DJ Chase B – “Be Very Afraid” review

DJ Chase B is a 35 year old DJ, producer & songwriter from Houston, Texas known for being a longtime in-house producer/DJ for Cactus Jack Records. He also dropped a few stand-alone singles under Columbia Records at some point during the late 2010s/early 2020s like “Mayday” by Sheck Wes & Young Thug or “Cafeteria” by Don Toliver & Gunna, departing in 2022 & continuing to tease a curated solo debut with that “Ring Ring” track he dropped by Don Toliver & Huncho Jack few summers ago. He finally announced Be Very Afraid formally last weekend & Cactus Jack’s ready to put it out without a major label distributor.

After the titular intro, “Satellite” by SoFaygo samples “KELEBU” by Rema for a Mania outtake asking for his partner not to turn her back on him whereas “Rain” by Sheck Wes talks about pulling up with his squad being the only thing he needs. “Facts” by Big Sean & Travis Scott flips “1 Love” by Cleo Sol looking to capture a W if it’s a big one leading into “365” produced by Cardo experimenting with the Detroit sound even if Babyface Ray & GT’s verses clear Zona Man’s.

“Back in My Bag” by Dougie F might be one of the weaker cuts here mediocrely talking about being in his zone once again & after the compositional “Seoul Glow” intermission, “Off at 7” by Sheck Wes talks about being only a couple hours away from having his lover by his side. “Street Sweeper” by Swae Lee was more enjoyable than “Flammable” suggesting he’d call this a comeback despite never actually leaving while “Ring Ring” was a tolerable pop rap single with secondary influences of trap & contemporary R&B.

HVN gets a song of his own with “Options”, rounding out 3rd with another snoozer talking about turning his lifestyle into a hobby while “1st Round Pick” by SoFaygo & Wallie the Sensei tells the women they’re romantically involved with to quit acting like they can’t stand either one of them when they’re actually looking forward to the day they become their bitches. “Indie**” by bribandz wraps up Be Very Afraid talking about chasing a legacy rather than clout & money endlessly coming her way.

It’s already been hinted that DJ Chase B intends to make a whole entire series out of Be Very Afraid & although every artist presently signed to Cactus Jack Records making an appearance on his was a given, I still found myself on the fence with it a lot more than I had initially anticipated to. Both of the instrumental cuts caught me by surprise since I didn’t think he would drop them without having a performer over them & the guest list is alright, but it can feel dated at times.

Score: 2.5/5

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Supastition – “According to…” review

Here we have the 5th studio LP from Greenville, North Carolina veteran Supastistion. Making his full-length debut in 2003 after 7 Years of Bad Luck his debut mixtape Under the Table was welcomed to more mixed feedback & the sophomore effort Chain Lettersrecaptured the acclaim of his debut EP The Deadline under Soulspazm Records. Splitting Image following Leave of Absence gave us 2 different sides of him on wax while Gold Standard preceding The Blackboard & Honest Living came independently through his own label Reform School Music after I had graduated high school. Over a decade later, According to… produced by RJD2 succeeding Sacrifice as well as Every Last Word & All That Was Left Unsaid had me excited at the idea of possibly being a career highlight for Kam Moye that would reaffirm his longevity.

“Back Talk” begins with a bit of a hardcore industrial hip hop vibe letting him talk his shit whereas “1 Last Time” takes the boom bap route instrumentally to acknowledge that a moment like this might not ever come again. “Machines Like Us” moves forward by talking about never sleeping & working us until the day he dies just before “Wins & Losses” featuring J-Live finds the 2 explaining that they have everything to gain & nothing to lose.

J-Live sticks around for “Expiration Date” talking about how timeless their lyrical freshness will remain leading into the funky “Reset (Better Friends)” venting over his recent desires of getting a new group of homies. “Beasts Per Minute” on the other hand lively kicks off the 2nd half referencing 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.

“The Mourning After” recalls the hardships he’s faced within the last couple years while “Bittersweet” hops over a boom bap instrumental telling a woman he’s no longer seeing that he hopes the world ends on her wedding day. “Carte Blanche” ruggedly dismisses any fool who think’s he’s on the same pedestal as them artistically & once “Rent Money” featuring STS jazzily talks about stressing over having a low amount of money, “A Beautiful Ending” concludes by proclaiming that we need to live every day like it’s our last.

Chain Letters has been my personal favorite entry in Supastition’s underappreciated discography for the longest time, but my hopes for According to… were significantly raised when I learned RJD2 was fully producing it because Deadringer sticks out amongst the greatest releases in Definitive Jux’s entire catalog & those expectations were exceeded needless to say. Both artists merge their distinct styles to push creative boundaries while staying rooted in classic hip hop sensibilities & deliver something that feels unexpectedly familiar.

Score: 4.5/5

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Skaiwater – “wonderful” review

This is the 3rd studio LP from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom rapper & producer Skaiwater. Beginning in 2019 off their debut EP After God Fear Eve, the 4ersona member would go on to put out 7 more EPs along with a mixtape& a couple albums, the most notable being their 2024 sophomore effort #Gigi under GoodTalk Records & Capitol Records fully realizing on the potential that was shown on their earlier material. Coming off the Pinkprint trilogy however, they’re ready to make a wonderful return.

Ti Steele appears for the R&B-tinged duet “as above so below” starting off with both of them singing about the possibility of losing their heads whereas “Star” combines rage & digicore flexing that they made their bitch go punk. The self-produced “iPhone 5” carries over the hypertrap influences talking about leaving their old life in London while “1 battle after another” tries to convince their partner to turn against the streets & their friends.

“Nitty” works in more rage beats to talk about being a real black British punk rollin’ off ecstasy just before “Skins” brings back some of the digicore elements thanks to Ginseng talking about them not needing anyone. “Zoot” is essentially a remix of “6AM” featuring diamond* & one that I lean towards more than the original version while “bodies bodies bodies” melodically asks this woman if she could settle for their soul & admitting to being a bit insecure.

Reaching the halfway point of wonderful, the rage-inducing “Tool” talks about Young Skai loving their bitch more than their firearm & showing her what real hustlers do leading into “Playa” trying to open up their romantic interest’s mind as well as getting geeked after popping’ a couple mollys. “Let the House Burn” fuses hypertrap & industrial hip hop talking about plotting against a hoe who wasn’t even theirs while “blink twice” produced by North West feels more like an interlude sampling “ぽっぴっぽー” by ラマーズP featuring 初音ミク.

“Virgo / My Room” comes through with a 2-parter asking the women they’re seeing if they can trust them & once “Dog” featuring Tezzus continues the subject of relationships over a chaotic BenjiCold instrumental differing from his signature pluggnb style, “A Threesome” leans heavier towards the digicore side of things following a person home to pose the question of possibly having sex with them.

The song “midsommar” featuring Ti Steele reunites the pair that gave us wonderful’s opening moments 1 last time portraying themselves as a couple who meditates over each other while “Marilyn” spends a couple minutes on top of a Clayco & OPM BABI beat talking about doing drugs for their hoe whilst maintaining control over themselves. “My Zombie” sends off the LP on a more colorfully catastrophic note telling anyone who’s willing to bleed for them that they’ll have to live with that for the rest of their life & telling their babe who wants to get paid that she will.

We were supposed to get Femme Fatale this past Christmas until it got scrapped, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of the material recorded during those sessions made their way onto wonderful & this new era marking Skaiwater’s independence from a major label begins with a full-length that captures Young Skai’s growth since Happy Hour & of course #Gigi. They only produce a few tracks themself rather than doing the whole thing like #mia or the Pinkprint trilogy, reaching out to some of the biggest names currently both behind the boards & on the mic in the process to make tiger lily’s great musical achievement.

Score: 4/5

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Streets Soprano – “Success or Death” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Buffalo, New York rapper Streets Soprano. Signing to Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records, he would go on to drop 5 full-lengths as well as a couple EPs & a mixtape for the label including Damn: Nothing Last Forever. or the U Hear Me? duology. He also teamed up with Heckler this past 4th of July for the collaborative EP Birth of a Dynasty which was alright to me personally with no disrespect intended towards Heckler at all, but a couple of his B$F brethren appearing on Success or Death had me more intrigued.

“More Integrity, Less Pride” featuring Rick Hyde starts by sampling “She Said She Loves Me” by Kleeer with both of them offering some good advice to artists in general today whereas “Loyalty Worth More Than Money” continues the thoughtful concepts over some strings. “Game in a Frenzy” takes a more hardcore approach altogether talking about trusting nobody leading into “Potent as Dopamine” featuring Heckler finds the 2 talking about the way they keep their music hittin’ powerfully.

Fuego Base appears on “Trap House Way” kicking off the 2nd half giving us the type of shit that would make the block hot while “Gangster & a Thug” featuring Heckler reunites the pair over a boom bap instrumental talking about shit being the way it is because it’s mud mixed with blood. “Art of Patience” blends some bells & a vocal sample venting that nobody knows what he’s been through since he doesn’t show it while “See My Pain” ends Success or Death in the form of this boom bap outro talking about this game not coming with much guidance.

Coming off his Off the Radar freestyle a few weeks earlier, the Trust Nobody Music Group founder & Black Soprano Family member’s first solo effort in a couple years has to be the most I’ve enjoyed something he’s put out since Damn: Nothing Last Forever. maybe. There’s a feature on pretty much half of Success or Death compared to U Hear Me? 2, spending a couple moments recapturing Birth of a Dynasty’s chemistry or rockin’ it with some of B$F’s biggest acts for Street Soprano’s most lyrical ambitious opus.

Score: 3.5/5

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DaeMoney – “Slae Season IV” review

Detroit trap star DaeMoney returning for his 4th studio LP. Coming up as the nephew of one of the 2 biggest artists in the city right now Babyface Ray as well as a now former member of the WRLD Tour Mafia collective, he broke out on his own by dropping his debut mixtape Young Sexual Misconduct & his debut EP Slae Season accompanied by his 2nd EP Rockstar Lifestyle & then his previous tape Slae Season 2. Slae went on to sign to EMPIRE Distribution a few summers ago & celebrated in the form of his most recent EP Slayer’s Coming fully produced by Trees shortly after as well as a 3rd installment of the Slae Season trilogy & a sequel to Rockstar Lifestyle. He was surprisingly dismissed from WRLD Tour in 2024 due to scamming through Slam A Slut Records, coming off the last LP The Godson & the Slayer’s Revenge mixtape continuing the Slae Season saga.

“Training Day” begins with a cloudy take on the Detroit sound talking about people coming around with him looking like Ethan Hawke’s character in the classic Denzel Washington crime thriller of the same name whereas “Hero < Villain” works in some bells, synths & 808s flexing that the shit he does is rare compared to anyone else. “Wassup” moves forward talking about having too much sauce & advising not to ask how much it costed him leading into Allstar JR joining Slae to post up “On 7 Mile”.

Babytron helps make things up on “Heat” saving the best Detroit trap collaboration for last continuing the streak of crossovers they’ve had previously like “Earned It” or of course “Mafia & Militia” just before “Sick & Tired” expresses his frustrations towards people throwing lies on his name. “Blessing” starts the 2nd half incorporating some sampling chops talking about how he doesn’t snitch because he was raised differently leading into “Right Now” going for a somewhat tropical approach telling us where his heart’s at currently.

“Ecstasy” blends some piano chords with hi-hats talking about the love of his life while “M.I.L.E.” suggests all of his young homies to get out the streets after learning it’s not worth staying there. “I Meant It” has a more exuberant trap vibe talking about being in the mob for real & once “Yours Truly” spends a couple minutes to spit a verse off the top talking about being WRLD Tour forever despite not appearing on their output these past couple years, the closing track “Pain” sends it all off confessing he went insane after losing his money & people.

Slayer’s Revenge was probably the most conscious that DaeMoney has ever gotten lyrically & although I liked it more than The Godson, I felt like there was no way that Slae Season IV would be worse than either of those considering how beloved the other 3 installments are & thankfully I can say it’s Slae’s since Rockstar Lifestyle 2. The production healthily balances the Detroit sound & cloud rap mixing the signature gangsta raps that he’s become known for with some of the same maturity we got from him a few weeks ago.

Score: 4/5

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Trapmat Savior – “Scottie Trippin’” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee Trapmat Savior is back for his sophomore effort. Emerging a few years ago off his solo debut EP To Riches & Peace along with DozaTrap’s eponymous debut EP, he would later follow it up in September by releasing a few more EPs Kirby along with I Could Tell only a week apart & Still Grinding. Nicholas Craven & Mike Shabb both produced his widely received debut 1st Coming near the end of 2024, running it back with solely Craven for Scottie Trippin’ roughly a whole year & a half later.

“Last Night’s Soda” hops over a drumless loop to get things going talking about his soldier status & being built for this shit whereas “Grin” takes the boom bap route instrumentally working in some synthesizers to flex that his pockets are thicker than his girl. The lead single “Pillz” hooks up a guitar sample mixed with kicks & snares talking about grinding 24/7 leading into “Close Enough” embracing a chipmunk soul vibe so he can discuss this title run he’s been on.

We get more synths on “Bittersweet Taste” speaking of taking no Ls because he’s learned from all of his mistakes & after the “Cherry Garcia” interlude, the 2nd & final single “B!tch” featuring Mike Shabb finds the 2 teaming up over a slick beat to talk about women. Forest N/A joins Trapmat on top of some strings referencing the original “Space Jam” & boasting of the way they be stretching the bar just before “Brunch” incorporates a vibraphone admitting he doesn’t take it personal when they take a lot after him.

“Dust” rounds out 3rd with a victorious instrumental talking about going double or nothing while “Scouts” featuring Forest N/A & willjxmes brings the trio together to explain that shit gets hotter than the south in addition to it seeming like they signed for a small amount when that couldn’t be any further from the truth. “Otis” sends off the album pouring his heart out about the blood, sweat & tears he’s been put into pushing his music over some exuberant piano chords.

Still Grinding 2 was ok compared to 1st Coming & the same can be said regarding that Knockout Mafia collaborative EP with Monsi, but I was fairly confident about Scottie Trippin’ was going to be a huge improvement over both of those extended plays & that unsurprisingly happens to be the case. We get a few guest appearances unlike 1st Coming with Shabbo’s being my personal favorite of the 3 accompanying Trapmat Savior over Nicholas Craven’s sample-lenient production style for another excellent LP.

Score: 4.5/5

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Baby Keem – “Ca$ino” review

This is the sophomore effort from Carson, California rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Baby Keem. The younger cousin of Kendrick Lamar, he went on to drop 4 EPs & a couple of mixtapes with Die for My Bitch being the one that helped boost his popularity to the point where he rightfully earned a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. His full-length debut The Melodic Blue under pgLang & Columbia Records continued to excel his artistic potential, returning after 5 years for a trip to the Ca$ino.

“No Security” produced with Danja & FNZ begins with a drumless sample talking about preferring to have his gang beside him than a bodyguard whereas the title track comes through with a 2-parter that Cardo cooked up speaking of being somewhat deranged at this point in his career. “Birds & the Bees” flips “Honey Honey” by Feist showing a more romantic side to Keem leading into “Good Flirts” by The Hillbillies poking fun at Young Thug’s leaked phone calls with Mariah the Scientist.

Things go for a chipmunk soul vibe on “House Money” sampling “You Know the Feeling” by Steven Wightman to talk about fearing no one when he steps in the party just before “I’m Not a Lyricist” channels his inner André 3000 over a piano instrumental. “$ex Appeal” featuring Too $hort of course finds the 2 taking it to the Bay stylistically for a more raunchier approach topically until “I Do Love You” by Billy Stewart gets chopped up for the “Highway 95” sequel.

“Circus Circus” splits itself in 3 halves addressing his family dynamics whilst blending some braggadocio while “Dramatic Girl” feels more like a Che Ecru & Sam Dew song since Keem only handles the hook, although he & Sounwave do a fine job of sampling “Kids” by MGMT for the upbeat R&B detour. “No Blame” samples “I Never Learnt to Share” by James Blake to finish our Ca$ino tour talking about his difficult upbringings & not blaming his mother for it.

I appreciate that Baby Keem got more personal with Ca$ino, but I wouldn’t put it above The Melodic Blue & firmly believe that he has the capability of making a project that’ll top both albums even if some people like to ignorantly dismiss him as a nepo baby. It’s more pop rap sounding than the predecessor although the alternative R&B & trap elements are maintained, adding some more ratchet & chipmunk soul undertones than previously & getting more conscious than hardcore.

Score: 3.5/5

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Curren$y & Larry June – “Spiral Staircases” review

This is a new collaborative EP between New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y as well as Vallejo, California rapper & songwriter Larry June. Both of whom began their careers 2 decades ago each, crossing paths on a number of tracks in recent years like “Sunday Morning Drive” or “Vintage Haze” to name a couple. They’re also known for their own individual projects produced by one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist, who’s bringing them together to walk up a set of Spiral Staircases.

“Stars on the Roof” opens up with a rap rock instrumental talking about how real shit gets & the streets making them move at a different speed whereas the only single “Everything Allocated” goes for a boom bap direction referencing WWE Hall of Famer Koko B. Ware. “Drive Alone” brings a drumlessly jazzy vibe to the table talking about feeing high & low leading into the title track discusses their player statuses.

The song “Palo Santo” smoothly starts the final leg of Spiral Staircases looking back at going from chasing their freedoms to taking the money & fame while “2.P.I.G.” brings the boom bap vibes back 1 last time suggesting to focus on winning since no one will save you. “Empty Pages” featuring The Alchemist however sends off the EP with all 3 of them spitting hardcore verses without the need of a hook over a soul sample playing the game hard to the max.

Sucks we won’t ever get a sequel to Fetti because of Freddie Gibbs having beef with Curren$y for some reason but as much as I enjoyed Life’s Beautiful with 2 Chainz a little over 12 months ago, I’d have to prefer Spiral Staircases between the 2 collaborative efforts. Alchemist’s drumless jazz rap production compliments Spitta & Larry June’s calm flows whilst both of them hit us with a chemistry that makes the most absolute sense.

Score: 4.5/5

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Autumn! – “Kickoff” review

Here is the 23rd EP from Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn!. Gaining traction off all 22 of his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 4 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Wick delivered a sequel to Solitary in addition to You Never Was Mine & ##B4B2MR in 2024, looking to Kickoff a new era after recently going Back 2 My Roots & embracing the Rolling Stone lifestyle.

“Massaging Seats!” talks about his girl trying to find a spark in him when love doesn’t live inside him in the 1st place over a colorfully self-produced instrumental whereas “Grok!” combines pop rap, trap, rage & cloud rap comparing himself to the AI chatbot created by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk. “Houstatlantavegas!” however reaches the halfway point sampling the Drake track off So Far Gone & turning up the 808s to talk about a hoe familiar with all 3 cities.

“That’s a Fendi!” gets the other leg of the EP going by shifting towards a pluggnb vibe making it clear that he can be found in the backseat of a Maybach with all of his homies that were beside him on Day 1 still being here while “Uknowigotit!” explains that he doesn’t need anyone around him because he has money. The closing track & lead single “party4u!” samples “party 4 u” by Charli XCX to finish Kickoff, talking about going from rocking Gosha to all black Wraiths unless he’s inside of a Ghost.

It’s already been confirmed that Autumn! next move involves dropping 2 singles back-to-back ahead of his next full-length & Kickoff gives me the impression of this next LP will be a melting pot of all the sounds Wick has explored over the course of his career. That said: I being a fan of his music since earlier this decade hope he pulls off the styles of pluggnb, pop rap, trap, rage, cloud rap & alternative R&B a lot better than he does here because I didn’t enjoy it as much as the improvements Wick had made to Rolling Stone last fall.

Score: 3/5

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Chetta – “highatus” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta celebrating Valentine’s Day with his 23rd EP. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a few summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch. $crim of the $uicideboy$ produced the overlooked Sacrifice & Sabotage a couple years ago, following that with Can’t Replace Me & Mix with Poison to say highatus.

“Plaza Drive” was a self-produced trap intro with a Memphis twist talking about grabbing the yellow tape after dropping bodies leading into “Messy Hoes” continuing to depict another day in the life of a gangsta. “Burn This City” combines a vocal sample & some 808s so he can talk about abusing drugs while “Downbad” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of partying inside a hearse. “Desert Storm” cloudily talks about many artists moving in circles these days & “Too Rich to Rot” concludes with him advising everyone to move aside when war breaks out.

If you’re like me & celebrating another year of being single this Valentine’s Day weekend, you’re probably gonna find yourself enjoying highatus a lot more than the divisive reception Mix with Poison got last summer although I’m in the minority of liking that previous extended play a lot more than most. His emo-tinged gangsta rap lyricism over his own production taking elements of Memphis rap, cloud rap & trap are still enough to satisfy who know what they’re getting themselves into.

Score: 3.5/5

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