artificial intelligence.

Score: 3.5/5

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Krispylife Kidd – “Juice” review

Krispylife Kidd is a 30 year old rapper from Flint, Michigan who’s popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing since 2019 going on to release a total of 13 mixtapes & 3 EPs all in that span of time. Icewear Vezzo even signed him to Iced Up Records during the pandemic & Lil Yachty had him featured on Michigan Boy Boat. Now I’d start with Krispylife 2 & The Art of Spice Talk trilogy if you wanna dive into Krispylife’s music but since Vezzo put out his Quality Control debut Live from the 6 at the beginning of the month, I was interested in hearing that Krispy had released his 4th EP.

The opener “Bam Got Me Stuttering” gets Juice rolling with pianos & hi-hats declaring this to be a mass whoopin’ whereas “1 Time” talks about not having to many friends & the ones he does have stay tweakin’ being on nonsense over a cloudy instrumental. “Trapped Too Much” featuring Clean Up Man finds the 2 getting on their Detroit trap shit & Clean Up Man’s verse doesn’t really do much for me truthfully that is until “Back in the Basement” gets back on track works in bells & hi-hats talking about how he finna do something dangerous.

YSR Gramz’ feature on “Who at the Door?” isn’t any better than the previous guest performance despite the bell-inflicted Detroit trap beat & the idea of doing the shit that some of these dudes be rappin’ & “What You On” instrumentally gives me a Bay Area vibe impressively clapping back at those who can’t beef with him because their money ain’t long. “On the Spiritual Side” however concludes the EP with a slick Detroit trap cut flexing that his Chakra shining.

It can seem kinda corny with the title & artwork paying homage to the iconic 2Pac film of the same name & other artists have done that on previous projects in the past. Case in point: Soulja Boy. But Krispylife been got the Juice when it comes to artists in the local trap scene & continues to keep up with Vez for real. Regardless of not being head over heels for the 2 features, there’s no cappin’ on Krispy’s passionate delivery during the 17 & a half minute experience.

Score: 3.5/5

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Casey Veggies – “Nostalgia” review

Casey Veggies is a 30 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California notable for being a founding member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He’s also built a tight solo discography for himself including a couple full-lengths, a couple EPs & 8 mixtapes in nearly 2 decades. Standouts include the Customized Greatly series, Sleeping in ClassLife Changes and Live & Grow. That said: I was highly interested in hearing Casey’s 9th mixtape after learning that South Carolina plugg producer Dylvinci was fully on board with it.

The 90 second “Another Lane” sets the tone of the tape from the cloudy trap instrumental to the lyricism boasting that he’s in a different lane compared to these other motherfuckers whereas “Prada Tags” brings that plug sound full circle talking about being young & coming from the bottom. The title track works in more sparse, minimalistic drum & hi-hat patterns, subby 808s & heavy low end, piano samples, airy pads & icy synths discussing the things that make him nostalgic, but then “Won’t She” featuring IAMSU was an ok single despite the mellow beat & subject matter of refusing to go out sad.

“Put the City On” keeps the plugg beats coming representing his hometown of L.A. leading into “Boss Talk” featuring D Smoke takes the cloudy boom bap detailing the boss statuses that both of them have maintained. “Cut Different” goes plugg once more talking about how you ain’t dealing with no scrub & that he ain’t like the rest just before the synth-funk “Phillip Lim” featuring King Chip encourages the shorties to fuck with them.

Dylvinci mixes elements of g-funk, boom bap & trap on “Heavyweight” looking to put a woman who don’t have a man in designer while “No Flaggin’” refuses to stop grindin’ as it instrumentally kinda throws it back to the 80s’ a bit. “Savage” goes for a pluggier vibe talking about what money has done to him while the serenely produced “Either Way” discusses catching Ws regardless although Sean Ev & TTM Dawg’s verses don’t do much for me. “Curtains Closed” ends the tape by glamorously asking what’s up with y’all not getting money.

Even I’ll tell you that it’s been quite some time since I’ve enjoyed a Young Veggies project as somebody who’s been down with him since the OF days & with Nostalgia, it’s the best that he’s sounded in nearly 10 years. It sounds like he’s having fun eagerly seeking to evolve artistically & Dylvinci’s production is better than a lot of Casey’s recent material tightly expanding his sound by dabbling with plugg, trap, boom bap, g-funk & even synth-funk.

Score: 3.5/5

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Decksterror – “Love & Honour” review

This is the debut extended play from London, England, United Kingdom producer Decksterror. Originally known under the moniker G-Man, he would form Hollow Sun Records alongside Cosm in the spring of 2020 a couple weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began & eventually made his full-length solo debut with Black/Gold Stash a couple years later. However, he has since signed to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records as an in-house producer & is looking to make his debut for the label with Love & Honour.

“Tom Clancy” by C.O.N-Vers starts with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental portraying himself as an assassin but after Cosm & Hus Kingpin join him on the rap rock-inflicted title track so all 3 of them can talk about holding the aces high even if the stakes have never been any higher, “Invisible Man” by Ash the Author & JabbaThaKut reaches the halfway point speaking of both artists making moves of their own & still running from the men in black.

King Kakarot gets the 2nd half going by landing a track of his own Move Back” talking about the lack of rebelliousness these days when I don’t entirely agree with that since there are artists whose music captures that mentality well while “Running for the Shade” by C.O.N-Vers speaks of living in the good & bad days. “Dark Speed” by Ill Sykes ends the EP talking about being the sum of things to come & letting shells roll of his tongue much like he’s firing an automatic firearm.

Considering that this guy produced the penultimate single from Montener the Menace’s latest album The Miserable Git Next Door & one of my personal favorite tracks on there “Tomorrow’s Never Promised”, it’s not so much of a shocker to hear Decksterror joining Hidden Hobby & his debut for the rising underground imprint has me excited for the sequel he’s already begun working on. His sample-lenient boom bap production created using an MPC solidifies himself amongst the UK’s greatest producers & the briefer guest list is more consistent than Black/Gold Stash’s.

Score: 3.5/5

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Uncle Murda – “Lenny Grant Story” review

This is the 17th mixtape from New York emcee Uncle Murda. Being in the game for nearly 2 decades, he briefly signed to Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam Recordings in the mid/late 2000s but has since made himself home over at G-Unit Records for the past 8 years & doing his own take of the Rap Up series a decade ago inspired by Skillz. I can’t say I have a favorite tape of his since they’re pretty much moderately received, but the buildup to Lenny Grant Story got the best of me.

“If I Die” starts off with piano chords & hi-hats explaining that one of his opps is coming with him if he were to pass away whereas “The Projects” featuring Conway the Machine has a jazzy drill vibe talking about the trenches of their home state. “They Said” featuring Symba shifts back into trap territory telling y’all to look at them now leading into the soul/drill crossover “I’m Ok With That” talking about making his son into a king & fulfilling his promise.

Jadakiss accompanies Murda on the atmospheric “Money” dropping braggadocio just before cavernously hazy “No Safety” featuring Benny the Butcher acknowledges that it’s safe to say that ties have been cut. “10 Toes Down” has a spacious quality to the instrumental tackling themes of commitment, but then “Spin the Block” featuring Styles P & 50 Cent finds the trio looking to simply that on top of a ghoulish vocal sample.

“Grimey” weaves a rich boom bap beat in the fold reflecting on the welfare days while the song “Ride Out” featuring Peezy is an acoustic trap cut clearing out any place their opposition is at. The penultimate track “I Changed” soulfully breaks down how he’s become a different person as he’s gotten older & “2 Hurt 2 Cry” rounds out the tape in an upbeat fashion explaining they reason you don’t see no tears from him.

Once again: I’m not big on Uncle Murda’s previous material & I’ve heard numerous features from him across a multitude of projects over the years that I’ve actually enjoyed. Surprisingly, I was impressed to come away from Lenny Grant Story liking it more than I initially thought I would’ve. I’ll even say it’s the best thing he’s done ever since 50 signed him in the first place. The guest-list is impressive, Murda himself sounds concentrated & the production represents both past & present sounds of the New York hip hop scene.

Score: 3.5/5

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Vritra – “Amber” review

Vritra is a 32 year old rapper, producer & visual artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana known for formerly being 1/2 of The Jet Age of Tomorrow, 1/3 of The Super D3Shay & a member of the influential Odd Future collective before focusing on his own crew that he’s the de facto leader of NKR. He’s also released 7 LPs, 19 EPs & 4 mixtapes as a solo artist with the best ones being Pyramid & the Stones Throw Records-backed Indra. Matt Martians put out his latest solo EP Matt’s Missing a month ago & that was the best thing he’s done by himself in a while, so Vritra releasing his 20th EP over the weekend had me wondering how it was going to hold up.

Things start off with a trip hop instrumental sequel to “Wool Glasses” off the Jet Age of Tomorrow’s only album God’s Poop or Clouds? whereas the self-produced “Walking” gives an experimentally glitchy approach continuing to venturing out of his department. “Tether Me” featuring Jay Cue brings these synths into the fold talkin’ about being down for the block like it’s Tetris prior to jazz/soul fusion “Silverado” stripping the drums advising to let it burn similarly to the way the doobie is.

After the “Non Fiction” interlude, “Proximity” by Wilma Vritra begins the 2nd half of the EP by bringing a psychedelic flare to the beat acknowledging that people around his vicinity are getting bold while “Grey Matter“ sonically feels like a breezy, summer day admitting he didn’t know how to approach the situation initially. “Insomnia” draws inspiration from industrial music addressing a woman he goes insane thinking of & lastly, “Running” featuring Eyedress is a jazzy closer talking about stacking cheese & counting proceeds in the back.

Hal said himself on Twitter shortly after Amber was released that it would the last body of work of his to be put out under the Vritra moniker & however he reinvents himself artistically going forward, I can tell you that he gave us the strongest EP in his discography since Palace a decade ago already. He sounds recharged after taking a year off & his experimentally cloudy, west coast sound has additional undertones of drumless, jazz, soul, glitch hop & trip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Goat II” review

Tha God Fahim releasing his 2nd full-length LP of the month & the 22nd overall in his insanely large discography. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. But dude has been on a CRAZY ass EP run in 2023 with the standouts being the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull & the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King 4, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Fahim’s last EP Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth & more recently Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul from a few weeks ago. But as promised, Fahim’s finally unloading Dump Goat II onto Bandcamp.

“Fireball Jitsu” is a jazzy boom bap opener cooked up by DJ Tako rapping ball hard similarly to Damian Lillard whereas “Don’t Come Home” works in this incredible sample thanks to Nicholas Craven talking about being out here hustling all day by himself. “Legend Has It” hooks up these sumptuous piano chords with kicks & snares courtesy of Camoflauge Monk admitting he’s ok with criticism since he confidently has thick skin just before the groovy “Constitution Saving Throw” talks about how you barely following trends & that everything ain’t what it seems.

Moving on from there, “Tha Reflection ofSpawn” finds Craven taking the soulful boom bap route instrumentally boasting that he’s on the verge of blowing up kin to that of a hydrogen bomb leading into “S Prime One Million” hopping over these haunting organ melodies talking about his legacy surviving a lot of turmoil in the process. The vocal chops throughout “Belly of tha Beast” are pretty catchy & Fahim is on top of it passionately looking to stand on his feet, but then “Lonely Girl” is this decently dusty ass romance ballad.

“Penalty” blends some kicks & snares with a Cathedral-esque sample from Sadhugold breaking down that he learned the game through taking Ls while the self-produced “Logan’s Pain” has this cinematically climactic vibe to the beat flexing that he’s lit & asking why people be talking shit. “Stuck in My Dumpin’ Ways” brings a funkier flare making it clear he stays Dumpin’ while the cloudy/boom bap crossover “Grassroots” puts it all on his rhyme book refusing to let anything come between it.

The penultimate track “Tales of tha Forsaken” begins the last moments of the album with Camouflage Monk mixing a woodwind sample with kicks & snares reminding that it’s another day, another dollar that he makes prior to “Visions of Madness” sending off Dump Goat II by coming armed & dangerous with rhymes over a whistling boom bap instrumental that both Sadhugold & Camoflauge Monk produced together.

It should also be noted that there 9 previously released tracks on here, but the 10 new songs that the Dump Goat gives us here are pretty solid altogether although I’m still riding high from Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Sagafrom the beginning of the month. The production goes from boom bap to drumless, cloud rap & jazz rap as Dump Gawd makes it clear he’s still stuck in his ways. Still more interested in the 3 upcoming projects he has with Monk, the 3 with Craven, another one with Cookin’ Soul presumably titled Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga 2 & the self-produced one.

Score: 3.5/5

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Yeat – “2093” review

Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat continuing his tradition of releasing music in February with the 4th full-length LP in his discography. Coming up in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he would followed up with 2 mixtapes & 3 more EPs before beginning to dominate the mainstream in 2021 whether it be him dropping a total of 4 projects (2 mixtapes, an EP & a full-length debut) or cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë a little over a year ago & then a deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. But coming off “Rich Minion”& his 5th mixtape Lyfë couple summers ago alongside Aftërlyfe, we’re now being taken into the future on 2093.

“Psycho CEO” really gives everyone a look at what they’re getting themselves into with this industrial boom bap/trap crossover pushing up on the beat like a knife whereas “Power Trip” with co-production from Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group admits to possibly doing things that he never did before over some synthesizers up until the switch-up during the last minute in a half or so. “Breathe” literally samples Regular Show flexing that he made a billion bored on the jet prior to the dense “Morë” produced by Bugz Ronin & Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic confessing he loves losing control & needs a lot of shit.

The drums are completely removed on “Bought the Earth” going synthwave delving into themes of power & self-interest just before “Nothing Changë” blends these synths & hi-hats together talking about wanting too feel real referencing SpaceX founded by Tesla CEO, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk. “U Should Know” kinda gives off a rage inducing vibe likening himself to a fiend that likes to make money & doing things that you never should, but then the electro-industrial “Lyfestylë” featuring Lil Wayne discusses not being surprised by living this life.

“ILUV” entrancingly talks about seeing the future & coming back on top of loving it when his partner stays with him so they can rage together over a hypnotizing Rio Leyva beat while “Tell Më” talks about being born to live forever over kicks, snares & synthesizers. “Shade” continues to pull from electro-industrial thanks to Keyon Christ tackling the concepts of defiance, self-assurance & personal reflection while the distorted “Keep Pushin’” talks about defiance

Moving forward, “Riot & Set It Off” is this captivatingly dynamic 2-parter to start the 2nd half of the album refusing to conform & initiating action while “Team CEO” sonically builds itself around multiple synths from Outtatown acknowledging they might not get it at first. The title track breaks down the futuristic lifestyle he lives as the EBM influences make their way back into the fold while “Stand on It” featuring Future returns to Yeat’s hypertrap roots showing their swagger.

“Familia” reflects on wealth, power & loyalty within his inner circle over this mind-altering instrumental from BNYX of Working on Dying while the self-produced “Mr. Inbetweenit” declares that to be a new nickname for himself “because everything I said about that shit, I didn’t mean it” over synthesizers once more. “Psychocainë” hops on top of this booming trap beat while the raging “Run Thëy Mouth” tells y’all that “when you level up, you get that money like it’s Follywood”.

Continuing the encore of the LP, the penultimate track “If We Being Rëal” gives off a mysteriously dreamier atmosphere talking about taking shit to a new level on top of simultaneously feeling isolated & detached until the soothingly produced closer “1093” talking about not being from this Earth as well as being unable to stay although he wishes that he could. The first of currently 6 bonus cuts “As We Speak” featuring Drake experiments with pop rap, regalia & wave music to show off their luxurious lifestyles beginning Phase 2 & the rock/trap crossover “Never Quit” subsequently ends it by talking about refusing to walk away.

“Timë Passed” begins Phase 3 with a sequel to “Sidëwayz” tackling his continued success over a plugg instrumental that marks the return of the bells from some of his previous material also contained & the industrial/rage elements clashing on “Oh My Pockëts” are pretty fun telling y’all straight up he doesn’t & doesn’t want to know shit about those he refuses to let in his circle. “SKLUB” admits to havin’ problems with these demons & being amazed that no one has caught on except the synth-horn trap beat reminds me a bit of Pi’erre Bourne, but the 6th & so far final bonus track “H.A.B. (High As a Bitch)” ends Phase 3 in the form of a hypertrap anthem dedicated to being high as fuck.

It’s always exciting when an artist goes right when everyone expects them to go left & that’s pretty much what Yeat does throughout 2093. It’s noticeably more experimental than his previous material switching rage from a primary to secondary influence next to trap, electro-industrial, synthwave, EBM, pop rap & wave music predominantly showcasing an industrial hip hop sound painting an image of what life will be like 69 years from now.

Score: 4/5

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Quadeca – “Scrapyard” review

This is the 3rd mixtape from Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, producer, YouTuber & rapper Quadeca. His earliest output including Work in ProgressNostalgia for the NowBad Internet Rapper & Out of Order were all received negatively as was the full-length debut Voice Memos. The sophomore effort From Me to You proved to be decent & coming off his most beloved offering yet I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, he’s taking us to the Scrapyard full of material that didn’t make the final version of it’s predecessor to simultaneously fulfill his contractual obligations with deadAir Records.

Experimental hip hop, emo rap, glitch hop, cloud rap, folktronica, art pop, digicore, slacker rock & glitch hop all culminate in the intro “Dustcutter” begging not to be left out in the cold to dry prior to “A La Carte” featuring brakence blending experimental hip hop, emo rap, bedroom pop, digicore, midwest emo, glitch pop, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, art pop & abstract hip hop talking about rather being in their heads instead of their partners’ beds.

“Pretty Privilege” brings more of a general trap vibe confused by the compliments he’s been receiving from a woman he initially felt was lying when she called him pretty & trying to get to the bottom of as to why she genuinely feels that way leading into “Easier” fusing art pop, folktronica, neo-psychedelia, bedroom pop, emo rap, ambient pop, bossa nova, alternative R&B, dream pop, chamber folk & glitch pop talking about being in love with a chick who doesn’t feel the same way.

Quadeca steps outside the box in terms of sound on “Even If I Tried” with an outstandingly calculated outro trying to stop himself whenever he’s not feeling like himself while “What’s It to Him?” vulnerably admits his desire to hide a little less & cry more pulling inspiration from bands like The Beatles & Queen to Weezer. We get a solid attempt at hyperpop during “U Don’t Know Me Like That” touching base regarding a relationship that didn’t last while “I Make It Look Effortless” goes back to his roots over a combination of experimental hip hop, glitch hop, digicore, Americana, deconstructed club, industrial hip hop & folktronica.

“Way Too Many Friends” made for an introspectively eclectic pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, neo-psychedelia, glitch hop, cloud rap, trip hop & abstract hip hop song advising to stop having his bluff called if you wanna make amends with him followed by a repetitive hook while “Guess Who?” expands on the versatility balling experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, glitch hop, industrial hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, glitch hop, wonky, deconstructed club, digicore & beat bruxaria all in 1 to spit braggadocio.

Shoegaze makes itself a prominent influence in the 2 & a half minutes “Under My Skin” has to offer feeling paranoid while “Being Yourself” sees past another person trying to act like someone else & airs ‘em out on it right on the spot. Would be furthermore remised to leave out the instrumental breakdown outro. “U Tried That Thing Where Ur Human” sonically feels reminiscent of Björk talking about being fed up of getting treated as if he’s dirt while the “Guide Dog” delivers a 2 minute folk ballad about the love he has for his romantic interest.

“Texas Blue” featuring Kevin Abstract concludes the tape with my favorite collaboration of the 2 realizing they’ve been masking their emotions throughout the portrayed relationships they’re involved with crossing over Americana, pop & R&B while “perfectly cut scream” starts the deluxe run by running to his hip hop roots tackling the theme of self-confidence & simultaneously giving a giant “fuck you” to the crowd who dismissed his artistic potential entirely because of his earlier output. Most of which he even said himself was trash in the midst of the last album rollout.

What was the original 2nd half of “perfectly cut stream” spins off into the noisy experimental glitch hop cut “like me” boasting that nobody’s doing this on his level while the 80 second “123” talks about having everyone’s eyes on him after counting to 3. “mad at me” heads for a synthpop direction realizing the person he’s addressing doesn’t care if they’re wrong while “1 step program” fired back at an individual tryna take credit in his success. “lifespan” could most likely be my least favorite of the 7 outtakes here with my criticisms having little to do with the instrumental & more so in terms of the half-baked structuring, which carries itself onto the final bonus track “who i am”.

For a collection of I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You leftovers, it’s similar to what Kendrick Lamar did with untitled unmastered. & To Pimp a Butterfly in that the cutting room floor of a great concept album got an equally beloved life of it’s own. It’s themes are focused around the issues Gen Z are facing masterfully combining art pop, experimental hip hop, electronic, glitch pop, emo rap, folktronica, alternative R&B, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, cloud rap, digicore, slacker rock, bedroom pop, midwest emo, abstract hip hop, ambient pop, bossa nova, dream pop, chamber folk, hyperpop, Americana, pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, trip hop, hardcore hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, wonky, beat bruxaria, shoegaze & synthpop.

Score: 4.5/5

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$crim – “Lonely Boy 2” review

New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, producer & deejay $crim of the $uicideboy$ releasing the deluxe version of his new sophomore LP Lonely Boy. Wetto here was actually the first of the boy$ to branch out on his own by dropping the solo debut A Man Rose to the Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic to mixed to negative reception including from myself. Ruby da Cherry’s been grinding with a couple of skate punk EPs since last summer & Lonely Boy was a solid introduction to $crim’s alter-ego couple weeks ago even though you can tell it was inspired by Destroy Lonely’s debut album If Looks Could Kill. And since the deluxe is said to be a different LP of its own, I was wondering where he was gonna take it from there.

“90 day wonder” starts the deluxe off with a quirky trap instrumental boasting that he just dropped money on his necklace whereas “back4revenge” talks about seeking revenge for having his heart taken out of his chest & torn apart going straight-up dirty south. “operation fishnet” weaves these pianos & hi-hats together so he can ride around town with his shirt off just before for the trap metal-infused “pete rose” co-produced by G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox & named after the WWE Hall of Famer boasts about jumping out of the coupe.

Meanwhile, “heartbreak shorty” gives off a hazier flare sonically thanks to Noah Mejia talking about lighting 1 for the gang leading into “i juh wanna ball” is self-explanatory conceptually & the beat here has a bit of a Pi’erre Bourne influence to it. “i cannot promise you that, i give you my word” talks about his bitch being backed up with love over these synthesizers & hi-hats, but then “#ScrimJustWannaHaveFun” brings back the rage beats admitting that the guy wants to have some fun of his own.

“where to go when the levee breaks” confesses to drowning in percocets dabbling into trillwave a bit while “the future only stings once” is this acoustic trap hybrid talking about never understanding his father until he became a father himself. “void” is a pretty cool 2-parter flexing about pulling up in a Hellcat feeling like the man while “lick my nuts” draws from the $B’s Memphis roots instrumentally telling y’all straight forwardly to suck his balls.

Moving on from there, “icarus” talks about the possibility of turning his dog up going for a psychedelic trap sound generally while the ominous boom bap cut “dropping the cross” admits to being in his room chatting with Satan himself. “separation of crows” continues to drop braggadocio giving plugg music a shot while the moody “thought that you should know” admits to thinking about his mistake. “terminally unique” continues to give a psychedelic edge boasting he’s incurable my one of a kind & lastly the vast “find my way” ends the LP by admitting he doesn’t wanna die a certain way.

In contrast to Lonely Boy showing obvious inspiration from Lone & really the whole Opium crew in general due to their popularity at the moment, the deluxe has a way different vibe than the the solo album that we got from Wetto only a couple weeks ago. It’s pretty much a completely different body of work of its own with a good feeling to it this time around & serving more as a thank you.

Score: 3.5/5

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