This is the 20th EP from Charlotte, North Carolina recording artist BigBabyGucci. Getting his start in the summer of 2016 off his debut EP ART HOE Collection, he would continue to build a name for himself by putting out 19 more EPs as well as his last few albums & a mixtape along the way. But coming off one of his best LPs to date When U Wake Up, he’s closing out his 2023 by putting out a 9-track EP clocking in at 21 & a half minutes nearly a week after Calvin Tankman became the DPW Worlds Champion & The Motor City Machine Guns ended The Workhorsemen’s reign as DPW Worlds Tag Team Champions.
“Alone at Night” is a spaciously drumless opener talking about how he doesn’t know what’s wrong with him whereas “Full of Sin” admits that he believed he could find myself inside the drugs & never did in the end over a guitar-driven instrumental. “Night Shift” gives off a bluesy trap groove trying not to take anything serious for real prior to “Murder Shit” coming through in some Marni shit & that everyone knows for a fact he’s stuntin’ taking a futuristic approach to the beat thanks to Venny.
To start the 2nd half of the EP, “Genie in a Bottle” turns into mellower territory feeling like this woman was a part of him just before “Do or Die” refuses to fumble under pressure & simply call it fake over kicks & snares mixed with pianos. “Wanted 4 Murder” boasts that he’s wanted for killing the pussy over a moodier instrumental prior to “Provide 4 U” featuring Tony Shhnow talks about providing for their lovers so they never need bringing a dreamier vibe. “Icebreaker” closes out the EP continuing to make things atmospheric telling her to break the ice.
When U Wake Up still stands as my favorite full-length of the 3 that BigBabyGucci has put out & even though this EP was clearly supposed to be the deluxe version of that new album, I think him putting it out as a separate counterpart isn’t too bad either. We have him expanding on his versatility trying out some new sounds beyond trap & pop rap with alternative R&B, his performances/songwriting match the caliber he reached couple months ago & the Tony Shhnow feature was as entertaining.
Team Demo is a DMV-based production crew consisting of DJ Dialtone, J. Cosell & Mr. Wise. They’ve produced for the likes of 50 Cent, Tha Alkaholiks & even the late Sean Price to only name a few. They just compiled a collection of previously released tracks earlier this year, but are now coming together for a full-length producer album of original material with Wais P on most of it. Kinda like how Ghostface Killah was prominently featured on Raekwon’s solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… & vice versa on Ironman.
“Quest Love Bounce” featuring Planet Asia & Skyzoo is a cinematic boom bap opener chockfull of hardcore lyricism whereas “Extras in the Pot” featuring Rome Streetz finds the 2 over some pianos, kicks & snares getting in their drug dealing bags. “5% Tint” featuring Che Noir & Hus Kingpin takes a soulful approach instrumentally wanting to take the lives of a couple opps leading into “Camera Flash” featuring Illa Ghee & Method Man finds the trio eerily talking about how you can pose like the flash of a camera itself.
Meanwhile, “Creep” featuring Montage Øne & MC Eiht gives off more of a minimal west coast sound as all 3 lyricists spit that g shit just before “Odee” featuring Termanology talks about running through the streets with it & a suspenseful boom bap beat. “Poli with the Plug” featuring Kingpen Slim & Vado ominously gets back on their hustler shit while “Do You Believe?” featuring Sauce Money angrily looks to make believers out of those who aren’t already.
“What You Don’t See” featuring Lil’ Fame & NEMS draws near the end of the LP dustily declaring that the things you don’t see is what you get turning the tables on “What You See is What You Get” by Xzibit prior to “Hallelujah” featuring The Bad Seed, Planet Asia & Ras Kass truly tying things up here with a gospel sample & a guitar so everyone is able to let off rapid fire bars in their own distinctive fashions for nearly 4 minutes.
If anyone enjoyed the joint “Crime Wave” off of 50’s final Shady/Aftermath album Before I Self Destruct that celebrated it’s 14 year anniversary last month, then you’re gonna want to check out Team Demo’s official debut. The production is raw paying homage to both the east & west coast which makes sense considering the list of guests that they bring along with them for the ride is generally consistent.
(həd) p.e. is a g-punk outfit from Huntington Beach, California masterminded by Jahred Gomes. From their first 2 albums under Jive to their first stint on Suburban Noize in the mid-2000s, these guys have truly been making a name for themselves for over 25 years whether that be their eclectic sound or the more political lyrics on some of their recent output. They returned to Subnoize in 2019 for their 11th album Stampede even though it wasn’t generally received that well by both critics & fans alike, but the Broke sequel Class of 2020 returned to their roots & the subsequent EP Sandmine wound up being angrier. However to come off the Califas Worldwide compilation & their covers album 70s Hits from the Pit, M.C.U.D. & company are ending Suburban Noize’s 25 year anniversary by detoxing their 13th full-length LP of all original material.
“No Way Out” is a skull-smashing trap metal opener to the album declaring that they’re back in black whereas the title track returns to their g-punk roots singing that he knows just what you want. “Waiting” gives off a bit of a rap rock vibe addressing someone who’s no good for him, but then “Too Late” goes into a straight-up nu metal direction talking about how you need to count your blessings. Moving on from there, “This Dream” takes it back to the g-punk sound that they created reminding that the dream they have isn’t for everyone just before “Compromise” fuse elements of reggae, punk rock & hip hop refusing to give & take. “Rat Race” embraces works in another trap metal beat so M.C.U.D. can paint the image of a nightmare leading into the rap rock “Going Nowhere” promising they ain’t leaving anytime soon. “Pour My Wine” draws near the end of the album with a rap metal groove encouraging to light the blunt up & fill up his cup or glass with wine prior to “PCH” closes the album for a funky rap rock dedication to those doing time as we all know that life’s too short & time is continuing to fly by.
Class of 2020 to me wasn’t that bad of a sequel to Broke, but the way Detox pays homage to their g-punk origins by capturing the frenetic energy & signature elements of their distinctive sound is more than enough to satisfy anyone who obviously loves these guys. Ulrich Wild’s masterful mix & master seamlessly melds raw aggression, hip-hop influences & hardcore vibes to deliver a sonically cohesive experience. If this is how the 25 year anniversary of Suburban Noize Records ends, it’s a pretty ass-kicking high note.
Charleston, South Carolina up-&-comer OsamaSon is back with a sophomore full-length album. Starting a couple years ago, he would then start to pump out 3 EPs shortly after I’m da Man as well as Vengeance & Carnival respectively. He returned at the beginning of 2023 by dropping osamavrt, following it up this past spring in the form of slime & Bad Habits. Osama’s debut Osama Season earlier this summer was some of the best dark plugg I’ve heard in a while, so it made sense for him to follow-up on that previous LP couple weeks after being delayed of it’s original Black Friday release.
“Blonde” is a rage-inducing opener booling on the East side with his fucking twin whereas “Baghdad” comparing his foreign bitch & his sticks to the capital of Iraq guaranteeing that your crew can’t fuck with whilst Ok mixes elements of electronic music with trap. “All Star” shifts back into the hypertrap sound to ball like an MVP with a bunch of checks all in his head just before “For da Flex” produced by gyro talks about giving no fucks as he & his slime go for the win over more rage beats.
Things take a turn into bombastic territory on “Worst Part” promising that you don’t want smoke with him at all leading into the bassy “Trenches” kicking shit with his manager Stef like it’s the NFL asking when Young Thug’s gonna be free & shopping at Lenox in Atlanta. “Nothing” returns to giving off a bit of a hypertrap edge instrumentally talking about running out of love & still having mud, but then “3x” saying all he needs is 3 percs over an explosive rage beat.
“Boss Up” talks about looking the best & making this far in the rap game already over these dense, buzzing synths with repetitive chord progressions on top of melodic synthesizer leads & hi-hats while “Kills” talks about falling in love & buying more drugs with more hypertrap production accompanying him. “Kome Thru” declares himself as the one turning the bass up high as Hell once more while the synth-heavy “Me When” talks about taking the trap to Los Angeles & that his bag got hella checks.
Meanwhile, I feel like “Uno” almost has this industrial trap vibe to it admitting all he does his flex while “Str8 Flexin’” continues to drop braggadocio over this chaotic ass instrumental. The song “Congrats” keeps things atmospheric talking about being congratulated on winning his shit while the penultimate track “Pop” admits that he’ll post up just to flex & to tell slime that he got bags on top of hi-hats woven into this “yeah” vocal sample. “Talking 2 a Ghost” ends the album by confessing over guitars from thr6x that he doesn’t know where he’s going, but that he’s gonna make it today.
“Cartel” is the first of 6 bonus tracks by flexing his mob ties over rage beats while “Rehhab” switches into a a slower flow & a more melodical approach although it’s still grounded into that hypertrap sound instrumentally. “Need It” has these icy synths & skittering hi-hats talking about being in the streets fuckin’ that shit up while “Alot” continues clashing dense, buzzing synthesizers with repetitive chord progressions melodic synth leads likening his whip to a GoKart. “Flxr” has a heavier sound using a different vocal delivery than Osama normally does looking to stack his chips & the rubbery “Freestyle” ends the deluxe by giving 1 last flex.
OsamaSeason quickly cemented OsamaSon as a fresh new face in the dark plugg scene for me, but he completely departs from that style & even plugg music in general on a sophomore effort that results in being a cut above the debut that we got from him earlier this summer. The rage undertones of the predecessor are being showcased more than they were last time, his confidence is off the charts & he sounds like he’s having fun with it.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada rapper, songwriter & producer Night Lovell is back with his 3rd full-length LP albeit his 2nd for the $uicideboy$‘ very own G*59 Record$. Emerging in 2014 when he dropped his debut EP I’ll Be Back & then following it up 4 months later with his debut mixtape Concept Vague, heads continued to turn in 2016 off the sophomore tape Red Teenage Melody & the 2019 full-length debut Goodnight Lovell. His sophomore effort & G*59 debut Just Say You Don’t Care was a step above the album before that, but is returning by simply saying I Hope You’re Happy.
“Morrison” is a morbid trap opener produced by outby16 who did the entire project explaining that they tried to take him down with no success whereas “Who’s This Weirdo?” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about being back & asking exactly what the plan is. “My Day’s Ruined!” was an underwhelming choice of a single hooking up a suspenseful loop with some hi-hats dissing those who be fucking up his mood, but then “Golden Ticket” grimly talks about running ’round the fuckin’ world tryna conquer.
Meanwhile, “Sunday” goes for a dreary trap vibe melodically asking why they make him feel like it’s nowhere to go leading into “Life Sucks So We Fuck” featuring ZillaKami of prior City Morgue fame who has the best feature on the LP goes full-blown trap metal talking about how there really isn’t any better remedy when you think about it. “Peek-a-Boo” likens himself to that of a monster over some heinous piano chords & hi-hats just before “Sucks to Be You :/“ draws inspiration from the Memphis scene a bit telling y’all to pick your battles.
“Freak” featuring Freddie Dredd who’s guest appearance is a little weaker in comparison to Kami’s, but nonetheless was a ghostly trap single addressing those lookin’ like freaks tryna take their shines from them while “Eye Spy” gets in his young stunner bag keeping that occult atmosphere in the fold. “Alive Even When I Die” draws near the end of Night Lovell’s official G*59 sophomore effort by telling guys a story ’bout his life over a psychedelic guitar riff & hi-hats. Finally, the closer “Cold Shoulder” ties up the LP by professing that he doesn’t wanna live this life over a woozy beat.
Just Say You Don’t Care was a considerable step-up from Goodnight Lovell, but he really takes his elevation to a whole new level by going above & beyond on I Hope You’re Happy. outby16’s production expands KLNV’s cloudy trap sound in favor of experimenting with trap metal & even boom bap. As far as Lovell’s performances go, he outdoes himself 2 & a half years ago when he was first introduced to $B’s audience & bringing in a couple features unlike last time also.
Trinidadian-American rapper & singer/songwriter Nicki Minaj is celebrating her 41st birthday by putting out her long-awaited 5th full-length LP after a couple delays. Starting in ‘04 as 1/4 of the Hoodstars, she would go solo shortly after & put out a trilogy mixtapes in the mid/late 2000s, most notably her final one Beam Me Up Scotty that later resulted in New Orleans icon Lil Wayne signing Nicki to a joint deal with Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records. Her debut album Pink Friday in my opinion is her best full-length, as Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was trash & The Pinkprint was average as was her last LP Queen over 5 years ago already. She has since departed Cash Money, but is sticking with Young Money & it’s distributor Republic Records alongside her newly launched Heavy On It Records for a sequel to her debut that I went into morbidly curious about.
“Are You Gone Alreaady?” featuring Billie Eilish on the hook has an angelic trap sound to it thanks to FINNEAS talking about only hurting you if you let them whereas “Barbie Dangerous” shows off a speedier flow reminding that these bitches is her sons all this time later over a piano-driven trap instrumental. “F.T.C.U. (Fuck This Club Up)” pays homage to a joint on Waka Flocka Flame’s groundbreaking debut album Flockaveli over a rubbery bassline & hi-hats from ATL Jacob, but then “Beep Beep” featuring 50 Cent goes into spacious trap turf courtesy of Murda Beatz wondering if it’s beef if she don’t even know you exist
Moving on from there, “Fallin’ 4 U” professes her feelings for her childhood friend/now husband & sex offender Kenneth Petty over an genuinely luscious beat with hi-hats just before “Let Me Calm Down” featuring J. Cole goes into a cloudier direction instrumentally so both of them can talk about being taken somewhere mystical. “R.N.B. (Real N***a Bitch)” featuring Lil Wayne continues to delve further into atmospheric territory dedicated to the titular type of women while “Pink Birthday” talks about making one feel like it’s their special day over Boi-1da flipping “Pornography” by Travis Scott.
“Needle” featuring Drake is an awkward reggaeton ballad comparing life to a haystack & their romantic partners as the needles in it hence the title while “Cowgirl” talks about getting drunk over acoustics & hi-hats. “Everybody” featuring Lil Uzi Vert has this danceable groove throughout the instrumental with both of them look to spin & kill guaranteeing that TikTok will have a field day with it while “Big Difference” explains that she ain’t nothing like these other women out here over a chaotic trap instrumental from BoogzDaBeast & FNZ.
We get a bit of dancehall mixed with trap & hardcore pop rap on “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” dropping braggadocio throughout while “Forward from Trini” featuring Skeng & Skillibeng embraces those dancehall elements of the previous cut a bit more heavier describing the kind of woman who has a thing for bad guys. “Pink Friday Girls” heavily samples “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauter putting her own spin on that concept & “Super Freaky Girl” isn’t any better pretty much building itself around “Super Freak” by Rick James.
“Bahm Bahm” gives off a tropical trap flare explaining you can’t talk on the phone with her because she doesn’t like to put the cops in business prior to Don Cannon & Sean Momberger cooking up one of the stronger instrumentals on the album with “My Life” making it known to everyone tuning in that she doesn’t need any more drama in her life. The spacious R&B duet “Nicki Hendrix” featuring Future advises that feeling destructive leads to destruction while “Blessings” featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard finds BNYX of Working on Dying stripping the drums to talk about their own respective blessings.
The penultimate track “Last Time I Saw You” blends alt-pop & contemporary R&B with pop rap alongside alternative R&B & even jersey club singing about her father Robert Maraj who passed away over 2 & a half years ago already. However to close out Nicki’s 5th album & the sequel to her debut, “Just the Memories” details that memories don’t live like people do but they’ll always remember you rather. The first of 3 bonus cuts “Love Me Enough” is easily the best from the summery sound Murda Beatz delivers to the lyrics admitting to previously believing love had to hurt while “Press Play” featuring Future teams Pluto with Roman with the fans on K. The last bonus song “Big Foot” is not only up in discussion for being the worst diss track ever made aimed at Megan Thee Stallion, but MAYBE the worst single of the decade.
There was no way in my mind that Pink Friday 2 would be any worse than Queen or especially Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, but I still came away from the final product kinda on the fence with it. Of course you’re gonna have some filler during the 90 minute or so listening period, but I can definitely hear her incorporating all the things that people love about her with a way bigger sound although the production has it’s lackluster moments such as the way some of the samples were used or even a few features.
This is the 6th proper full-length LP from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee IAMISEE. Coming up as 1/2 of Grace & Divine, the duo would land a short-lived deal with Ruffhouse Records until eventually disbanding. He then embarked on a solo career of his own in 1999 off a self-titled debut & returned a couple years later with 83 (A.D. Three). This was followed up with Adamantium as well as IAMISEE vs DJ Demon and Fear & Loathing in the Music Business. But over a decade later, he’s teaming up with DJ Iron to make a comeback on Phantom X.
“A.D.A.G. (Angels, Demons, Aliens, Ghosts)” is a drumless breaking down spiritual beings having a physical experience whereas “Electric” dives into boom bap territory talking about how exactly bright he’s shining. “Champion” works in more kicks & snares explaining that he just has that type of sound just before “Rinse & Repeat” remains in boom bap territory so he can talk about life being confusing at times, which rightfully so.
Moving on from there, “Beyond Worlds” keeps things rugged telling y’all to blast this shit as the wheels of your truck spin leading into “The Meaning” ending the first half of the album over an atmospheric loop with kicks & snares addressing those who think they know what he’s thinking. After the “Outerlude,” we have “Signs of the Times” starting the 2nd leg with a sample-based boom bap beat explaining what this shit be prior to the somewhat psychedelic “Atomic Comet” talking about the way he plans to hit the earth over
After the 2 & a half minutes “Mind” instrumental cut, the title track subset “(33 RPM)” returns to the boom bap likening himself to a breath of fresh air while the song “Timeslip” hooks up some kicks & snares with these grungy guitar licked acknowledging that it’s been a long wait since the fans have last heard from him yet he’s finally here. “Return to Sender” however happens to be a groovy closer dedicated to all the souls stuck in limbo.
Come to find out that Phantom X has been a decade in the making starting in 2013 & completed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which is interesting because you can definitely hear they put their all into it. DJ Iron’s production fuses classic hip hop with elements of 60’s psychedelica & bits of acid rock while also further experimenting with vintage organs, phasers, analog filters & tape echoes on top of the dense lyricism taking the listeners to an other-worldly realm.
CZARFACE is an east coast underground trio consisting of New York emcee/producer Inspectah Deck from the almighty Wu-Tang Clan as well Boston emcee/producer duo 7L & Esoteric of the Army of the Pharaohs. They first formed like Voltron in 1999 on the single ““Speaking Real Words”, but finally decided to form the supergroup after making “12th Chamber” off the final 7L & Eso album to date 1212 over 13 years ago. Their 2013 self-titled debut along with their 2015 sophomore effort Every Hero Needs a Villain would both become modern underground classics in my opinion. A Fistful of Peril the following year was originally supposed to be the quartet’s final album & I thought that was a great way for them to go out, but they did pleasantly surprise me when they dropped their collab albums CZARFACE Meets Metal Face with the late MF DOOM in 2018 & then CZARFACE Meets Ghostface Killah with his DOOMSTARKS partner in rhyme Ghostface Killah the year after that. The Odd Czar Against Us would come out 9 months later & that felt more like a split EP between CZARFACE and solely 7L & Esoteric given that both groups have 6 songs each. Czarmageddon! though ended up being the trio’s most consistent full-length since Every Hero Needs a Villain so when it announced they had signed to Virgin Music for their 6th album, I was intrigued to hear if CZARFACE would continue to improve themselves like they did a year & a half ago.
“Czarchimedes’ Death Ray” of course starts the album with a boom bap instrumental & feeling like no one can stop them whereas “Blast Off” works in more kicks & snares with a fuzzy guitar from The Czar-Keys continuing to boast on the lyrical side of things. “All That For a Drop of Blood” is a synth/boom bap hybrid explaining that it be a grand entrance whenever Czar’s in the building, but then “You Know My Style” featuring NEMS serves as an eerie reminder to all 4 of their underground roots on all fronts.
7L & Esoteric get their own solo cut with “Mama’s Basement” telling the story of a mother going away on a lifelong trip & never seeing her much, yet he found a world he can escape to in the end leading into the dusty “Frenzy in a Far Off World” featuring Frankie Pulitzer a.k.a. Tom Hardy keeping the battle bars rolling. “Czarsenic” despite is brevity has to be one of the most cutthroat moments on the album comparing their flows to arsenic over an unsettling beat just before the piano/boom bap “Gatecrasher” featuring Logic asking why people bringing beef up in their joint.
“Sirens” brings the synthesizers back into the picture explaining that they be sleeping with the titular prolonged warning sounds going off while “Helicopter” featuring Godfather Don & Kool Keith finds the quintet bringing it live from the czarbeque over kicks & snares. After the “1-11 Chelsea” instrumental from both 7L & JL Hodges, “Marvel at That (Road Trip)” is another 7L & Eso cut filled with Marvel wordplay while “Live from Czarnegie Hall” featuring Kool Keith ruggedly talks about this being survival of the fittest. “Together” ends with album with an uncanny instrumental describing themselves as A-list.
For a major label debut, CZARFACE continues to build upon what made their last LP from a year & a half ago by putting out another consistently focused body of work that pays homage to golden age of hip hop culture with samples from classic records. They mix their characteristic old school sound with soulful & jazzy beats on top of blending the unfiltered essence of OG braggadocio, introspective storytelling that the high-flying superheroes have become known for by now.
Minneapolis, Minnesota duo Atmosphere consisting of Slug on the mic & Ant on the boards following up their 13th LP So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously. Initially a trio from the beginning of their formation up to release of their critically acclaimed debut Overcast!, they would later go on to build an independent empire with their Rhymesayers Entertainment whether that be signing acts from Brother Ali to the late Eyedea or putting out their best bodies of work like God Loves Ugly of Sad Clown Bad Dub 9.. But it turns out Atmosphere has some outtakes from the sessions of their latest album & are compiling them into Talk Talk.
“Wetter” starts the EP for all the party people down the electro-trap instrumental whereas “Attachings” works in some synthesizers advising to never change & that everything’s happening whatever that even means. “Rotary Telephone” goes for a funkier approach to the beat so he can think out loud on wax prior to the dance-inspired “Don’t Mind Me” talking about deserving some levity & that everybody gets left behind in the end.
Meanwhile, the futuristic jam “Where I’m / You’re At” asks if anyone’s in the back of the front or the front of the back while the title track is taken straight from the new full-length that Atmosphere put out this spring. “Hear Hear” experiments with trap again saying you need someone here when you got something to hear while the wavy “Hello Pete” featuring Buck 65 & Kool Keith pulls out the receipts on the titular character.
“Make Party Politics” continues to draw near the end of the 2nd body of work from Slug & Ant this year fusing trap with electro music once more detailing that you don’t even know what the Hell you’re looking at & to not hold your breath prior to “Traveling Forever” ending the EP with a calming boom bap instrumental portraying himself is an endless traveler.
So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneouslyevoked the multiversal storytelling that’s recently vaulted into the mainstream consciousness & with this EP that came out of those very sessions, they dart across threads of space-time to grab hold of the one becoming titans of the sounds that was foundational to their youth. Ant’s production is more inspired by the likes of Kraftwerk & The Egyptian Lover so Slug can makes visions of the future from 4 decades ago seem new once again.
One of the greatest Detroit emcees of all-time eLZhi teaming up with Oxnard producer Oh No for his 5th LP. Rising to prominence as a member of Slum Village shortly after the departure of the late J Dilla about 2 decades ago, he eventually saw success of his own with his classic solo debut The Preface in the summer of ‘08 & was followed up 8 years later with Lead Poison. 7 Times Down, 8 Times Up is my 2nd favorite of his behind The Preface due to JR Swiftz’ stellar production as well as it’s resilience heavy concept & the last album Zhigeist produced by Georgie Anne Muldrow was a boom bap/neo-soul love letter to people of color. But with Oh No fresh off producing Berserko for Tha God Fahimthis spring, eL’s keeping it rolling on the Nature Sounds roster for Heavy Vibrato
After the “What Is Heavy Vibrato?!?” intro, the first song “Trick Dice” starts the album by mixing these vibraphones with kicks & snares detailing the type he is & that he stays on point whereas “In Your Feelings” featuring Dankery Harv gives off a suspenseful boom bap approach instrumentally blasting those who be squealing on them. After the “Doc No Check Up” interlude, “R.I.P. (Radio International Programming)” featuring Guilty Simpson continues to move forward hoping on top of pianos declaring this shit ain’t real now just before “Possessed” shifts gears into darker turf talking about not being sent to another dimension in this lifetime.
“Bishop” works in more kicks, snares & pianos admitting that he’s been feeling like it’s him against the world as of late leading into “Fireballs” keeps in to the basement musically talking about what’s exactly going to happen when you speak ill on his name. “Smoke” featuring Blu as well as Oh No himself & Phez Roc strips the drums in favor of a jazzy loop admitting that they’re from another space & time occasionally, but then “Twilight Zone” talks about opening up the doors with the keys to imagination over a fragilely calm beat. The penultimate track “Say It Don’t Spray It” draws near the end of the album by bringing it hardcore responding to shots being fired & to wrap up Heavy Vibrato, the closer “Last Nerve” admits that there are only a few things in this life that be getting on his nerves over another boom bap instrumental.
You can’t really go wrong with eLZhi’s discography since he’s been constantly putting out quality material in the last 25 years, but I happen to like Heavy Vibrato slightly more than Zhigeist. Oh No‘s production here is more jazzier in comparison to Georgia’s swapping those elements out for neo soul last time & the storytelling from the Detroit lyrical wizard is cinematic top to bottom.
Legends Will Never Die 