This is the 19th EP from Louisiana rapper/producer Autumn!. Making a name himself in the plugg scene, he got his start by dropping 16 EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records after the Not Much Left EP. He made his major label debut last spring with his sophomore effort Antagonist!, following it up with ##B4GC2 & Golden Child 2. But with the final chapter of the trilogy on the horizon, of course twinuzis had to prelude it with ##B4GC3.
“Baby Fewch!” is an atmospheric trap opener to the EP with Autumn! talking about getting this shit too easy whereas the song “Colors!” takes a more vibrant route detailing his mob boss & not stressing over fuck boys. The penultimate track “Recollections of Fame!” embraces the pluggnb sound we all came to know & love him for as he clarifies that all his brothers roll with him prior to “The Remorse!” ending things on a somber note recalling a phone call that he received in New York & trying hard to find some sort of closure.
As we await for Golden Child 3 which is said to be a self-produced full-length album unlike the past installments of the series being EPs, this’ll sure be enough to hold us off until then. It’s pretty much a mix of his pluggnb roots & some new sounds that he successfully decided to try out. At this rate, the final entry of this series that introduced me to dude’s music is sure to be something special.
Trippie Redd is a 23 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Canton, Ohio who came up in the 2017 off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series. The kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. Last time we heard Trippie though was a year & a half ago now when he dropped Trip at Knight, where nearly every song sounded similar to one another. But for his 6th album, he’s tapping in with the Drill God himself Chief Keef to executive produce it.
The title track is an uncanny trap opener with Trippie dropping some braggadocio whereas “ATLANTIS” finds him & Keef linking up over some rage beats showing off their extravagant lifestyles referencing the longtime Warner Bros. franchise Looney Tunes. Future tags along for the chaotic “PSYCHO” talking about losing their sanity, but then Lil Baby accompanies them both on the bassy banger “FULLY LOADED” talking about being strapped.
“KNIGHT CRAWLER” feels more like a Juice WRLD song featuring Trippie Redd with the main artist himself encouraging to start a riot & Juice plotting to take over the world just before “VAN HELSING” talks about being a chameleon over some synths & hi-hats. “FREE RIO” comes through with a Detroit trap influenced dedication to Rio da Yung O.G. leading into “KRZY TRAIN” with Travis Scott going full-blown trap metal to discuss being married to the game.
Moving on from there with “MUSCLES”, we have Lil Durk coming into the picture as he & Trippie rep their respective gangs up in this bitch over a spacious trap beat while “GOODFELLAS” with Nardo Wick has one of the weaker feature performances with his verse near the end despite the piano instrumental & the subject matter of hustlin’ out kin to one of the greatest movies ever. “KILLIONAIRE” talks about being an achiever backed by some suspenseful production while Big30’s verse on “HIGH HOPES” is no better as much as I enjoy the beat that Chopsquad DJ brings to the table & Trippie’s performances.
“DIE DIE” with LUCKI finds the 2 back in hypertrap territory talking about the city being theirs & being to fly while the blaring “WHO ELSE!” with Rich the Kid address their mob ties with Rich’s verse being a bit mediocre. “BIGGEST BIRD” produced by Zodiac of Internet Money Records & Vanguard Music Group sounds like it was made for Summrs’ latest album Fallen Raven since Trippie’s only on the hook & I’ll still take it since that’s his best full-length to date, but “HIDEOUT” with Fijimacintosh kinda gives me sci-fi vibes instrumentally & both showing off mansions.
Rylo Rodriguez’ verse on the energizing “WITCHCRAFT” is underwhelming as the lyrics address recklessness while “TOILET WATER” with Ski Mask the Slump God picks things back up as both parties deliver a grim ballad belittling anyone who dares to step up to them. “PURE” with G Herbo works in some organs as they talk about how they’ve been trapping since they were kids prior to Chief Keef returning 1 last time on the triumphant “Rock Out” speaking on being big dogs.
“ARMAGEDDON” with Rob49 brings back the rage beats warning that they have 100 round drums on them while the song “NUN” being one of the weakest cuts as there is “nun” really going on with DaBaby’s verse although the subject matter of not being told shit is relatable & the production is alright. The penultimate track “Swag Like Ohio, Pt. 2” is a remarkable sequel to one of The Almighty Based God Lil B’s greatest hits with him even dropping a verse at the back-end & “Colors” with Kodak Black ends things with a pluggy Pi’erre Bourne instrumental showing off their Rollie’s.
As critical as I’ve been with Trippie Redd’s most recent output, I actually think Masion Musik is a slightly-above average step in the right direction for him & it has me anticipating A Love Letter to You 5. I like how he switched up his sound quite a bit & But improved his vocal performances, it’s just that the album’s too long & would’ve been better if you took off the joints where the features were punching under their weight.
Ice Spice is a 23 year old rapper from The Bronx, New York who actually grew up with a hard knock life at the Hudson Street Orphanage ran by Agatha Hannigan. After being adopted by Oliver Warbucks, she grew up to pursue a music career last summer after uploading a couple viral music videos & landing a Capitol Records contract. Drake eventually flew her out to join him at OVO Fest not too long after & unfollowed her on Instagram rather quickly once the festival concluded, with him calling her “a 10 trying to rap” & that her music is “good on mute” on the highlight track “BackOutsideBoyz” off his recent collab album with 21 Savage that dropped a couple months ago Her Loss. But to prelude her full-length debut, she’s surprise dropping her debut EP in only a few hours’ notice.
“In Ha Mood” is a decent sample drill opener with a jersey club flare to it convincing her mans to stay with him even though she wants to turn up whereas “Princess Diana” compares herself to the late Princess of Wale over some more safer drill production. “Gangsta Boo” with Lil Tjay averagely flips “I Need a Girl, Pt. 2” by Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy touching on gangsta love & having nothing to do with the late Gangsta Boo whatsoever while the song “Actin’ a Smoochie” staying in sample drill turf getting raunchy. The penultimate track “Bikini Bottom” has a fresh slack-key guitar as she discusses what fame has brought her & “Munch” is a Brooklyn drill closer paying tribute to cunnilingus.
Before I wrap things up, lemme just say the Annie references at the beginning of the review were clearly jokes. As far as the quality of the music being presented, it’s a decent EP. I can definitely see why she’s popular in the Brooklyn drill scene, but it’s just that I’ve heard the sample drill style that she also pulls from on here pulled off better with projects such as RealYungPhil’s 7th EP Dr. Phil & even Pasto Flocco’s most recent stuff.
This is the 2nd EP from Queens emcee Bobby J from Rockaway. Coming up as a protege of Kwamé, he would begin to turn heads in the underground during the summer of 2019 off the strength of his full-length debut Summer Classics along with his Statik Selektah produced debut EP Endless Summer, the latter being my introduction to his music along with 1 Mic & a Drum’s eponymous EP. Bobby then joined forces with Detroit veteran Hush to drop the collab album 718 II 313 last summer, of which they had the honor of playing 80% of to me at a studio a year prior. But just about 6 months later, he’s enlisting NYC producer Nef behind the boards to drop Radio Days.
After the intro, the first song “From the Jump” with J57 finds the 2 over a triumphant boom bap instrumental describing their plot to expand prior to Street Smartz & Wais P assisting Bobby on the soulful “Leaving” declaring that they’re never putting down the mics. “Something Like” is a rap rock/boom bap hybrid paying tribute to all the b-boys out there just before “Mind, Body & Soul” comes through with a more mellow sound as Bobby & Michael Fiya talk about feeling the vibes.
“1 Love” brings back the soul for the ladies while the 7182313 interlude reunites with Hush to show off their chemistry over a trunk knocking beat. The penultimate track “Fade Away” mixes a crooning sample with some keys & a country guitar talking about what’s gonna happen when the flame burns out while “The Hangover” is a bluesy closer detailing having too much to drink the night before.
Endless Summer still stands as my favorite EP that Bobby has ever done but to have Radio Days be his first solo effort in 3 years, I’ll still take it. Nef’s production is some of his most interesting to date as the sounds I don’t think I’ve ever heard Bobby experiment with in the past, but that’s what makes it exciting because it tells me that he’s continuing to grow as an artist. If this is only a precursor to a sophomore album, then it could very well end up being his best.
This is the 4th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Blowing up in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up last year with both the B4NWØ EP & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. He just dropped his previous EP Mogul a month after we saw him live in Brooklyn & just so happened to surprise drop rebel here over the weekend, 4 weeks later.
“king of the hill” is a guitar-tinged trap opener with Sk8 talking about a baddie in high heels being totally unaware of how good he makes her feel whereas “mono boots alyx” has a more atmospheric approach asking a shorty what her sign is & shows off the titular boots that he happens to own. “imma ride” works in some hi-hats & strings speaking on being by his homie’s side, but then “status” takes the cloudier route to talk about how he been ballin’. The woozy penultimate track “in the shadows” finds Sk8 acknowledging that he’s doing better than his enemies & they hate him for it just before “motion” produced by Nosaint & ReidMD of Vanguard Music Group sends things off on a peppy yet melodic note having just that.
If anyone’s still not up on this dude yet, then I recommend you change that because I think one of the ATL’s most exciting up-&-comers at the moment is gonna go even harder than he did last year when I got put onto him & this definitely goes to show it. It’s really fresh to hear him detail where he’s at in his life currently & even displaying his versatility with some the beats that these producers bring to the table.
This is the 8th mixtape from Detroit emcee Babytron. Coming up as a member of the trio ShittyBoyz along with his childhood friends Stanwill & TR Dee signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also branched out on impressive solo career for himself as well as the side groups Lewis & Clark and the Dookie Brothers. But the last couple years was probably his biggest yet landing interviews ranging from No Jumper to even Rolling Stone following the release of Luka Trončić a couple summers prior to signing with EMPIRE Distribution later that same month & then Bin Reaper 2: The 2nd Coming that same fall. But now coming off Megatron last spring & a spot in the 2022 XXL Freshman Class a couple months later, he’s dropping the other half of the final installment of the Bin Reaper trilogy.
“Forever $cams” is a suspenseful hyphy opener with Tron talking about never stopping whereas “Next Level 2” works in multiple beat switches as he welcomes everyone to the next chapter. “Michigan Ave” has a bit of a catchy groove or rhythm to the instrumental advising to meet him on the titular road, but then “#FREEUNKY” comes through with a more uncanny sound courtesy of Detroit trap veteran Helluva shouting out his uncle that’s currently incarcerated.
Meanwhile on “Gimme Dat”, we have Lil Yachty coming into the picture with Babytron for an explosively raw trap hit as they talk about popping out that cut prior to “CatDog” with Babyface Ray finds 2 of the best rappers in Detroit at the moment calling out those who be talking shit online & backing down in person over some triumphant Bay Area inspired production. Cordae tags along for the mellow “Beetleborgs” getting on some category 5 type shit leading into “Mr. Hanky” referring to himself as the shit over a trap instrumental with a menacing loop.
“Remote Control” finds Tron doing his thing with some beat switches sampling shows ranging from Kenan & Kel to Samurai Jack just before “R.I.P. Hutch” with Rico Nasty & Remble has more vibrant tone to it as the trio deliver a party anthem. “Mike Amiri Monster” is a 2-parter with a piano-trap crossover during the first half & some background vocals for the other referring to himself as such while “Golden Child” mixes some hi-hats & saxes talking about feeling like an Egyptian with all the ice he is referencing former UFC BMF Champion Justin Gaethje.
Following that, “Euphoria 2” has a more dramatic approach in terms of sound reminding that tomorrow’s price isn’t the same as today’s whatsoever while “Sunday School” produced by Danny G & Jakesand samples Resident Evil 2 calling out another for having the sauce yet it’s far from marinated. “Dirty Draco” with KanKan keeps the pianos in tact as both artists speak on sipping Faygo & staying strapped while Certified Trapper’s feature on “Zap Zone” is one of the weakest on the tape despite the whistling loop & the claps within the beat & the lyrics talking about having a game to win.
“Ricky Henderson” compares his lil brodie to that of the titular baseball player accompanied by a wavy trap instrumental while “Waffle House” by the ShittyBoyz, Drego & Beno, RMC Mike, Babyfxce E, J1Hunnit & Prince Jefe is a decent 3 & a half minute Detroit posse cut. “Mainstream Tron 2” has a cloudy aesthetic to it talking about how it’s all rah-rah with the yacht & the Glock.
As for “100 OVR”, the beat blends these strings & bells as Babytron explains that his crew still sin because all dogs go to heaven as well as referencing former 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion, 8 time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン & The Crash’s inaugural Mundial Pesocompleto Campeon Rey Mysterio while “Za Morant” returns to a more atmospheric vibe talking about him balling. “You Would’ve Thought” with DaBoii pulls from nu disco as they both flaunt their success to those who didn’t believe in them while “Animorph” gives off a more saddening feel expressing the pain of watching someone he once respected turning into a snake.
The instrumental throughout the “2 Ea$y” is more horn-laced talking about being the early birdie while the penultimate track “Tronalation 28:27” is a synth/hyphy crossover as Tron confesses that he can’t trust what some fraud has to say to him. “I Can’t Call It” with $camaurion closes out the tape admitting that they don’t know what they be on these days with a thumping bass-line, some chords & hi-hats.
Although I’d still say that Old Testament is my favorite between both parts of the Bin Reaper finale, that’s not to say New Testament isn’t worth the time of anyone who’s been following him up to this beat Other than it being a little longer than it should’ve, the 2 things that really wowed me the most about it was the fact that the feature-list is more consistent in comparison to Babytron’s past efforts & the insane punchlines that he endlessly comes up with
This is the 8th full-length album from Brooklyn veteran Skyzoo. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a lengthy yet very consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan. Last time we heard from Sky was a year & a half ago when he dropped the gentrification-themed All the Brilliant Things, but is returning to dedicate The Mind of a Saint to one of my favorite shows ahead of it’s final season next month: Snowfall.
“Eminent Domain” is a jazzy boom bap opener produced by The Other Guys encouraging to picture opportunities by rewriting the rules whereas “Views from the Valley” takes a more soulful route in terms of sound acknowledging how the angels look different on the other side of the city. “Panthers & Powder” brings back the jazz with some kicks & snares admiring the beauty within all of it leading into the spacious “Straight Drop” talking about how it’s God levels in the town when they up.
Moving on from there with “100 to One”, we have Sky acknowledging that he has more to say than a few 16 bars & a hook on here saying it’s best to act like you ain’t know over a swooning beat with some trumpets leading into the piano-infused “Bodies!” opening up about everyone Franklin has killed so far deserved to die. “The Balancing Act” blends some horns & crooning vocals together talking about being the messiah type while “Brick by Brick” returns to the boom bap kicking that outside shit for the 1 time. The penultimate track “Apologies in Order” is an endearing open letter with the beat having a glistening quality to it & “Purity” is a solemn 7-minute closer with talking about becoming the oracle.
“Cold Kiss” starts the deluxe run on a soulful boom bap note calling the pallbearer “the right plug for you” while “Recipe for Desire” smoothly talks about making biblical money. “My Crescendo” returns to a jazzier vibe discussing redemption with a pistol out the window while “God Bless the King” hops over kicks, snares & horns seeing if he match the rain out in South Central even though it’s not a frequent occurrence. After the “People Pleaser” interlude, the 7-minute “Give You Anything” discusses Franklin’s mother going to prison for killing Teddy McDonald & “The Freedom Dance” ends the bonus track run seeing Franklin at rock bottom much like the series finale itself.
There’s always been a source of inspiration for every single body of work that Skyzoo has put out & it’s amazing how he continues to be consistent after all these years because I don’t see how anyone who has the sane amount of love for hip hop & Snowfall would dislike this album. He excellently captures what Franklin Saint’s innermost thoughts could be when dealing with the world he’s caught within & the production playing to the conventional jazz/boom bap hybrids we’ve come to know & love him for.
This is the 14th full-length album from Oxnard veteran Declaime. Debuting on “WLIX” off Tha Alkaholiks’ sophomore album Coast II Coast in 1995, it wouldn’t be until 2001 when Dudley Perkins started putting out albums under his own name by dropping Andsoitisaid. But coming fresh off LMD’s long-awaited debut Flying High last summer, he’s linking back up with Madlib for the 3rd installment in the ongoing In the Beginning series where the 2 dig up some of their earliest & previously unreleased work together.
“Ill Minded” is a bit of a hazy opener with Declaime talking about verbally abusing those who dare step up to him whereas “Laff Now Cry Later” goes into more boom bap turf advising people that your day will come sooner or later. The cassette demo version of the “Andsoitisaid” title track is interesting to hear considering the version we got 8 years later has a different beat & is a little bit longer just before Roc C tags along for the lo-fi “Come with the Ill Grammar” advising to have some dope ass syntax when speaking to them.
The remix of “Why Do We Go Out Like That?” is cool even though I personally prefer the version we have on [the Lootpack’s rarities compilation The Lost Tapes leading into “Too Much Clout” returning to the boom bap flexing his lyrical prowess. God’s Gift’s verse on the battle rap-themed “12th Floor” is just ok with the sounds of ocean waves in the beat gives it a bit of a calm atmosphere prior to the raw sounding “Next Episode” with Christopher McCray showing y’all how they move it. “Ass Will Get Dropped” with M.E.D. finds both Oxnard emcees letting y’all know what’ll happen whenever C.D.P. pulls up to your spot over a mellow instrumental & prior to the outro beat skit, we’re treated to the original version of “Rollem Right” off Dudley’s debut EP Illmindmuzik as the official closer.
If you’ve been keeping up with the In the Beginning series, you should already know what you’re gonna be getting yourself into & I don’t mean that in a bad way because all 3 installments thus far are must-listens for any hardcore Madlib fan. His production pulls from funk, jazz, soul & psychedelia with Declaime continuing to pay homage to the city that he came from by further presenting his early days on the mic. However, one of the biggest criticisms I have is that I feel that the intros to 6 of the 11 actual songs we get here are kind of annoying especially since the track listing is prominently intro & song back to back.
This is the 18th EP from Louisville, Kentucky emcee & Mobstyle Music founder Bukshot. From his lengthy solo discography to the group & duos that’s formed with some of the biggest names that the underground has to offer, there’s no question that dude’s been putting it down for the culture for a grip at this point. He just dropped the ferocious Never Safe last spring prior to his appearances at Astronomicon around that same time & is now seeing fit to put When Hell Freezes up on DSPs in light of Friday the 13th.
After the “Kafkaesque” intro, the title track truly opens up the EP with a cinematically haunting instrumental courtesy of MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 airing out those who want him out of the game prior to the almighty Alla Xul Elu & Lo Key tagging along for the apocalyptic trap banger “Rise Up” talking about running this shit from underneath. Stevie Stone fresh off making an entrance theme for former NXT North American Champion Solo Sikoa of the WWE’s most dominant faction The Bloodline comes into the picture for the cavernous “We Was” looks back to the days on the block while the song “Chant” with the Super Famous Fun Time Guys sees the trio over some kicks & snares talking about having these ways of crushing their dreams. The penultimate track “Death Dance” with the Lune Squad has a more morbid trap flare to it confessing they see their skeletons dancing & the Godsynth-produced “Beat ‘Em Up” ends with The Underground Avengers reuniting alongside Zitro for a fight anthem.
Mobstyle have been rightfully experiencing a rise in popularity within the underground wicked shit scene within the last 3 years & if this is how Buk’s gonna ring in 2023, then it only increases my anticipation for what Mobstyle has coming down the pipe such as Cabal’s sophomore album The Bottomless Pit & of course The Horde’s eponymous debut. The production’s knocking, nearly every feature comes correct & Buk sounds as ruthless as before.
This is the 6th EP from Detroit underground emcee Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 6 albums alongside 5 EPs & a mixtape. His last 2 outings Gucci Ghost & Gucci Ghost 2produced by Big Ghost Ltd. that dropped back to back last month have quickly become my favorite bodies of work that Diamond has put out yet so when I found out that one of my favorite graphic artists in recent memory Ral Duke would be behind the boards for Oroku Saki in it’s entirety, it was only right to give it my first review of 2023 since Gucci Ghost 2 was my last review of 2022.
After the “Can Opener” intro, the title track is a symphonic boom bap opener where Mickey talks about how he’s gonna make you learn to respect the throne whereas “Chrome Dome” works in some more strings whilst dashing some jazzy undertones to the beat as well referring to himself as the masked man. “Wow!” hooks up some kicks & snares with a piano loop talking about how those listening be knowing his style & making the sun shine like WWE Hall of Famer Luna Vachon leading into “Multiverse” following the “Krangstrumental” interlude takes a more cavernous route in terms of sound echoing the iconic Tribe Called Quest joint “Can I Kick It?” painting images of the wicked mean streets. “Turtle Soup” is a killer rap rock cut talking about what he be dining on tonight & ruthlessly hijacking your whole residence while “The Foot” returns to the boom bap talking about how he could never take all of this from a rat. After the “Ooze” interlude though, Mondo Slade come into the picture for the closer “Shredder vs. Casey Jones” as he & Diamond essentially battle rap one another over an uncanny instrumental with co-production from & Swab.
It’s funny how Gucci Ghost 2 was a last minute addition to my best of 2022 list & now here is 3 weeks later kicking off the new year the exact same way: By giving us his 3rd consecutive classic. As someone who enjoyed the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series as well as the first 2 movies from the early 90’s & the ‘03 series, the concept of the EP is incredibly cohesive as Mickey ties in references into his hardcore lyrical style excellently. Now the only time I can recall hearing Ral Duke production a track was “Painkillers” off Conway the Machine’s 11th mixtape Everybody‘s F.O.O.D. 2: Eat What U Kill & that was always a highlight track for me personally, but I genuinely appreciate how much his production here has fluctuated so much in the last 4 years or so.
Legends Will Never Die 