Krispylife Kidd – “Krisp Flair” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Krispylife Kidd is back with his 16th mixtape. Since 2019, his popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing since 2019 going on to release a total of his previous 15 tapes & 4 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, although Juice& B.A.G. (Born A Goat) each had their own individual standouts a couple years ago. Coming off the Stunt Life EP & Why Me Worry? however, Krisp Flair has arrived following some delays.

“My Old Self” opens with a Flint sound intro talking about still being the same if he was hypothetically down to $2 whereas “Who U Talking To?” fires shots at all these shrimp ass cornballs trying to diss him. “My Time to Shyne” featuring Detwan Love was one of the weaker moments due to their melodic performances despite the messaging while “Walking in the Park” confidently talks about him only getting started.

We have Krispylife offering some “Self Motivation” to end the 1st half of Krisp Flair & an instrumental that tries to tug at the heartstrings a bit while “No New Members” featuring Clean Up Man made for a Detroit trap collaboration that wasn’t any better than the one earlier. The freestyle spends a minute & a half going off the dome over a woozy beat while “Do This Go Right?” talks about his feet aching from running up checks.

“Realest You Ever Met” winds down the last leg of the tape fusing pop rap & trap for north him & the woman that he’s been romantically involved with to realize that they were essentially made for each other but once “Talking Loose” switches back to an aggressive tone recklessly running his mouth like he used to do when he initially began making music, the outro “Do You FWM?” spends the last couple minutes telling his lover what about her he fucks with the most.

2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair made himself the greatest shit-talker in the whole professional wrestling business & Krisp Flair improves above his previous mixtape last spring sending shots for nearly a half hour with no guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Cashus King – “Water to Wine” review

Here is the brand new studio LP & 13th overall from Los Angeles, California emcee Cashus King. Originally known under the monikers Co$$ & later Ca$hiu$ King until settling on his current name, most will recognize him for his long-standing affiliation with Blu & Exile in addition to him having 6 extended plays & 7 mixtapes aside from the previous dozen of full-lengths in his solo discography. 3 years have already passed since Lava Lamps & the London, England, United Kingdom producer Big O has been brought in to soundtrack a Water to Wine transformation.

After the “Barry Water” intro, “Likwid (Big Fish)” begins with this angelic boom bap opener talking about how both of them been floating through districts whereas “Precipitation” featuring Fashawn embraces a jazzier vibe instrumentally to spit streams of consciousness. “Cherry Cola” featuring L.O.U. & P-Rawb samples “Shake Your Booty” by Bunny Sigler to use it’s title as a metaphor for drinking water over soda prior to “Streams” featuring Blu, Frannie EL & Shari returning to a conscious approach to the lyrics.

“Drownin’” has a bright boom bap quality to it encouraging all to keep swimming forward when life throws you overboard just before “Hydration (Reign)” ends the 1st half talks about watering the plants of our imagination & tells the world to keep dreaming. “Drippin’ (Soakin’ Poems)” works in some synths so we can hear the Heaven in their skills to start the 2nd leg while “Potions” featuring G-Holy stylistically leans towards a more g-funk direction getting on their west coast shit.

Nearing the end of Water to Wine, the song “Swimmin’” brings a triumphant trap flare to the table talking about doing backstrokes while “Holy Water” hooks up some organs to make room for Cashus to get confessional on the mic. “Like Lava for Water” apologizes for having people fight their wars for the days they came up short & after “Dark Agua” featuring Big Tone offers food for thought, the outro “Wine” ends by asking who or what we’re living for.

Many including myself would consider Before I Awoke to be Cashus King’s finest collection of solo material, but this new one isn’t far behind it assuring the world we all have the ability to turn Water to Wine in the metaphorical sense of everyone having the capability of change. Big O cooks up some of the strongest production of his career & Co$$ lyrically takes audiences through an exploration of transformation at its deepest level with a handful of guests.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

DJ Clay – “Let ‘Em Bleed 5” review

This is the 9th mixtape from Detroit, Michigan emcee, producer & turntablist DJ Clay. Being an in-house producer for Psychopathic Records for 2 decades already, he would also start up his own label Armed Robbery Entertainment in addition to putting out his last 8 tapes & the 2019 full-length debut Over the Fear Of…. However, the DJ for the Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) hit YouTube show JCW Lunacy has finally returned ahead of a sophomore effort for the long-awaited 5th installment of the Let ‘Em Bleed series.

After the EDM intro, “Man of the Year” begins with a Clay solo track getting boastful over a vocal sample & some horns whereas “Chop ‘Em Up” by Ouija Macc hops over a trap instrumental produced by DeadBoyGrim & DJ Clay to spit the wicced shit. “After the “Yoo-Da” skit, “Dumbazz” by Bailz & Shaggy 2 Dope finds the 2 comedically poking fun at all the dumbasses while “Skrrt Skrrt (Juggalo Phonk)” by Shaggytheairhead finds the latter putting a juggalo spin on the phonk subgenre.

“Willis” brings Clay back on the mic for a trap-tinged single that we got summer responding to those claimin’ to be the man while “Party Like Us” by Lardi B kicks off the 2nd half with a decent club anthem. “Hurt You” by Shaggy 2 Dope hooks up some pianos & hi-hats addressing an individual whom the Southwest Strangla can’t get enough of leading into “Shiny Shit” by Tierre Diaz confidently giving fans what they want musically.

Violent J returns for a “Duke of the Wicked” sequel reminding everyone why the JCW Commissioner & 50% owner alongside former WWE, WCW & TNA writer and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vince Russo earned himself that nickname to begin with while “The Darth Fader Cut” dabbles with turntablism with the help of DJ Chunk for 110 seconds. “The Father, The Son & The Holy Spirit” marks the last DJ Clay solo joint calling to let the feelings we don’t know free from our souls while “Sorry for the Wait” by the Odd Squad Family ends with an apology for Let ‘Em Bleed 5’s delay.

I knew it was gonna be different since some of the former Psychopathic alumni who appeared on all 4 of the previous entries of the Let ‘Em Bleed saga had their ties to the Clowns severed for almost a decade, but it’s alright because Let ‘Em Bleed 5 continues the series strong showcasing where the hatchet’s been at currently with both of it’s co-founders & the CEO of it’s Chapter 17 Records subsidiary all contributing in addition to A•R signee Tierre Diaz & a couple affiliates like the Odd Squad Family or Lardi B who’ve all performed at previous Gatherings.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

SK da King – “Due Diligence” review

Here is the 4th extended play from Baltimore, Maryland emcee SK da King. Emerging as a member of the Checkered Flag Boyz under the original moniker Paul Skola, it wasn’t until a few years ago where he signed to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group as a solo act as announced by his debut single “Actions” & would go on to introduce himself to the Drumwork fanbase that fall in the form of the debut EP Horus. His full-length debut studio album Made 4 Thiscame after Before the Album & has enlisted Haas Almahdi to produce Due Diligence following No More Mr. Guy.

The title track begins with a powerful boom bap intro talking about him trying to build his catalog strongly whereas “Animal” featuring ItzGitty makes for the only song I didn’t care for dustily responding to people calling them beasts. “Top Spot” ends the 1st half talking about his name ringing bells & coming back hot just before “East Side” mixes a piano with some kicks & snares to explain that this is a lose-lose game along with having shit locked from side to side.

“Cruise Control” winds down the last few moments of Due Diligence talking about him riding for this shit & how heavy Drumwork moves over another boom bap instrumental while “Early Bird” gives off a more nocturnally rawer vibe talking about bringing the money home regardless of not knowing when he’ll return home. The closer “John Gotti” spends the last few minutes of the EP comparing himself to the iconic Mafia boss of the same name.

Familiarizing myself with Haas Almahdi after producing for the likes of Lloyd Banks or 7xvethegenius & more recently Courtney Bell, hearing that he was linking up with SK da King gave me the feeling that SK was gonna outdo every single EP he’s done up until this point & that’s exactly what he does. Outside of a guest appearance, Haas’ boom bap production & SK’s lyricism make for a great pairing even if it’s only for 23 minutes.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Slift – “Fantasia” review

Slift is a heavy psych trio from Toulouse, Occitanie, France consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jean Fossat, bassist/vocalist Rémi Fossat & drummer Canek Flores. Emerging in 2017 off the band’s debut extended play Space is the Key as well as their 2018 full-length debut La Planète Inexplorée & the widely praised 2020 sophomore effort Ummon, they returned 4 years later by dropping an equally celebrated Sub Pop Records debut Ilion & are looking to outdo both of those with their 4th studio LP.

The title track opens up with an epic 9 minute intro taking some inspiration from doom metal signing about rising above our pain & finding a fire for our souls whereas “Corrupted Sky” describes a fictional town plagued by a sense of xenophobic unknowing. “The Village” continues the story finding this bigoted city welcoming an outsider like poison over progressive instrumentation just before the lead single “A Storm of Wings” blends stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych so our protagonist can depict the town’s downfall.

“Orbius Tertius” kicks off the 2nd half taking heavy inspiration from the late Jorge Louis Borges’ short story of the same name using idealism to ask a multitude of questions while “Waiting Man” feels like a mix of Pink Floyd & Masters of Reality-era Black Sabbath, realizing the world our hero was committed to was a lie. The 2nd & final single “The Day of Execution” again bases itself in the styles of stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych singing about time passing all of us prior to “Secret Mirror” sending off Fantasia with an astounding space rock outro.

Ditching the sci-fi narrative of their Sub Pop debut a couple years earlier, Slift’s follow-up ironically bares it’s name after a description of the band’s previous output for their leanest statement yet improving above Ilion & dethroning Ummon for their magnum opus. The production captures their versatility eclectically varying between space rock, stoner rock, stoner metal, heavy psych, post-metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, post-rock, doom metal & post-hardcore for a tale of overcoming international upheaval.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Vybz Kartel – “God & Time” review

This is the latest studio LP from Kingston, Jamaica deejay, singer/songwriter, entrepreneur & businessman Vybz Kartel. Someone who’s widely crowned as the King of Dancehall subgenre of reggae similarly to roots reggae icon Bob Marley becoming recognized as the symbol of the entire genre that he helped pioneer. For over 3 decades, the Adidjahiem Records founder has released over a dozen EPs & full-lengths including during his decade long prison bid for Clive “Lizard” Williams’ murder. Coming off Heart & Soul last summer decently celebrating his engagement, God & Time looks to take a more personal approach.

The title track begins with this dancehall opener talking about him telling us the many lessons & blessings he’s experienced in his life whereas “Soft Girl Era” seductively tells his partner to open up her love because he’s falling right in. “Some Days” sings about the Worl’ Boss’ desire of wanting to love a woman better than the next guy leading into “Geenie” asking his lover if she would abuse his powers if he had the ability to grant wishes.

Spice appears for “Confessions” so both the King & Queen of the Dancehall can each take their rightful places at the throne just before “Stay for the Night” featuring Wizkid incorporates some Afrobeats influences so both of them can encourage their romantic interests to spend an evening with them. “Casi Casi” featuring Farruko joins forces for an atmospherically bilingual duet that I could truthfully care less for while “Panic” featuring Shenseea makes up for it bridging 2 different generations of dancehall.

“Round & Round” continues the 2nd half getting more sexual in terms of lyrics & stylistically throwing it back to his early 2010s output while “Try Again” featuring Skillibeng might be my least favorite collaboration The King & The Prince have done yet because I felt like it could’ve been somewhat longer. “Hype Life” on the other hand was quite possibly my favorite single of the bunch celebrating di Teacha’s wealth even if I wish his rival-turned-ally Mavado had a verse instead of handling the hook.

The song “Dancehall Ting” nears God & Time’s conclusion talking about the rest of the artists in this style of reggae merely being sheep compared to his greatness but once “Big Business” further embraces bashment’s main components at it’s core boasting that he’s purchasing apartments instead of blowing it all on liquor, “Watch Over Me” finishes the album on the highest note I can think of talking about themes of faith.

During his incarceration, Vybz Kartel’s lawyer would say God & Time to the Worl’ Boss so frequently to the point where he began applying it to his own life & the follow-up to his previous album over 9 months ago could likely be the most I’ve enjoyed di Teacha’s music since coming home. The dancehall production’s a considerable improvement over the predecessor mixing some trap dancehall undertones into the fold & bringing some of the genres’ biggest artists past & present on board for a well-rounded experience.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Converge – “Hum of Hurt” review

This is the 12th studio LP from Salem, Massachusetts metalcore band Converge consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 full-length debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, nearly everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind when I was a sophomore in high school, The Dusk in Us & Love Is Not Enough have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & are back with Hum of Hurt.

“Slip the Noose” begins with a metalcore intro reminiscent of the Jane Doe era directly tackling generational trauma whereas “Doom in Bloom”combines post-hardcore & sludge metal exploring how Jacob’s middle-aged introspection doesn’t always bring a brighter light. “It Only Gets Worse” spends a couple minutes angrily realizing the world’s indifference towards him & after the intimidating “Detonator” encourages one not to be blown apart by their mistakes, “I Won’t Let You Go” ends the 1st leg with the official Cyberpunk 2077theme.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “It’s Not Up to Us” made for another aggressive moment explaining there’s no end in sight without a will to fight while the doomy “Dream Debris” starts with a simple bass note that builds to a booming crescendo detailing the deception of being led to believe we could be anything we wanted to be. The post-hardcore, metalcore, neocrust & post-metal title track after the “It Used to Matter” composition emotionally examines the price of the lives we pursue & the outro “Nothing’s Over” ends on a sludgier note saying we must rage for the dying light.

Love Is Not Enough made for a great comeback for the greatest metalcore band & following a sense of urgency, Converge have outdone themselves by delivering a raw counterpart retaining the unpredictable potency of their last album. Their signature sound’s still being fused with elements of mathcore & sludge metal similarly to it’s predecessor aside from the hardcore punk undertones being swapped out for post-hardcore for another bleak yet empathetic assessment of the human condition & it’s ongoing deterioration.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

730atMorning – “1 Man Band” review

Minneapolis, Minnesota rapper 730atMorning preluding Context with his 2nd mixtape. Someone who would drop 3 extended plays in 2022 including Pots*, untitled & Hi, I’m Alive. He would later follow it up with the Creeper EP, the 7:30* EP, the full-length debut Asphalt, the Guarded EP, the sophomore effort albeit Virgin Music debut Under the Bridge, the Rotten Fruit EP, his previous full-length Save Your Grievance, the almost inside EP & the Insiders tape. Last we heard from him was the I Can’t STFU EP last Halloween & 1 Man Band’s offering a preview of the new era over a month after Tiffany Stratton ended ジュリア’s record-tying 2nd reign as WWE Women’s United States Champion.

After the compositional “Withered” intro, the opener “Graye” featuring Lerado Khalil begins with them talking about the fuck shaping them to the people they are presently whereas “Clouds n Rain” channels a pluggier vibe instrumentally pleading not to tempt him. “40MGs” produced by LulRose might be my favorite track here talks about trying to get back with a woman who kept putting up a fight while “My Favorite Part” splits itself into halves detailing a woman who doesn’t miss him back.

“Sequence of Events” embraces a cloudier sound altogether talking about being in charge & making the rules since he doesn’t have any corny bullshit in his life but after “God Still Take Me” talks about paying for all his sins as well as him praying for the Higher Power to take him to the afterlife, “Lost the Plot” incorporates some icy synths to talk about finding love in Los Angeles with his homies & being here today because of his hard headedness.

The track “Interesting Character” nears further towards the conclusion of 1 Man Band explaining that he doesn’t need shit from this individual since they told him to die & him reasonably taking that to heart while the final song “Body” preceding the “Repulsive” outro expresses the desire he has of giving this individual what they need even if they gotta go how he wants them to & not keeping up with his own flexes.

1 Man Band warms us up for Context with the most densest entry in 730atMorning’s entire discography & gives me confidence of this next project coming down the pipe maintaining this momentous run he’s been on since last fall. The tape’s trap production takes its secondary influences more from cloud rap, plugg, witch house & wave rather than capitalizing on I Can’t STFU’s rage, free car music, jerk & new jazz undertones & I found the inclusion of guests to be a refreshing move compared to the predecessor’s lack of features.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Navy Blue – “Sir Render” review

This is the 9th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York skateboarder, MC, producer, songwriter, visual artist & model Navy Blue. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut EP According to the Waterbearer, he would go on to drop 9 more EPs & 6 full-lengths preceding the Def Jam Recordings-backed Ways of Knowing produced by Budgie to critical acclaim. Coming off the Memoirs in Armour EP along with The Sword & The Soaring however, he’s refusing to slow down giving us Sir Render almost 7 months later.

“Commencement” opens up with this drumless intro talking about capsizing & turning his life over to God afterwards whereas “Baron” produced by The Alchemist embraces a boom bap vibe instrumentally hitting us with more poetically abstract penmanship. The title track strips the drums once again talking about there being lessons in every move made while “Over” featuring Mike Shabb finds the pair bringing their A-game over a heavenly drumless loop from Shabbo himself, who kicks off that song with his verse.

We get some bare pianos explaining that his “Reflections” are the evidence of God he chose to revel in & talking about how he used to be suicidal while the self-produced “Residuum” featuring Armand Hammer joins forces for a symphonic boom bap heater filled with abstract lyricism that’ve defined each of them firing off 3 deadly verses. “Crux Ansata” drumlessly talks about his broken wings needing to heal while “Belladonna” featuring Earl Sweatshirt boasts of their successes over a somberly dusty Uncle Al beat.

“Aegis” continues the 2nd half of Sir Render remembering when he was 5 looking at his older brother’s casket asking himself whether he’ll wither or ride above it & be what fills the void in his dad’s eyes over a subdued instrumental & after “Circa” featuring the late Ka talks about being healed when we no longer hear from them despite still being here spiritually, “If God Had Legs” brings the keys back in effect describing him overcoming Ka’s sudden death a year & a half ago.

To get the album’s final act going, “Next Life” hops over yet another drumless loops talking about letting the tree falling & his exposing his roots while “The Birth of Medicine” discusses him praying for the transpiration of his grief along with the assurance of who he is isn’t who he’s perceived to be. “Bleeding Scarlet” offers a calmer atmosphere with a powerful verse to begin & the other half serving as more of an outro while “F.E.A.R. (Forgetting Everything And Running)” explains what fear is to him.

Sir Render makes for a satisfying conclusion to Navy Blue’s knighthood trilogy in which Memoirs in Armour began and The Sword & The Soaring bridged, picking up where both it’s predecessors left off & landing right behind the latter to become my 2nd favorite installment of this entire arc. Maybe surpassing it even. The production’s mostly drumless & jazzy like its counterparts other than a couple occasional moments, enlisting some of abstract hip hop’s finest past & present to make people grapple with their previous selves.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Imani Imani – “Papercut” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Suriname-born albeit Amsterdam-raised singer/songwriter Imani Imani. Being introduced through her feature on the unreleased Kendrick Lamar track “I Feel Something” that was previewed at the beginning of 2024 in promotion of Chanel’s Spring-Summer Haute Couture Show a few months afterwards, she’s returning after almost 2 & a half years signing to pgLang & Interscope Records to surprise-drop Papercut in celebration of her new major label deal.

“Bet on Me” kicks things off with this passionate R&B intro singing about knowing what’s on her lover’s mind & feeling what he says without even knowing his name whereas “Come Together” peppily suggests that she & her lover need to make some improvements within their relationship. “Snatch” sings about a man who gets her high since she gives her dreams & lifestyle over pianos leading into “On Demand” leans towards a synth-funk direction assuring her partner she’ll be here waiting for him.

Moving on from there, “You’re Mine” delicately finishes the 1st leg of Imani’s debut singing about her preference of having men obsessed with her while the stripped-back “Mindgames” admits that she can’t lay her head down for too long when her romantic interest isn’t with her. “Slideee” gives off more of a dance-pop vibe yearning to put her waist on her soulmate’s body while “Chasing” incorporates more acoustics singing about trying to find peace regardless of rain never ceasing.

“1 of 1” nears closer towards the end of Imani’s debut embracing a more alternative R&B direction wanting to feel her muse’s love & pillow talk until the sunrise while the final song “Let Go (Wishes)” preceding the compositional “My Mistakes” outro croons about needing some time away from her own mind & asking if this individual would stay with her for a bit or run over an instrumental that had a bit of a minimalistic quality to it.

Considering that Baby Keem & Tanna Leone are both primarily rappers, I fully support the idea of Kendrick giving Imani Imani the right to call herself First Lady of pgLang & depart from the hip hop sound all 3 of the label’s other artists are primarily known for. The comparisons I’ve already seen made by Drake fans on social media to OVO Sound’s First Lady Naomi Sharon is stupid considering OVO’s been signing R&B acts in addition to Naomi being more rooted in the smooth soul side of things rather than Imani’s own style varying between contemporary & alternative R&B to dance-pop.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!