S.O.N. – “Grant Us Eyes” review

S.O.N. is an MC from Sharon, Pennsylvania notable for his associations with the Legion Realm & the Hivemind movement. But for his official full-length debut over here, he has enlisted Billy Obey produce the whole thing from top to bottom which immediately caught my attention given that Billy is 1/3 of what I personally believe to be the greatest horrorcore act to come up within the last decade: Alla Xul Elu.

After the “A Terrible Fate” intro, the title track is a Hellish opener speaking on dark energy surrounding him whereas “E.V.I.L. (Everything Vile Inside Legion)” takes a turn into boom bap territory repping the Legion Realm. “King of Dark Energy” proclaims himself as such on top of an occult instrumental while “Breathe” somberly depicts a dark messiah encouraging this man & woman to become a part of him.

Meanwhile after “The Descent” interlude, but “The Mouth of Madness” grotesquely depicts a place where only the strong survive just before Xul themselves tag along to embrace their sins for quasi-rap rock tinged “Amen”. He later fucks with Samaritan witchcraft on the misty “The Bridge” leading into him talking about losing his mind for the dusty “What’s That Noise?”.

Following the “Order of the Blue Rose” interlude, “Feed the Beast” takes the trap route to describe the antichrist whereas the heinous “Eye for an Eye” talks about a demon being summoned by the tears of the broken. The penultimate track “The Blessing” calls to a higher power in wicked boom bap fashion & then the closer “The Hive” talks about a beast that goes by many names accompanied by a buzzing instrumental.

I can only imagine S.O.N. going places from hereon out because I highly enjoyed what he brought to the table with Grant Us Eyes. Dude’s lyrics are amongst the darkest that you’ll hear all 2021 & of course Billy Obey knocks it out of the park on the production end of things.

Score: 4.5/5

Ransom – “Heavy’s the Head” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Jersey City emcee Ransom. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own following their disbandment beginning with his 2008 full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore album The Proposal. But it’s safe to say 2020 was his biggest year yet so far, dropping a total of 5 EPs produced entirely by Nicholas Craven & all of them being equally stellar. Then the dude dropped 7 last month, which is a well executed concept EP based around the 7 deadly sins. However, all of this has been leading up to Heavy is the Head produced by Big Ghost Ltd. from start to finish.

“Lord Stark” starts off the album with a 1 minute skit & then Ransom jumping over some heavy synths to see who can propel higher than him whereas “All the Kings Men” is pretty much Mickey Factz & J. Arrr tagging along to leave a piano instrumental scarred up like they said they would at the end of the first verse. “Ransom the Destroyer” works in a Viking-esque beat to proclaim himself as such referencing the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan just before RJ Payne assists him for the symphonic battle rap cut “The Red Wedding”.

After the “King’s Intermission” interlude, “Tyranny” is a heartbreaking portrayal of how people are cold blooded while “Blackwater” is a rock-tinged barfest appetizing heads for his upcoming collab album with Rome Streetz. The penultimate song “Off With His Head” with the Heavy Metal Kings & Lou from Paradise is basically the quartet quenching for blood over a dusty instrumental & after the “King’s Landing” interlude, the closer “A King’s Ransom” has these haunting choir vocals throughout & it’s about how a fortune is granted to whoever hands him a traitor.

I’ve been listening to this dude for almost a decade now & I gotta say: Heavy is the Head is the best body of work that Ransom has attached his name to yet & one of the best things you’ll hear in 2021. Dude’s in his prime lyrically & Big Ghost’s production is epic as fuck! God can only imagine how his next album with Pete Rock will sound.

Score: 4.5/5

B-Side – “The Essence” review

This is the long-awaited debut EP from Detroit emcee B-Side. Most notable for being 1/2 of the duo Sidenotes, the man wouldn’t branch off until the release of his debut mixtape The Vertigo 1.5 in the summer of 2013. This was followed up the next year with A Side Called B & then B-Side Wins Again at the tail end of 2018. However, it’s been all leading up to The Essence right here.

“20 Million” kicks things off with a dusty boom bap instrumental from Foul Mouth & the amount B-Side wants until he retires whereas “Mission Statement” takes things into soul/electro turf with the help of Black Bethoven telling you to consider this as such. “Supply & Demand” is a bluesy Sidenotes reunion as if they never left leading into the almost jazzy & vivid story of the “Invisible Man”.

Meanwhile on “Listen Up”, we have Mr. Wrong & Tone Plummer coming into the fold to turn the track into torture porn with an almost funky instrumental just before he takes you on some “A.P.A. (Action Packed Adventures)” with a booming beat from Konnie Ross. The title track has a bit of a spacious feel with the help of Pig Pen reminiscing on his come up as an artist, but then “The One & Only!!” closes things out with a rock-influenced instrumental from DJ Los & lyrics about his uniqueness.

Been a long time coming, but I’m glad this day has finally come because you’re hearing B-Side at his best throughout The Essence. Dude’s pen-game is witty & I dig how he sticks to that vintage hip hop sound.

Score: 4/5

Rigz – “Wake Ups” review

This is the sophomore album from Rochester emcee Rigz. Coming up as a member of the Da Cloth, the man as released a couple EPs & mixtapes in the last 4 years prior to his critically acclaimed collab album with Mooch & Big Ghost Ltd. entitled The Only Way Out at the tail-end of 2019. Then came Rigz’ full-length debut Substance Abuse a little over 7 months ago, which was entirely produced by Futurewave & became one of my favorites of last year. However to warm fans up for his upcoming album with DJ Muggs, he’s preluding it by dropping Wake Ups.

“Coconut Water” is a dense opener saying he’ll always have his foot under your neck whereas “Wipe da Timbs Off” enlists Illanoise, Mooch & Times Change for a dramatic anthem representing their crew. Rob Gates comes into the picture on “Trophies” to work in some background vocals with the help of Chup & lyrics about proving that you actually fuck with them just before saying he’s the one who’s gonna get it for the family on the chilling “Show You”.

We have Ransom tagging along on the soulful “Da Predicament” to describe their own unpleasant situations & after the “Sobrinos” skit, Rigz jumps on top of a dreary instrumental from Giallo Point to tell the listener to “Get Urs”. The guitars on “Let Me” are pretty epic given that he’s talking about wanting to murder a deceitful person leading into Mooch coming back in the picture to talk about how they don’t know what to say because they ain’t got to say shit for the rich “Beach Chairs in Marcy”.

Meanwhile on “Misled”, we have Rigz & Times Change pondering the value of trust over a piano & a vocal sample whereas “No Mercy Rule” with M.A.V. & Symph is a killer rap rock cut with all 3 spitters talking their shit. The song “Swole Hearted” serves as a dejected depiction of how someone can get a cold heart sometimes while the penultimate track “Throw It Away” is a symphonic plea not to waste your gift. Finally, the closer “Grateful” has a soul sample & lyrics about his gratitude.

If you loved Substance Abuse as much as I did, then I don’t see why wouldn’t enjoy Wake Ups on the same caliber. Dude continues to prove himself as one of the illest lyricists in New York at the moment & Chup really hones in on the raw production. Beyond excited to hear what he has in store with Muggs.

Score: 4.5/5

Ken Carson – “Project X” review

Ken Carson is a 21 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s newly founded label Opium Records after originally starting a part of the 808 Mafia. But after a total of 5 EPs under his belt, of course Ken had to bring it full circle on this debut album of his.

“Who’s Next?” kicks the album off with an accordion & hi-hats talking about passin’ hoes like tests whereas “Rock n Roll” is a spacious banger produced by Outtatown about him trippin’. “Party All Day” serves as an uptempo sequel to “Butterfly” just before addressing people switching up on the minimalist “Change”.

Meanwhile with “Run + Ran”, we have a 2-parter about feeling like Pac & stacking bands with the 2nd half being much stronger leading into the bass-heavy stripper theme “Shake”. The kid later reveals that he’s got a lot of hoes on the distorted “Hella” prior to the dramatically threatening “Clutch”.

The song “‘Till I Die” works in some more synths & snares talking about he’ll always be counting racks while the penultimate track “Burnin’ Up” addresses his increasing profile over an instrumental from Dynox of Internet Money Records with a bit of an electro flare. Then the album ends with “So What”, which vibrantly details a 1-night stand.

For those who’ve never heard of Ken, I think Project X is a solid place to start off because what he is to Opium is what Gunna was to YSL & by that I mean I think he’s gonna become the label’s biggest signee behind the founder. Some of the production choices could’ve been a little bit better to me, but I do enjoy his youthful enjoy quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5

Destroy Lonely – “XO” review

Destroy Lonely is a 19 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia notable for being the son of former Disturbing tha Peace Records signee I-20. He’s released a total of 10 EPs since originally breaking out through SoundCloud a couple years back & with his born day coming up next Friday, he’s celebrating by dropping a 11th EP out of nowhere further garnering interest of record labels eager to make him a part of their roster.

“tokyoto” is a spacey, boisterous way to kick things off whereas “i got ‘em” shows off the shit he has now on top a peppy trap beat from Ginseng. The song “okay ya!” takes a more lo-fi direction to address those who say he changed up while the penultimate track “do the most…” works in some heavy bass & vintage video game samples from Clayco saying he didn’t have to ask for shit. Then there’s “Ok (What I Do)”, which is a cloudy finisher saying they can’t replicate him.

Personally, this could very well be my favorite EP that Lonely has put out thus far. His songwriting is catchy as are the performances & his ear for production is admirable too. Definitely someone to be looking out for in the SoundCloud scene right now. Looking forward to what he has to offer on No Stylist.

Score: 3.5/5

KSI – “All Over the Place” review

KSI is a 28 year old YouTuber, rapper & boxer from Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom who broke out in ‘09 by uploading videos of himself playing the FIFA games. However his music career dates back to 2015, teaming up with P Money for his debut single “Lamborghini”. He later went on to release 4 EPs before the full-length debut Dissimulation last spring & is already following it up by dropping a sophomore album.

“The Moment” starts out the album with a generic trap cut about how he has no fear whereas “#2” with Future & 21 Savage uses the title as a corny metaphor for being “the shit” despite the chilled out instrumental. “Patience” with Polo G takes a turn into nu-disco saying that’s all they need while “You” is a hideously sung ballad to his partner & I almost wanna say the production kinda reminds me of Drake’s “Passionfruit” for some reason. Meanwhile on “Don’t Play”, we get a mediocre dance-pop duet with Anne-Marie telling each other not to fuck around before asking his lover all these questions for the UK Garage-influenced “Really Love”.

JAY1 tags along for the loyalty-themed “Gang Gang” & even though I like the groove of the instrumental, it sounds out of place for a song like this. “Rent Free” calls out a woman who be running her mouth about him going back into electronic territory before bragging about himself on the UK drill-flavored “Madness”. Bugzy Malone comes into the picture to get “Silly” on top of a rubbery trap beat 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 leading into him trying to making his doubters into believers for the piano-heavy “Flash It”.

The song “No Time” with Lil Durk luxuriously goes on about fake love while “No Pressure” is another attempt at being sexy, but falls flat on his face although the tropical instrumental is cool. The penultimate track “Holiday” is a God awful contemporary R&B joint saying this woman makes him feel alive & then “Sleeping with the Enemy” speaks on someone watching him over a plinky trap beat.

Even though I will say All Over the Place is better than anything KSI has done before, it’s only by a small margin. I genuinely appreciate him for going taking a more versatile route, but there are more points where he misses the mark than sticks the landing.

Score: 1.5/5

UFO Fev – “Enigma of Dalí” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Harlem emcee UFO Fev. Coming up in 2014 off his debut album Around My Way., it wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. Dude just dropped Magnum Opus last month & is already enlisting Vanderslice for the follow-up Enigma of Dalí.

After the titular intro, the first song “Crack Shifts” is an eerie boom bap opener with him & Flee Lord talking about that’s exactly what they be workin’ whereas “Moody Bass” has a more rich instrumental & Fev saying he’s gonna take this shit mainstream. Red Inf tags along for the mellow “Pack Flip” talking about a plan to wake up the masses just before advising to keep it off the speakerphone when talking money on “Home Team”, which has some amazing sampling throughout.

Meanwhile with “Artfully Done Street Shit”, we have Red Inf returning over a guitar & some dusty drums calling out those stealing the sauce leading into him saying he’s too far over the top on the dusty albeit piano-laced “Scroll Music”. The song “Jazz Criminals” with SmooVth fittingly has a jazzy beat with both of them getting mafioso while the penultimate track “Scarlett Letters” jumps on top of some violins to state that he’s painting like Salvador Dalí. Then there’s the closer “All That Glitters”, where Fev & Sure Shot come together for a slick romance ballad.

Magnum Opus was cool, but I personally prefer Enigma of Dalí better. Vanderslice’s production is much more consistent than it was on Fev’s last album & the dude continues to reveal himself as one of the illest MCs in the New York underground right now.

Score: 4/5

Pop Smoke – “Faith” review

This is the sophomore album from New York rapper & singer/songwriter Pop Smoke. Emerging in the summer of 2019 off his debut EP Meet the Woo, things were looking like the Brooklyn drill pioneer was just about to take off until he was tragically murdered in a home invasion less than 2 weeks after Meet the Woo 2 dropped last February. Pop’s full-length debut Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was later completed by the hands of his idol 50 Cent & just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary at the beginning of the month. As for the actual music on that album: I personally was indifferent towards it because as much as I adore 50’s output both solo & with G-Unit from 2002-2006, he made it sound a lot more commercial than it really needed to be. So to see he had no involvement with Faith gave me hope that I’d like it more than Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.

After the “Good News” intro, the first song “More Time” is an endearing piano ballad produced by 808Melo about how that’s all he needs whereas “Tell the Vision” featuring Pusha T finds the duo boasting their success on top of a menacing trap beat from FNZ & Kanye West. I also dig Push acknowledging Call Me If You Get Lost as the 2021 AOTY so far as well as teasing his upcoming album & calling someone who I refuse to acknowledge on my platform a clown without sounding like beating a dead horse. He & Rick Ross get murderous on the soulful “Manslaughter” that Jake One laced leading into the acoustic materialism anthem “‘Bout a Million” with 21 Savage & 42 Dugg.

Meanwhile on “Brush ‘Em”, we have Rah Swish tagging along over a chilling sample to spit that gangsta shit just before the triumphant “Top Shotta” featuring Pusha T & TRAVI along with The Neptunes behind the boards. Bizzar Banks comes into the picture to talk about being sleazes on the cinematically produced “30” while the spacious “Beat the Speaker” grimly talks about Pop being the man. “Coupe” has a nocturnal instrumental whilst returning to the gangsta rap themes just before he & Takeoff talk about having a lot of guns for the cavernous “What’s Crackin’?”. The choir vocals on the Lil Tjay/Swae Lee assisted “Genius” are chilling as the trio are proclaiming themselves as such while he & Future talking about 100 bitches that’s ready to fuck.

After the pointless “Woo Baby” interlude, the actual “Woo Baby” song itself is an attempt at a radio hit saying he & Chris Brown like their yummy yellow whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean while the moody Dua Lipa duet “Demeanor” finds the 2 talking about his shawty. “Spoiled” even though it’s 2 minutes long is what “Woo Baby” should’ve been while the song “8-Ball” with KiD CuDi serves as a guitar ballad produced by Swizz Beatz about robbin’ ‘cause they never had nothing. The penultimate track “Back Door” with Kodak Black & Quavo sees the trio lavishly looking back on what their mothers had told them growing up & the closer “Merci Beaucoup” beautiful tells listeners that he ain’t got shit to prove to nobody.

Now I like this a bit more than the previous Pop Smoke album, but just by a very small margin. Some of the features either hit or miss & I really appreciate how it doesn’t try as hard to appeal to a nonexistent radio market like Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon did.

Score: 3/5

xhulooo – “Rude & Reno” review

xhulooo is a 16 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who first emerged through SoundCloud at the very beginning of 2019. He’s gone on to drop a total of 6 EPs since then but after taking a 9-month hiatus following the previous one ##Enigma: Uncut from last October, the up-&-comer is reemerging with a 7th EP.

“42” kicks the EP off with some strings & hi-hats to talk about putting a motherfucker in the woods whereas “Red Hair” jumps on top of a cloudy beat to say he doesn’t blame anyone who hates him because he’s getting money.

The song “Bathing Ape” flexes over an uptempo instrumental while the penultimate track “Fresh” is a rubbery homage to the late Bankroll Fresh. Finally there’s “Promise”, which has a euphoric ring to the production & Xhulooo to acknowledge that they’re watching him.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with what this kid had to offer with Rude & Reno. I like the playful production & his performances are super catchy. Whenever he drops a full-length debut down the road, it’s bound to be his magnum opus.

Score: 3.5/5