Hariroc – “The Squidfather 2” review

Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper Hariroc dropping his 3rd studio LP merely days after announcing it. Known for being an extensive collaborator of Lil Tony, he would go on to fully produce the Troc & Swaggbaggs extended plays for Tony in their entireties preceding a full-length debut of his own Indalment in 2024 even if the reception was generally lukewarm. The Squidfather last summer despite being overloaded had some incredible songs on it & the sequel retains that same length although I should note there being guests who weren’t on the predecessor appearing for The Squidfather 2.

“Red” by Hardrock was actually an impressive opener & amongst the latter’s better songs I’ve heard in a bit regardless of it only being less than a minute & a half until “Sold Not Told” by Lil Tony talks about the way the game goes over a plugg instrumental. “Donald Trump” by Double XL & Ealuhri finds the pair wasting another plugg beat likening their black truck to a pedophilic fascist just before “Greed” by B6 vents about everyone yapping their needs to him & turning to Jesus for help finding peace.

RRoxket gets a joint of his own with “Johnny Depp” & I like more than the last couple, talking about snorting as much coke as the iconic actor himself just before another favorite of mine “Long Live Virgil” by Pradabagshawty pays tribute to the late Off-White founder of the same name. “Røck Øut” by Tezzus fresh off the disappointing controversy between him, ilykimchi & Oogie Mane talks about standing on business leading into “Murder He Wrote” by Doowopgz & Rx Yp discussing seeing hate from a mile away.

“3 Man Drill” by Stikkhead takes over the mic to air out the kind of people who ain’t on shit like they claim to be despite the instrumental sticking out more while “Radioactive Rage” by Teflon Zay embraces a hypertrap sound talking about carrying guns whenever they’re riding through the ATL & laying their opps out. “Free Twin” by Babystaydown was another moment I enjoyed calling for his incarcerated homie to come home while “Chess Game” by BabyDrill airily speaks of living a double life with the blick.

Chuckyy makes a 98 second statement telling everyone to “Stop Pouring Lean” & I agree with because I’ve never done that shit nor am I a fan of it personally, preceding “Illegal Money” by Zone1eriic assuring that he can get in a scuffle at this very moment since he got sticks in his ride. “Switch My Move” by Yksteexy ends the 1st leg of The Squidfather 2 with a monotonous performance like he barely has a pulse while “Mufasa” by RW 5 kicks off the 2nd act talking about his mom wanting him to be better than his father.

“Suck Yuh Mada” by 1900Rugrat annoyingly rambles on regarding people who hate him now that he’s been making money while the standout “Dirty Bird” by ApolloRed1 talks about having a favorite trapper instead of having a favorite rapper growing up. “Split the Tab” by tana continues with another highlight addressing a see-through bitch who he hasn’t seen in some time while “Dreams I Can’t Reach Yet” by PCF ManMan talks about his brother being locked up for some dumb shit.

I’d say Pradabagshawty outrapped Ealuhri during “Typo” texting freak hoes wanting to fuck them high off percocets while “Geeked Up” by Bby Kellwoozily elaborates more about being under the influence of drugs. “Beaver” by Zukenee entertainingly references the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal owned sitcom Leave It to Beaver while “Free RRed” by IsoBkae & 4E_Redd averagely trades verses over some pianos & 808s

“Purple Heart” by Babytron was a delightful surprise to me talking about receiving the titular military decoration after the tragic death of his Dog $hit Militia brethren $camaurion back in October of 2022 & after “Free Roc (Rox)” by Luhtrentt flexes that he plays the game of truth instead of pleading the 5th amendment, “Puppet” by GetRichZay confronts someone flexing who claims to be about that life wanting him to take the test to see whether he’s telling the truth or cappin’.

Famous Dex unexpectedly makes “Don’t Touch My Cup” one of the most interesting tracks he’s done this decade along with “Lex Meet Dex”, cautioning not to test him because of the real possibility of him spazzing out while “Emo Ho” by B6 provides a lukewarm anthem dedicated to anyone who’s been stacking up bread. “Fake Thuggin’” by Lil Tony wraps up The Squidfather 2 in the form of this plugg outro becoming a soldier if his opposition’s brought around him.

I would’ve enjoyed The Squidfather a lot more than I did when it came out last August if Hariroc shaved off the half of it that I could’ve done without & unfortunately, The Squidfather 2 suffers from the very same problems it’s predecessor except I might like it a little less than the original. There’s no issue with his production varying between trap & cloud rap to plugg & rage since I do respect his artistry, but the guest list leaves me more torn than the previous one.

Score: 2.5/5

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Goosebytheway – “Nature Boy” review

Buffalo, New York rapper & singer/songwriter Goosebytheway making his full-length studio debut. Signing to Drumwork Music Group back in 2022, he would make a handful of guest appearances across several Conway the Machine projects preceding his debut mixtape By the Way a year afterwards. But the time has come for him to drop his very own LP Nature Boy named after 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 following The Demand ending The Conglomeration’s reign as AEW World Trios Champions.

“203” featuring Conway the Machine finds the pair talking about where they come from over an opulent beat whereas “Rivi” takes the boom bap route instrumentally asking whether anyone’s hearing him or if they’ve heard of him yet. “Pesto Margarita” maintains the more kicks & snares keeping a gun on him in case anyone acts out leading into “Walk Ups” featuring Conway the Machine & Fuego Base seeing the trio ripping up a drumless loop from Bozack Morris.

K’mani & Spark Houston’s contributions to “Pedigree” weren’t that great despite the reference to 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H while “Nowhere to Be Found” featuring Jottibee after a skit continues the 2nd act of Nature Boy talking about being prepared for war since they’ve hit rock bottom.

“Selfish” featuring Jae Skeese makes up for the mediocre guest verses having both Drumwork labelmates getting stingy as fuck together while “Heisenberg” featuring Conway the Machine & SK da King includes a reference to the main character of my all-time favorite show: Breaking Bad. The closing track “I Ain’t Did Enough” spends the album’s final minutes with 1 last boom bap cut feeling like he should’ve done more since he has 2 kids to raise.

Regardless of former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion as well as WWE Hall of Famer & the inaugural WWE Champion Buddy Rogers originally earning the Nature Boy nickname, I typically see people caring less for the features Goosebytheway has been doing for Conway in recent memory & I’ve been giving him the benefit of the doubt since he got his label deal because I felt there was room for him to grow. The production has improved since his last tape so have the performances from both Goose & the guests.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ramirez – “Brabus & Lorinsers” review

San Francisco, California emcee Ramirez ending the month with his 13th extended play. Emerging as a longtime affiliate of the $uicideboy$, he would go on to co-found to the New Orleans-based indie label G*59 Record$ with them & build himself as an artist by dropping 8 mixtapes along with his last dozen EPs & 5 full-lengths. Tha Playa$ Manual was his best LP yet with it’s g-funk production from Rocci, coming off the sequel under his newly formed EMPIRE Distribution imprint Velvet Note Records nearly 13 months earlier following his amicable G*59 departure to drop Brabus & Lorinsers.

“Gran Turismo” begins with this smooth west coast intro rapping about the only thing that stays on his mind is making money whereas “Hacienda” takes a more spacious route instrumentally & getting significantly melodic in terms of performance, exploring his range for an R&B slow jam. “The Harvest” featuring Boldy James finds the pair encouraging everyone to get their paper while “Lil Nameless 2K16” takes it back to his Memphis rap origins.

Kicking off the 2nd half of Brabus & Lorinsers, the song “Too Many Hoes” coasts over a chilled out beat talking about having an excessive amount of women tryna take what’s his just before “Soundscape” cavernously yearns to be held tight & kept close. The lead single “Come Outside” shifts towards a g-funk vibe talking about killin’ bitches softly leaving the candy paint drippin’ while the 2nd single “Dance in White” wraps up the EP with a nu disco outro.

It wouldn’t really be much of a surprise to me if a great deal of Brabus & Lorinsers was made for Tha Playa$ Manual II sessions considering most of it retains the smooth g-funk/Mobb aesthetics of what Ramirez did last summer when he gave us a spiritual successor to the most beloved entry in his discography, but there are some moments that remind me of his early days in G*59 so it’s kinda like you’re getting a mix of his styles both old & new.

Score: 3.5/5

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King Kashmere – “0 Point Modulations” review

Grahame Park, London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Kashmere getting behind the boards for his 8th studio LP. Notable for being a part of several groups or duos over the last few decades ranging from Kingdom of Fear & Invisible Inc. to Gawd Status as well as Old Children & Strange U, he also has 7 full-lengths & a few extended plays under his belt through a multitude of labels from Low Life Records to YNR Productions & Boot Records. The most recent being The Album to End All Alien Abductions & Sounds Like Home via High Focus Records, looking to kick off the 0 Point Modulations series strong.

“Kulcha” by Gawd Status after the intro starts us off with Joker Starr hitting us with skillful lyricism over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Shadows” by Durrty Goodz, Flirta D & Harry Shotta comes through with their own rendition of “Valley of the Shadows” by Origin Unknown. “Big(Bad)” by Dabbla, Genesis Elijah & Killa P aggressively joins forces to piss off their detractors including a brief beat switch prior to “Good Morning” by Harry Shotta, Jaz Kahina & PAV4N spitting flows that’ll leave people impressed.

As for “All Night”, we have Jae Mann taking the mic so he can talk about how it’s always the people who don’t do shit who be disrespecting those that put in the work just before “I.Y.N.K. (Illest You Never Knew)” by Cappo returns to the boom bap ruggedly boasts of reaching a level many wish they could achieve. “Earendel” by Illaman suggests to meet him in the courtyard with bars prepared until Flowtecs & Ramson Badbonez team up for the spooky “Violatorz”.

“Doin’ It” by Micall Parknsun talks about his detractors being pissed that he’s still around making music when it’s their own loss while “I Smoke” by BVA ruggedly discusses being ready to body anyone in a battle. “Alive” by Farma G & Fliptrix wraps up the 1st leg of 0 Point Modulations talking about keeping this shit going strong while “God Complex” by C.o.N-Vers talks about swinging swords whenever it’s time for war.

Verb T gets his own solo track with “Heights” talking about the feeling he has of taking things to higher levels musically while “Dragon’s Lair” by the Double Dragons grittily expresses Ray Vendetta & Tommy Biz’s refusal of surrounding themselves with artists who’re insignificant compared to them. “Is It?” by HPBLK talks about revving a chainsaw after being cast in the dark while “Cooked” by Reign MC dismisses those who claim they can smoke him.

“Classic Style” by Confucius MC dustily talks about the autobiographical subject matter he’s kicking being superior to a simple novel & becoming impactful when it’s laid out on wax but after “No Stress” by Alecs DeLarge poses the question of winning when people aren’t even rooting for themselves to achieve said victories in the first place, “Unfunny” by Truemendous talks about never being apart of a joke she doesn’t find humor in.

The track “Anne Boleyn” by Anyway tha God & Ragga Zulu Rebel references King Henry VIII’s 2nd wife who was beheaded due to fabricated charges of high treason & adultery in the 1500s while “Nuisance” by Fliptrix & JayaHadADream talks about leaving the past behind now that their voices have been found. The final song “Phone on Silent” by Larwood preceding the outro concludes 0 Point Modulations explaining that life’s about timing & making every second count.

King Kashmere has been producing since the late 90s & after fine-tuning that aspect of his career since 2010 when he began evolving behind the boards, 0 Point Modulations officially rings in this new chapter of his storied career shining the brightest light on The Iguana Man’s true calling although I can respectfully understand the 77 minute runtime being lengthy for some listeners. His production experiments with different genres other than hip hop like grime or dub & dubstep developing ways to make the process authentic through sampling & enlisting an all-star cast of MCs representing the UK hip hop scene’s past & present.

Score: 4/5

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Dave East – “Price of Pain” review

Harlem, New York emcee Dave East reuniting with Harry Fraud for his 6th solo LP. Breaking out in 2014 off his 8th mixtape Black Rose, this resulted in the man signing a joint deal with Def Jam Recordings & even Nas’ independently owned Mass Appeal Records as well as a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class. However, his full-length debut Survival wouldn’t come out until 3 years later & was very disappointing in the sense that he tried appealing to a more mainstream audience that just didn’t exist. The sophomore effort Hoffa proved to be better as did his final Def Jam offering Fortune Favors the Bold & APT 6E produced by Mike & Keys marked a return to his independent roots, coming off the araabMUZIK-produced Living Proof so he can break down the Price of Pain.

“Papaya Juice” opens up with this soulful intro talking about not wanting to hit a studio unless it’s fireproof whereas “Everything’s Up” featuring Benny the Butcher hops over a sample-driven boom bap beat explaining how they don’t do anything basic. The crooning “Hot Peas & Butter” featuring AZ celebrates the revelation of their lives since making music while “Minding My Business” talks about lasting longer if people follow through with that simple advice.

WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg appears on “Follow My Lead” gives off an opulent boom bap vibe instrumentally cautioning to stay alert just before “Rasta Pasta” talks about having no time to waste at all. “Alley Oop” featuring Styles P wraps up the 1st act discussing that all you have is yourself when your back’s against the wall over a cloudy yet dusty beat while “Clyde Frazier” talks about staying far away from the kind of people who feel like they’re entitled.

“No One Like You” & “Thirsty” are easily the most romantic cuts here even if I prefer the latter’s grooviness while the drumless “Life Cycle” introspectively reflects on his younger days. “Hu$$le in My Nature” featuring Cruch Calhoun finds the 30 for 30 pair standing 10 toes down & after “Stay with Me” soulfully talks about not letting his conscious down ever, the closer “Fill a Casket” asks himself various questions like taking all the homeless people off the street & feeding them lobster.

Starting the deluxe run, “Courtside at the Playoffs” talks about people without resumes who think they know everything while “Miramax” featuring Vado jazzily suggests to make moves that’ll make you rich. “What’s the Problem?” talks about growing up with heavy hustlers over some exuberant keys & once the soulful “Whole Money Outside” advises against giving one’s family a percentage of the paper, the final bonus track “Keke Wyatt” finishes up with this crooning mafioso outro.

People would generally say Dave East’s output since the last time he got with Harry Fraud almost 5 years ago has been average at best, but all 3 of Price of Pain’s singles made me confident of it becoming Dave’s strongest material since leaving Def Jam & I can confirm that’s very much the case. The production takes more influence from boom bap, drumless & chipmunk soul rather than maintaining Hoffa’s jazzy trap sound bringing a tighter guest list on board to describe cost of suffering.

Score: 4/5

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Dog $hit Militia – “C.T.T.C.” review

The Dog $hit Militia is a Detroit trap collective consisting of Babytron, Stanwill, TR Dee, Beannskii, Fordio, MJPaid, 72 Reezy & JuSleaze. I also can’t forget to mention that the late $camaurion, ScrumbleMan, T Bone & TurkeyMan were all apart of the crew at some point until the latter 3 departing & $cam’s untimely passing. Everyone apart of the current lineup except for JuSleaze has released solo material of their own & are surprise-releasing their debut mixtape almost immediately after Maya World, Andrade El Ídolo & Willow Nightingale ended 志田光, Mark Davis & テクラ’s respective reigns as AEW tbs Champion, AEW National Champion & AEW Women’s World Champion.

“The OG’s” by the ShittyBoyz kicks things off talking about living the way they want since they no longer have to chase dreams whereas “Dubstep” by Babytron, MJPaid & 72 Reezy featuring FTOS Twan & Tae Retro finds the quintet trading bars with each other over a hi-NRG beat. “Cole Bennett” by Fordio & MJPaid takes it back to the chemistry of their Made & $tyle tape while “Chicken & Syrup” by Babytron, Beannskii & 72 Reezy featuring Project Money goes back-&-forth goes each other for a couple minutes.

Beannskii gets his own solo track with “Whitewashed” to conclude the 1st half of the tape spitting some gangsta shit over a saxophone that’s buried in the mix while “Diarrhea” by Beannskii & JuSleaze featuring FTOS Twan, Project Money, Scatz & Tae Retro produced by Danny G continues to pass the mic around even if Scatz has my favorite guest appearance of the 3 personally. “Deadman” by 72 Reezy however kinda has a wavier trap vibe talking about getting sloppy head instead of doing sloppy business

“iSeeYou” by Babytron & Fordio winds down the last leg of the Militia’s inaugural tape warning that anyone beefing with them will be discovered by archaeologists while “Egg Yolk” by Babytron, Beannskii, JuSleaze & 72 Reezy featuring Fat Mike & Luh Gary talks about having motion since they used to hit the Cobo Center over a bell-woven Danny G beat. The closing track “Beetlejuice” by Babytron featuring Fat Mike sends off the tape referencing 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena.

These guys have been teasing C.T.T.C. since at least 2023 but now that the Dog $hit Militia has finally made their official debut collectively, I wouldn’t have anticipated it being this average truthfully. I really don’t wanna rule out the possibility of improving themselves if they ever follow thud up with a full-length studio LP because the 5 remaining members excluding the ShittyBoyz all have their own distinct characteristics, it’s just that most of the 6 guest appearances were underwhelming & Danny G’s production towards the backend of it made for some of the half hour’s strongest instrumentals.

Score: 2.5/5

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Charli XCX – “Music, Fashion, Film” review

This is the 8th studio LP from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter Charli XCX. who one might be remembered for her feature on Iggy Azalea’s biggest hit “Fancy” a decade ago. Her solo material would go on to step leaps & bounds beyond hers with highlights including her 3rd & 4th mixtapes #1 Angel & Pop 2 respectively alongside her 4th & 5th albums Charli & How I’m Feeling Now. Her final Asylum Records offering Crash was ok & brat under Atlantic Records quickly became an indie sleaze revival landmark, coming off the soundtrack of Wuthering Heights to drop Music, Fashion, Film.

“Rock Music” produced by A.G. Cook made for a polarizing lead single blending new rave, indietronica & power pop singing about departing from the EDM style in favor of rock whereas “SS26” fuses indie rock, alt-pop, pop rock, indietronica, slacker rock & post-punk revival critiquing art being commercialized beyond recognition. “Card Declined” splits itself into 2 distinct halves singing about the topic of materialism prior to the indietronica, alternative dance, alt-pop & pop rock single “Camera” finds herself considering pursuing an acting career.

Moving on from there, “2007” looks back at how far she’s come since beginning to make music 19 years previously combining elements of alternative dance & pop rock just before “I’m Afraid” discusses Charli’s engagement to George Daniel & gets confessional regarding everything she fears. “Yeah” might be one of the weaker moments partly due to it’s repetitive structuring although I very much understand the concept revolving around yes men while “Wink Wink” mixes pop rock, post-punk revival, power pop, new wave & dance-punk revival sings about people always changing.

“Persona” winds down Music, Fashion, Film’s final act advising for people to not let their egos choke them whenever she’s around them over a fuzzy guitar playing behind her while “Magic Metal Montana” shows some appreciation towards A.G. Cook, considering him to be her best friend & that he makes things easier for her whenever they’re in the studio. The closer “No One Lasts Forever” featuring a spoken word interlude & outro from David Cronenberg sends off the album singing about enjoying life now since every living being eventually dies.

Starting the deluxe run, “I Keep on Thinking ‘Bout You Every Single Day & Night” vents over someone who’s constantly on Charli’s mind with some synthesizers backing her while “Playboy Bunny” gives us the complete sonic opposite of “SS26” & letting her sassy side take control responding to the people who claim her output sounds the same by saying it’s because she made it herself. The final bonus track “If you take away the music then what has she got?” menacingly concludes with a repetitive chorus & post-chorus preceding a guitar solo.

I fully support the idea of Charli XCX making a complete stylistic departure for Music, Fashion, Film even if I wouldn’t put it in the same category as brat or How I’m Feeling Now or Charli amongst her most celebrated material. However, I’ll still put it above the Wuthering Heights soundtrack & even Crash compared to her other 2020s output. A.G. Cook’s production experiments with indietronica, indie rock, pop rock, slacker rock, alternative dance, alt-pop, new rave, power pop, post-punk revival, noise pop, new wave & dance-punk revival so Charli can get more introspective lyrically.

Score: 3.5/5

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The Strokes – “Reality Awaits” review

The Strokes are an indie rock band from New York City consisting of guitarists/keyboardists Nick Valensi & Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, drummer Fabrizio Moretti & frontman Julian Casablancas. Their 2001 debut Is This It under RCA Records has been widely considered by many to be amongst the greatest garage rock-revival ever recorded & followed it up with the equally acclaimed sophomore effort Room on Fire, although 1st Impressions of Earth as well as Angles & Comedown Machine generally left audiences torn. The New Abnormal produced by Rick Rubin has already become the quintet’s 2nd greatest statement since their debut & are getting back together 6 years later for their 7th studio LP.

“Psycho Shit” gets things going singing about the Gaza genocide & looking at the teacher’s pet label as another form of death within itself while “Dine N’Dash” embraces a new wave vibe instrumentally detailing the consumption of something without paying it’s exact cost. “Lonely in the Future” interestingly suggests Anthony Fantano to focus on the technical side of music more often until the hideous soft rock, indie rock, countrypolitan & neo-psychedelia crossover “Falling Out of Love”.

We have The Strokes endorsing Maya Wiley on “Starting Again” to kick off the 2nd half just before the self-explanatory “Going Shopping” mediocrely blends new wave, indie rock, jangle pop & indie surf for the lead single. “Liar’s Remorse” addresses an individual who doesn’t want love because they can’t take the pain & after “The Fruits of Conquest” takes a moment for a rebellious middle finger towards authoritarianism, “Tyrants of the Mellow Moon” concludes Reality Awaits with a Radiohead-inspired closer waiting for another chance to take everything he can.

The New Abnormal had me thinking maybe Rick Rubin wasn’t entirely washed since that’s the first time in years where I can recall an album he produced receiving that much praise but unfortunately, Reality Awaits found a way to beat 1st Impressions of Earth or Angles & Comedown Machine in becoming The Strokes’ weakest entry in their discography. Rick’s production is fine recapturing indie rock, neo-psychedelia, new wave & post-punk revival sounds although I can’t say the same for Julian’s effect-heavy vocals.

Score: 2.5/5

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NEMS & Ron Browz – “I Should Boom You Too” review

New collaborative extended play from New York recording artists NEMS & Ron Browz. One of whom is an underground veteran hailing from Coney Island, Brooklyn emerging in the battle rap circuit back in the early 2000s & the other’s a Harlem native gaining widespread recognition for producing Nas’ iconic JAY-Z diss “Ether”. They’ve crossed paths a couple times on tracks like “The Bar Exam” & “Count It Out” prior to I Should Boom You this past spring, linking back up for a sequel 3 months later.

“Glocktalk” opens up with both MCs over a boom bap instrumental from none other than Ron Browz himself spitting that gangsta shit together whereas “Yams” switches it up in the form of a 109 second tune catered strictly for the clubs. “Unbelievable” brings back the dustiness talking about the money they’re making coming in surreal amounts just before “Work It Out” featuring Will Traxx finds the trio telling those looking to party to merely follow the bassline.

Kicking off the 2nd half, the uptempo “Losing Control” admits to the chat that they wanna fuck leading into “The Greatest” takes the trap route instrumentally talking about their legacies. High Regards” featuring A$AP Ferg joins forces so everyone can get in their Fuck Ya Lyfe bag while “D.E.D.M. (Don’t Ever Disrespect Me)” spends the final moments of I Should Boom You Too advising the world that dissing them would be their biggest downfall.

I still maintain that the original I Should Boom You back in April contains some of the best rapping of Ron Browz’ career & despite not enjoying I Should Boom You Too as much, it’s still worth listening if you’re a fan of either him or NEMS. Its production is still prominently rooted in the traditional boom bap sound except there are more trap undertones this time around & the original material excluding both remixes feel more like outtakes left off the original album.

Score: 3/5

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Rico Nasty – “RX” review

Here we have the 4th extended play from Maryland recording artist Rico Nasty. Turning heads in 2018 off her 6th mixtape Nasty, I was impressed by her unique personality & her eclecticism although it was just ok. However the next spring, she got Kenny Beats to produce her debut EP Anger Management in its entirety & that ended up being my favorite body of work of hers even to this day. Nightmare Vacation was a bit of a step down from Anger Management even though it has a good share of bangers like “iPhone” & “10Fo”, but Las Ruinas showed a more experimental side to her & A Nasty Summer was kinda mediocre truthfully. The sophomore effort Lethal last spring expanded her musical palette & she’s reuniting with Kenny to finally drop RX independently after Atlantic tried to shelve it.

“CDG Foams” hops over an industrial trap instrumental to talk about never forgetting where she came from whereas “Frenzy” turns up the rage beats flexing that she makes all the hoes panic. “Rotation” aggressively talks about hitting the road with all this motion she has but once “Cupcake” blends hypertrap with pop rap & digicore to discuss looking cunt, “Blow Your Nose” kicks off the 2nd half advising to either send a drone or bring out the drums.

Continuing from there with “Runway”, we have Rico addressing a bitch she doesn’t even know hating from afar is over a digicore beat while “Butthead” co-produced by Dylan Brady hit us with some of the fiercest wordplay throughout the entire EP. “Kiss N Make Up” cautions not to push her since she’s always on edge while “Rituals” spends the concluding minutes of RX talking about having legitimate artistry compared to the talentless petty hoes detracting her.

Rather than further exploring her versatility like a Lethal did last spring, RX takes it back to basics by showing the world that Rico Nasty’s chemistry with Kenny Beats almost a decade since Nasty hasn’t changed a bit & that winding up being the best thing she’s made this decade. Kenny’s evolution as a producer should still be noted even if he retains the rage elements of his previous output with Rico & mixing them with trap, jerk, pop rap, digicore, free car music & industrial hip hop.

Score: 4/5

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