Rome Streetz – “Kiss the Ring” review

This is the official 7th full-length album New York emcee Rome Streetz. Breaking out in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit, was followed up by a plethora of project with the most notable being the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. Last year however was probably his biggest one yet, as he dropped some of the best work of his career from the DJ Muggs-produced Death & the Magician or the Futurewave-produced Razor’s Edge to the Ransom-assisted collab effort Coup de Grâce & the Griselda Records deal that followed. But after the Pyrex Pot Poetry mixtape dropped out of nowhere earlier this summer only for Rome to reveal it was released without his permission, the Buffalo label that has had the culture in a chokehold for the past 6-7 years is making it right with the fans by making ‘em Kiss the Ring.

“Big Steppa” is a piano/boom bap opener produced by Camoflauge Monk with Rome declaring himself as such whereas “Heart on Froze” works in a unhinged instrumental from Conductor Williams talking about belittling his competition. “In Too Deep” incorporates some vibraphones confessing that he was drowning before he was swimming, but then Conway the Machine tags along for the rugged “Soulja Boy” talking about their boys wyling like Big Draco himself.

Meanwhile on “Tyson Beckford”, we have Rome on top of some dusty drums & synths from Daringer advising that experience will really teach you about the game leading into the vibraphone/boom bap laced “Destiny Child” produced by Denny LaFlare wanting you to watch him cook since he got the recipe. Benny the Butcher & Stove God Cook$ both come into the picture for the flute-tinged “Blow 4 Blow” talking about coke just before “Ugly Balenciagas” blends a sax & vocal loop referencing former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, ECW World Television Champion, IWGPタッグチャンピオン, 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & WCW Hardcore Champion Bam Bam Bigelow.

“1000 Ecstasy” returns to the boom bap with some psychedelic chords declaring the world to be theirs while “Armed & Dangerous” with Armani Caesar finds the 2 over a crooning DJ Green Lantern beat asking what love is without trust. “Cry Champagne” returns to a more richer aesthetic with Rome confessing that shit’s gotta change while the Westside Gunn-assisted “Non Factor” goes into drumless turf talking about how we know what they need.

Continuing from there, The Alchemist hooks up a piano/boom bap instrumental on “Long Story Short” telling the story of someone who needs to change for his daughter while “Serving” with Boldy James returns to spit some gangsta bars on top of some chords firing off like machine guns. The track “Reversible” has a bit of an abstract groove to it calling out those who’re washed while the Sadhugold-produced penultimate song “Fashion Rebel” refers to himself as such on top of a vintage loop. The title track though ends the album on a jazzy note talking about prospering now.

As a Griselda mark since 2016 & someone who’s been following Rome since the pandemic, I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a nearly a year & it’s the the GxFR debut that I could’ve ever dreamed of. His intricate gangsta rap bars accompanied by the unique styles of basically most of the roster & the label’s signature sound really is a match made in Heaven.

Score: 4.5/5

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KiD CuDi – “Entergalactic” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Cleveland rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & actor KiD CuDi. Blowing up in 2008 off his debut mixtape A KiD Named CuDi as well as his songwriting credits on his former mentor Kanye West’s 4th album 808s & Heartbreak, his profile from there would increasingly grow off his groundbreaking debut & sophomore albums Man on the Moon: The End of the Day & Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. But following the self-produced & overlooked Indicud, CuDi would leave G.O.O.D. Music amicably to form his own Republic Records imprint Wicked Awesome Records. Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon though was mediocre at best & who could forget when CuDi attempted to go alt-rock on the critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven? Luckily he would redeem himself on his next effort Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ in 2016 along with the self-titled album from him & Ye as the duo KIDS SEE GHOSTS couple summers later & even Man on the Moon III: The Chosen the day after my 24th birthday despite it’s blatantly heavy Travis Scott influence. At the beginning of 2022 though, Kanye announced that CuDi wouldn’t be on the unfinished DONDA 2 due to the latter’s friendship with Skete because he was dating Ye’s hobbit ex-wife at the time & ultimately resulted in a falling out between the mentor/protege duo that always brought the best out of one another. Even this past summer when he stormed off stage at Rolling Loud because ignorant hecklers were throwing shit at him while performing & now Mike Dean announcing on Twitter that CuDi booted him off the inaugural Moon Man’s Landing festival that just went down earlier this month due to his longstanding ties as Kanye’s engineer. But with the success of Moon Man’s Landing & now Entergalactic premiering on Netflix today, CuDi’s also giving us a soundtrack to coincide with it after his role in the A24 Films slasher X.

After the “Entergalactic Theme” intro, the first song “New Mode” kicks off the album with a wavy instrumental from WZRD telling the world that he’s at the next level in his life whereas “Do What I Want” was a great choice for a lead single with it’s poppy trap instrumental from Take a Daytrip & CuDi talking about doing his fucking thing. “Angelic” takes a more melodic approach with it’s dreamy production & heavy auto-tuned vocals asking where this woman in his life came from, but then “Ignite the Love” goes full blown acoustic with the help of Skrillex to sing about thanking God for finding her.

Meanwhile on “In Love”, we have CuDi pulling from electropop á la 808s & Heartbreak expanding on the themes of love just before Ty$ tags along for the neo-psychedelic alternative R&B duet “Willing to Trust” featuring co-production from E*vax singing about how this is the day that he’s been waiting for. 2 Chainz comes into the picture for the boastful trap banger “Can’t Believe It” that Plain Pat whipped up with WZRD talking about how they be coastin’, but then “Livin’ My Truth” is a groovy hip hop banger admitting that it’s all he knows.

“Maybe So” has a theatrically downtrodden tone to it from the beat to CuDi’s dejecting confessions of missing his significant other while “Can’t Shake Her” is a Man on the Moon: The End of Day throwback sonically detailing the dreams he’s having about her. “She’s Looking for Me” somberly asks if she can save the night in time while the song “My Drug” melodically tells her to take his heart over some atmospheric yet symphonic instrumentation.

The penultimate track “Somewhere to Fly” with Don Toliver finds the 2 telling their lovers to follow them if they ever want to go overseas by their sides from their catchy performances to the aquatic vibes of the beat from WondaGurl until the bonus cut “Burrow” ends the album with CuDi & Don reuniting over Steve Aoki’s signature electro house style of production talking about how getting stronger & faster feels like. If the last 2 joints here are teasers towards a potential collab effort from both these guys, then I wouldn’t be opposed to it.

As wrong as I think Ye is for making the announcement that CuDi wasn’t gonna be on DONDA 2 considering that he talked to Ye about it weeks prior & making a joke out of the Rolling Loud incident, I’d also say CuDi acted incredibly childish by kicking Mike Dean off the Moon Man’s Landing lineup over his ties as his former mentor’s longtime engineer resulting in the album leaking a little bit ago with fart sounds & people speculating Mike was involved with it. That being said, I’m still a fan of all 3 of them at the end of the day & this is a solid soundtrack to his Netflix special. As far as sound goes, he throws it back to the early days of his career & the cohesive concept of it is pretty well told.

Score: 3.5/5

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Freddie Gibbs – “$oul $old $eparately” review

This is the 4th full-length album from Gary, Indiana emcee Freddie Gibbs. Coming up in 2004 with his debut mixtape Full Metal Jackit, he would then sign to Interscope Records for a brief period of time until he left without dropping an album with them. This was made up for with the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs & Str8 Killa No Filla, which would catch the attention of Jeezy & land Freddie a contract with CTE World in 2011. However, Gibbs eventually left CTE the following year after releasing the tapes Cold Day in Hell & B.F.K. (BabyFace Killa). In 2013, he decided to form his own label E$GN Records & finally dropped the full-length album E.$.G.N. (Evil $eeds Grow Naturally). He & iconic Oxnard producer Madlib would drop their MadGibbs debut Piñata the year after that, which is EASILY one of the greatest hip hop albums of the previous decade. Gibbs continued to grow his profile after that with Shadow of a Doubt, You Only Live 2wice, Freddie & the Curren$y collab EP Fetti & who can forget MadGibbs’ sophomore effort Bandana or even Freddie’s last effort Alfredo produced by The Alchemist? But after much anticipation, Gibbs is dropping $oul $old $eparately in light of E$GN’s new distribution deal with Warner Records.

“Can’t Be Done” is a soulful trap opener with Gibbs talking about doing the impossible whereas “Blackest in the Room” takes a jazzier route thanks to Uncle Al comparing himself to Sam Cooke. Offset tags along for the decent trap banger “Pain & Strife” talking about making that bread just before “Zipper Bagz” works in some hi-hats & a chilling vocal sample provided by KAYTRANADA admitting all he knows is that & yayo.

Meanwhile on “Too Much”, we have Moneybagg Yo coming into the picture to assist Gibbs for a boring trap cut that aged like milk since dropping as a single last month with all respect to everyone involved prior to Rick Ross & Jake One helping him make it up in the form of “Lobster Omelette” spitting lavish bars on top of a sample-based beat. “Space Rabbit” is a synth/boom bap hybrid produced by Boi-1da & Rogét Chahayed detailing Cocaine City, but then “Feel No Pain” with Anderson .Paak & Raekwon somberly prays that they good forever.

“Rabbit Vision” calls out someone who went against a family oath over some smooth J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production also admitting he still has love for Jeezy also while the DJ Paul-assisted “PYS” comes through with a jazzy trap banger talking about being pimps. “Dark Hearted” finds James Blake sonically fusing pop rap & hip hop soul admitting that he still has mob ties even though he’s rich now while “Gold Rings” with Pusha T of course spits that hustler shit over a nocturnal instrumental. The song “Grandma’s Stove” somberly opens up about depression while the penultimate track “CIA” by MadGibbs returns to jazzier turf making it clear that he needs the check & the bar mentioning him getting continuously banned from Instagram is priceless. “Decoded” however brings in one of Gibbs’ idols Scarface for a bluesy closer to the album hooked up by DJ Dahi talking about knowing that this rap shit was in their veins.

I’d still say The Elephant Man’s Bones is my Album of the Year, but this dude been talking about $.$.$. for nearly 3 years now & the final product is one of his best solo efforts to date in my opinion. A couple lackluster cuts here & there, but Gangsta Gibbs locks in with his niche on here by exposing his style to a wider audience without it being too excessive like a lot of other major label debuts can normally be.

Score: 4/5

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King Iso – “8 P.M. Med Call” review

King Iso is a 32 year old MC/producer form Omaha, Nebraska who up as a protege of San Diego chopper Twisted Insane. But he would only drop first 2 full-lengths The Insanity Plea & Autophobia under Brainsick Muzik, falling out with his former mentor & putting out his next album DeMenTia independently in 2018. However, I was thrilled to see him sign with Strange Music the following spring & his debut on the Kansas City powerhouse World War Me that came out when the COVID-19 pandemic started quickly become one of the label’s best albums ever. He just dropped Get Well Soon earlier this year & I happened to like almost as much as World War Me. So when Iso took to social media saying he recorded so much music for his last effort that he’s giving us the leftovers in the form of his debut EP, it intrigued me enough to check it out.

Tech N9ne & X-Raided tag along for the trap opener “R.A.P. (Really A Psycho)” talking about that’s exactly what they are whereas “Happy” works in some somber keys to wonder if he’ll ever find happiness again. “N.A.A. (Not At All)” returns to trap turf calling out someone for not listening to him, but then Taebo tha Truth comes into the picture for “F.W.T.T. (Fuck What They Think)” shoots for a moodier aesthetic down to the finger-snaps & hi-hats talking about not caring of what others say of them.

“I.M.H. (In My Head)” brings in the acoustic to let y’all know where he spends way too much of his time while the song “Speedy Recovery” is a twangy trap banger admitting that his road to recovery isn’t happening fast enough. The penultimate track “Touch the Sky” has a more glistening quality to the beat giving the world a letter from the other side & “Otherwise” ends the EP by chillingly confessing his hopes.

For a bunch of outtakes, I think nearly all of them would’ve fit right it on Get Well Soon somewhere in the track listing as a little long as that album already is. His production is on par with that & World War Me with Iso’s themes of mental health will definitely continue to resonate with a lot of people who’re not alone & are also in a dark point of their lives.

Score: 4/5

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KanKan – “WAY2GEEKED” review

KanKan is a 22 year old artist & producer from Dallas, Texas who emerged in 2019 as a member of Slayworld & by landing production credits for a wide range of artists from Summrs to even Little Pimp. He’s also dropped an eponymous debut mixtape, 20 EPs & a full-length debut all in that short amount of time with the last offering being ##B4W2G this past summer. But as we enter the final quarter of the year, Kan’s returning in the form of a sophomore album.

“Groupiez” kicks things off with a rubbery, bell-laced trap instrumental talking about his life being a movie whereas “hat4hat” takes a grimmer route admitting that he’s way too geeked. “Over 200” has a more glistening quality to the beat showing off how fast his new whip goes leading into the intoxicating “Go Sit” confessing that one of my twins got caught for that body.

Meanwhile on the title track, we have Kan bragging that he got the racks on him over some minimal production just before the rowdy “No Photos” admits that he doesn’t like taking pics. “Off Roxy” has a cloudier sound to it talking about playing his cards right, but then “Richer Than Him” brings a rage beat into the cut warning that he isn’t afraid to whack a motherfucker.

Lucki tags along for the electronic tinged “##RR##EFG” to spit some some braggadocio while the airy “Fall On” promises that everyone he loves is gonna win. “Livefastdieslay ##4Kaine” is an incredibly profound tribute to Kan’s homie Kaine who passed away of a drug overdose while “New Seal” returns to the hypertrap zone continuing to boast.

Moving on from there, “Playin’ It Cool” blends some hi-hats & vibraphones together talking about maintaining while “X ‘Em Out” shoots for a more futuristic aesthetic reminding everyone that he got rich with no gimmicks. “Ok Kool” is a moodier cut expressing how a lot of these cats get zo’ed while “Can’t Cap” goes into a more materialistic bag lyrically.m with some plugg undertones to the instrumental.

“Figure It Out” has a more orchestral trap flare to it telling the cappers to go make some bread of their own prior to the rage-inducing “OMG” admitting that he doesn’t even give a fuck about the racks. The song “Stay to Myself (Schedule II)” blends acoustic with trap saying these rap motherfuckers ain’t his twin while the penultimate track “Fake 0pps” is a well-sequenced 2 parter about haters being mad ’cause he’s well off & dissing those pretending to be the feds. “High Tech” though ends the album by spitting some gangsta raps on top of some more hypertrap beats.

A lot of artists in this new wave of trap have been making big waves in 2022 ranging from Yeat to Autumn! & Summrs, so it was only a matter of time before Kan did so with WAY2GEEKED & that’s exactly what he does here. His performances are more hedonistic than they were on the debut & the production refines the rage/plugg sound with elements of pop rap & cloud rap.

Score: 3.5/5

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Prodigy – “The Hegelian Dialectic 2: The Book of Heroine” review

Prodigy was a 42 year old MC, songwriter & record executive from Hempstead, New York who emerged as 1/2 of the seminal duo Mobb Deep. He’s also cemented himself as a solo artist by dropping 8 solo albums, with my favorites being H.N.i.C. (Head N***a in Charge) & the Alchemist-produced Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Bandana P would pass away after choking on an egg in the summer of 2017 & his estate is commemorating him by putting out a sequel to the last full-length he put out The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Revelation. It was his most political solo effort that he’s done up to that point, but the production was lacking in my opinion. That being said: I did go into Prodigy’s first posthumous outing hoping that it’d be an improvement over the predecessor considering the singles we got over the summer.

“You Will See” kicks off the album with a spacious yet groovy banger talking about crashing your face with the Henny Rock whereas “Walk Out” takes a more boom bap route thanks to DJ Premier talking about bringing smoke to him. “Opium Poppy” dives into ghoulish territory sonically to deliver some mid sex bars just before the luxurious “Angel” is R&B/hip hop duet with Faith Evans about his widow Kiki.

Meanwhile on “We Shine”, we have a piano trap ballad with an awkward auto-tuned hook telling the story of getting a text from his girl at 11:30pm saying they going out & balling out when they pull up to the spot at 1am leading into the vibrant & celebratory “Dope”. It all returns to the boom bap as Big Daddy Kane comes into the picture for “You Don’t Want It” to spit some hardcore bars leading into “I Heart You” embracing the spacey trap sound to talk about Kiki once again.

Remit Ma tags along for the eerie trap banger “Overdose” making them catch the Holy Ghost while the song “Escapism” is a dustier cut talking about getting the fuck outta his face if you ain’t talking real shit to him. The penultimate track “Flirting with Death” with Big Noyd finds the 2 getting flirtatious over a synth-heavy beat & “The Other Side” is bittersweet to say the less with it’s solemn trap instrumental along with the lyrics about dying together.

The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Revelation was one of the weaker albums in Prodigy’s catalog in my opinion but as far as the sequel goes, I happen to like it just a bit more. Some of the lovey dovey trap shit can be hit or miss with me personally with all respect to Bandana P, but love how they kept the guests to a minimum as opposed to being on nearly every track & none of the the boom bap cuts miss whatsoever.

Score: 3/5

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Majik Ninja Entertainment – “Songs of Samhain 3: Cult of Night” review

This is a brand new showcase compilation from Detroit underground label Majik Ninja Entertainment. Founded in 2014 by Twiztid & their manager George Vlahakis only 2 years following the demented duo’s departure from Psychopathic Records, they quickly built an empire of their own from bringing a few other PSY alumni along for the ride to help introduce G-Mo Skee & Alla Xul Elu to a much wider audience. The label’s first showcase comp Year of the Sword is easily the best one they’ve put out so far given the strength of the roster at the time as solid as Songs of Samhain, the Attack of the Ninjas compilation & Songs of Samhain 2: Haunted Record Player all were. But ahead of the 18th annual Fright Fest a month from now, MNE’s warming everyone up in the form of Songs of Samhain 3: Cult of Night.

After the “Moon Glow is Upon Us” intro, the first song “Gospel” by the demented duo themselves Twiztid kicks off the comp by rapping about bringing you back to life over some rap rock production whereas “10-31” by Oh! The Horror & Twiztid is a creepy trap ballad paying tribute to the titular day. “Terrified No Fear” by Venomous 5 finds the quintent spitting the wicked shit over some a boom bap instrumental just before “My Head” by Triple Threat has a more upbeat sound to it talking about what’s inside the heads of I.S.I..

Meanwhile on “Curse of the Jack-O-Lantern” we have Boondox & the House of Krazees linking up over a dusty beat reminding everyone that nobody’s safe when the sun goes down leading into “Unclear” by Oh! The Horror & Twiztid following the “Nursery Rhyme from a Luminescent Time” skit for a trap rock ballad about being broken mentally. “P3.1” by the Axe Murder Boyz, Bukshot, Cody Manson, Insane E & Jamie Madrox sees the sexiest ruggedly confesses the things that they’ve been told that’ve fucked with their heads, but then “Parasite Paradise” by Venomous 5 works in a macabre trap instrumental talking about hating everything.

The song “Unreal” by Boondox & Triple Threat finds the quartet over a rubbery trap beat describing the way they’re feeling as such while the penultimate track “Mother Witch” by the House of Krazees having a more cinematic vibe to the production talking about a poltergeist. The closer “Soggy Pumpkin” is basically a melodic Jamie solo cut getting on his emo shit pretty much.

Of the 3 installments of the Songs of Samhain trilogy, I think Cult of Night has to be my favorite one thus far. I like how they minimized the amount of affiliates featured on here so the whole roster can make one another stand out in their own way providing the soundtrack to a juggalo’s Halloween.

Score: 3.5/5

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YG – “I Got Issues” review

YG is a 32 year old MC from Compton, California who came up in 2009 off his debut mixtape 4Fingaz. This was followed up with 4 more tapes prior to Jeezy discovering him in 2013 & landing him a deal with his Def Jam Recordings imprint CTE World. YG’s potential would begin to show in the form of his full-length debut My Krazy Life & came into his own on the sophomore effort Still Brazy launching his own label 400 Records around that same time period, but the next 3 albums Stay Dangerous as well as 4Real 4Real & My Life 400 all received mixed to poor responses to the point where even YG himself has publicly acknowledged I Got Issues to be his official 3rd album & that increased the optimism I already had going into it considering how much I enjoyed “Sign Language” even though it was only a loosie & even “Alone”.

“Issues” is a glossy yet bassy opener to the album with YG boasting whereas “Baby Momma” is a bitter ex-boyfriend temper tantrum with a piano instrumental. “Toxic” samples the Mary J. Blige joint “Be Happy” talking about that’s all they wants in life prior to the deranging “Maniac” produced by Hit-Boy sticking out to me amongst my personal favorite songs calling out those who say he lost his mind.

Meanwhile on “How to Rob a Rapper”, we have Mozzy & D3SZN coming into the picture over some g-funk production that Terrace Martin helped put together teaching y’all the titular subject leading into the reggaeton/rap fusion “I Dance” with Duki talking about dancing. Both J. Cole & Moneybagg Yo tag along for the mediocre trap cut “Scared Money” flexing their wealth, but then “Go Dumb” featuring H.E.R. is a decent R&B-tinged duet.

“No Love” returns to the g-funk interpolating “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City” by Bobby Bland & some fresh spoken word pieces from Suga Free while “Sober” with Post Malone & Roddy Ricch feels like an uninspired rap anthem. “Drink to This” reps the westside over a smooth beat while the song “No Weapon” with Nas finds the 2 over some horns talking about how the streets don’t love nobody. The penultimate track “Alone” was a thoughtful, ghostly-produced, conscious-laced choice for the 2nd to final single prior to the album & “Killa Cali” ends the album with a chill ode to the titular state.

As underwhelming as a great deal of YG’s material post-Still Brazy has been, I think that I Got Issues is a pretty decent listen from start to finish & would’ve gotten a lot more enjoyment out of it if some of the more mainstream-friendly pop rap cuts suited for radio play don’t really do it for me even if the production’s predominantly catering to the trap sound although the g-funk/gangsta rap joints á la Still Brazy are more up my alley. Not sure if he’ll top that one ever again, but who knows?

Score: 2.5/5

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Bronze Nazareth – “If You’re Worried, You Should Be” review

Bronze Nazareth is a 42 year old producer/MC from Grand Rapids, Michigan who came up as a member of the group Wisemen alongside his late brother Kevlaar 7 & eventually the Wu-Tang Clan’s in-house production team the Wu-Elements. He would also go on to build a solo career for himself beginning with The Great Migration in ‘06 & then School for the Blindman only 5 years later. But after returning from a decade-long hiatus a year & a half ago by enlisting The 4 Owls’ very own Leaf Dog to produce Bundle Raps alongside Ekphrasis produced entirely by New York titan & current Album of the Year holder Roc Marciano last fall, he’s bringing Apollo Brown & Roll Blunt with him to help produce his 5th album.

“Ducks” is a classy boom bap opener to the album as Bronze boasting that he’s rare as fuck whereas “Contact Sport” takes a more soulful route talking about that’s exactly what business is to him. Killah Priest & Recognize Ali tag along for the triumphant “Guard Your Food” taking a shot at the vultures, but then Ty Farris & Illah Dayz both come into the picture for the dusty yet symphonic “Cold Canvas” spitting some braggadocio.

Meanwhile on “Heart Full of Misery”, we have a more vulnerable look at Bronze talking about heartbreak over a piano/boom bap hybrid leading into the soulfully produced Wisemen reunion “You’ll Never Know” following the “Scars” interlude referencing WWE Hall of Famer & former Tag Team Champion Brutus Beefcake. “Snub Nose” with Hus Kingpin weaves a relaying sample into the fold talking about needing the whole pie & the plate just before “Talk My Shit” returns to the boom bap with the title saying it all as far as subject matter goes.

“Moroccan Hash” throws a drumless, crooning loop into the mix talking about what he’s smoking on while “Dome Windows” brings back the soul to speak from the heart. “The Guv’nor” compares himself to that of a Wolverine over some organs & horns while the penultimate track “Rest” with Hollywood Dots the Oncelor, Kurt Solid & Kurupt to drop a barfest on top of strings & a vocal loop. The bonus cut is just a decent “Moroccan Hash” remix with heavy drums.

Ekphrasis ended up being one of my favorite Nazareth albums yet, so it had me intrigued to hear what he was gonna do next. Needless to say, this is a solid follow-up. Couple features I could’ve done without, but the production that he manages to cook-up with Apollo Brown & Roll Blunt sticks to their signature sounds very well dropping giving a wide range of emotions lyrically.

Score: 3.5/5

Smellington Piff – “Roma Supreme” review

This is the 3rd studio LP from Southwest England, United Kingdom emcee Smellington Piff, Introducing himself in 2013 off an eponymous debut EP under Real Life Drama Records, the NLP member would go on to follow this up a year later with the debut album Notice of Eviction produced by Leaf Dog & have both of the Leigh Brothers jumping behind the boards to produce his sophomore effort N.F.A. (No Fixed Abode) other than the intro. Commemorating almost a whole entire decade of becoming a solo artist, Illinformed has decided to fully produce Roma Supreme in its entirety.

After the ”Hippies” intro, the first song “Chase the Devil” begins with a piano-driven boom bap instrumental talking about those thinking he was done musically being sorely mistaken whereas “Who Got the Skunk?” swaps out the keys in favor of some strings so he can speak of his love for smoking weed. “Hard Times” takes a soulfully jazzier vibe talking about the world going against every turn he makes leading into “Around Here” featuring Runt Dawg depicting what happens when the sun goes down.

“Few Things” hands out middle fingers to a myriad of things whether it be the radio or the previous President of the United States over this quirky boom bap beat just before “Tooth for a Tooth” talks about how he can’t be kicked out of the scene because his foot’s in the middle of the door & puffing blunts so he can calm his nerves. “Class A” featuring Datkid finds the pair joining forces to boast the type of music they make while “The Alcohol’s Talking” featuring Bizarre links up for an ode to those who like to get their drink on.

Reaching the halfway point, the jazzily dusty “To the Left” talks about rolling up cheddar until it’s time for him to move on to better things & responding the crowd who wants the old Piff back while “Bailiffs” talks about his flow being more fluid than the blood pumping in our veins. “Information Overload” dismisses the need of him watching the news since everything around him’s been going to shite & confessing that he’s going mad while “Wolves” shouts out his real ones protecting his pack at all costs, leaving any opposition dead on the tracks.

“UFO” featuring the Creatures of Habit & Jack Jetson flips some strings to talk about feeling like aliens to everyone else around them while “Breathe” featuring The 4 Owls soulfully speaks of their love always outweighing hate in any situation. “Play My Part” featuring MysDiggi calls back to the OutKast single “Git Up, Git Out” featuring Goodie Mob. The outro “Poor Man’s Swag” finishes up by looking at the upsides of getting women even if one doesn’t have much money.

It’s completely understandable to have Illinformed handle all of Roma Supreme’s production considering that he did half of N.F.A. (No Fixed Abode) with his brother Leaf Dog after the latter fully produced Smellington Piff’s self-titled EP & Notice of Eviction, arguably surpassing all 3 of those projects to become his finest statement as a solo artist. Fans already know what they can expect from the quality boom bap instrumentation & Piff’s witty penmanship, but I furthermore note the respectable attempt at minimizing guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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