Presice85 is a 36 year old MC from South Gate, California who first emerged at the very beginning of 2017 off his debut mixtape My Life Novel & followed it up a couple years later with a sequel during the spring time. However with a handful of singles that came down the pipe ever since then, it’s all lead up to his debut EP over here.
“War” starts off the EP with some keyboards & dusty drums talking about how no one wants smoke with him & even though I love the positive vibes of “No More L’s”, the King Lil G verse is kinda corny to me. “Street Poets” with KXNG CROOKED has a more orchestral sound declaring themselves as such whereas the somber “City of God” details going crazy for the cash, even though I’m a bit indifferent towards the Iceman Skrill verse.
The song “Russian Roulette” with Oside Blaze finds the 2 on top of a suiting Russian sample spitting that battle shit while the penultimate track “Body Catcher” gets on that sinister murderous shit. “Blood Sport” ends the EP by forebodingly comparing the rap game to such & taking shots at anyone who wants to step up to him.
If you’re not familiar with dude already, I think Narcos & Boom Bap is a pretty good place to start. I think he’s definitely a talented lyricists, but there are features sprinkled into a good 60% of the EP & it really didn’t need to be the case.
This is the 7th full-length outing from Alabama rapper, singer/songwriter, fashion designer & entrepreneur Yelawolf. Originally getting his name out there 16 years ago by appearing on The Road to Stardom along with the mediocre debut album Creekwater, it wasn’t until the 2010s where Catfish Billy got his big break by dropping his 4th mixtape Trunk Muzik & later going on to sign a 4-album deal with the Eminem-owned Interscope Records imprint Shady Records. Once his contract was fulfilled, Yelawolf has since been focusing more on his own label Slumerican Records & celebrated his newfound independence by dropping his last album Ghetto Cowboy in late 2019. But the dude has been on a roll as far as 2021 goes by putting out a collab album with Caskey in February & a total of 3 EPs throughout this past month (one of them being a collaborative effort with RiFF RAFF) leading up to Mud Mouth.
The opener “Light as a Feather” has these unexpected cricket noises as Yelawolf talks about feeling better than ever before incorporating an organ & bass guitar to declare himself a bad motherfucker on the next song “Oh No”. “Bounce” is an in-your-face club banger that I don’t mind up until the millennial whoops that pop up during the hook 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 ahead of getting a vivid depiction of him selling drugs behind a gas station on the rap rock flavored-“Conoco”.
The track “Dope” melodically brags over an icy piano instrumental the Shawty Fatt tribute “Rocks at Your Window” is an inferior version of “Ride or Die” off Trial by Fire. Catfish Billy later picks things back up by delivering motivation on the acoustic-backed “Hillbilly Einstein” before enlisting Waylon & Willie for the electro-trap banger “Money” to declare that they don’t give a fuck about wealth.
After the “Losers Win Again” interlude, Yelawolf gets back on the country tip for the summery “Dog House” while he goes on about returning from the road on the stripped-back “Homeward Bound”.The song “Aquanet” is an odd tribute to the hair spray of the same name despite the luxurious instrumental & for the last taste of hip hop on the album, we go back into a more rap rock direction for the braggadocious “Hot”. As for the closer, the title track is a blues-sounding cut about being a product of the south.
Mile 0 is my favorite project that Yelawolf has dropped throughout the month, but this main course is pretty enjoyable. Other than a few lulls throughout the 1 hour run, it’s a solid return to the country/rock influences that began on Love Story & what other producer could’ve honed in on that sound than Jim Jonsin?
This is the 5th mixtape from Las Vegas, Nevada rapper Ouija Macc. Originally breaking out in 2017 off the strength of his debut EP Trashfire, this resulted in the Insane Clown Posse making him the final act to ever sign with Psychopathic Records later that year. Ouija has since been holding it down for the hatchet by dropping 2 full-length albums, 3 EPs, 4 tape, a greatest hits compilation & a collab EP with Starfoxlaflare. But after forming his own label Chapter 17 Records & dropping a collaborative mixtape with Young Money Entertainment signee Baby E a couple months ago, Ouija is enlisting the Floridian production duo Mythic Mindz for Dirtbag.
“Ain’t No Savior” kicks the door down by encouraging the listener to crank the volume up super high over a sitar-laced trap beat from Devereaux whereas the next song “Demon Seed” is a cacophonous depiction of a ritual. Ouija goes on to do a good job at melodically opening up about depression on the grungy “Route 17” & then “Killing Spree” brings in a chiming instrumental as the lyrics take a turn into horrorcore turf.
The track “Domino” brings in a bit of a country twang in the production to talk how this is the way it has to be while we get a bass-heavy ode to the kinky motherfuckers out there on “Nympho”. For “Did It Myself”, we get a Bollywood-flavored anthem about his grind before the Shaggytheairhead provides a dinky beat for Ouija to acknowledge his weirdness on “Walking WTF”.
Meanwhile on “La Cienega”, we get a quirky instrumental & Ouija bringing his speediest flows imaginable without making it sound cliche whereas “Thuggalo Slide” is a bassy anthem for the thuggalos to ride to. The song “Monster vs. Man” continues to bring in guitars as the lyrics tackle inner turmoil while “Not Enough” is Ouija talking about wanting more sex & drugs on top of a wailing trap beat.
The adrenaline-inducing “Die Like This” takes aim at his detractors whereas the electronic-influenced “Understand Us” is about how misunderstood juggalos are in the hip hop world. “I Don’t Know” doesn’t sound too bad for a cloudy love song while the penultimate track is a trap/rock fusion about burning it all down. As for the closer, “I’m Nowhere” talks about being a ghost over a sludgy instrumental.
This dude is just reaffirming his status as one of the most consistent artists in the underground today. He makes a great return to his normal style after the more commercial We Never Forgot & it’s cool to hear Mythic Mindz helping him out dabbling into new sounds.
This is the 3rd album from Los Angeles, California emcee Skribbal. Coming up in 2016 off the strength of his full-length debut Drug Spun Funk, the man would catch the attention of the rising Wisconsin underground label Force 5 Records & put out his sophomore effort Skinwalker a couple years later. But once Skribbal dropped his debut EP Quarantine Sessions last 4/20, he would leave the label to form his own Sony Music imprint Hell Patrol Records & the newfound independence by coming together with the highly anticipated Black Eyed Children.
After the “Retribution” intro performed by death metal icon Chris Barnes, the first actual song on the album “Born All Over” is a Napalm Drop cut where Skribbal & Big Left get together to talk about how hip hop gets them through the day on top of a sample of the O.V. Wright joint of the same name whereas “Find My Way” is a somber boom bap cut about being afraid of change.
For “Bring the Pain”, we have Skribbal on top of a quasi-funky instrumental to declare music as his therapy before declaring that he’ll never sell his soul on the dysphoric “Vampire Tactics”. We have RedCloud accompanying the mic for the heinous “Dreams in the Witch House” & the Iyze Lowe takes his spot to rap about how “can’t nobody do it like we do” on “Keep It Movin’”.
Meanwhile on “The Man Who Fell from the Sky”, Skribbal vividly details a story about a man trying to escape the US while he & Emycst declare themselves stronger than ever on the enchantingly-produced “Stronger Than Ever”. The song “We Are Not Alone” with Aether Haze is a cool dedication to all the struggling foster kids in the world on top of a beat with some grimly bells, but Celph Titled & Damian Krypt come together to get on the horrorcore tip for “Halloween Apples”.
Even though “Beyond the Black Rainbow” has a dark sound to it, I do enjoy the motivational lyrics about finding the light. The penultimate track “Wreck the System” with The R.O.C. is a dusty battle rap cut & to finish it all off, Dopehead Dan & the DG@F general himself Chucky Chuck hop on for the weed-themed “Pass the Green”.
The first of 4 bonus songs “Man with the Screaming Brain” goes into a more trap direction as Skribbal challenges all competition to bring the smoke before returning to a more boom bap sound to detail everything he’s learned on “Child of the State”. Dude brings in an organ & vocal harmonizing for the self-deprecating “Slave to the Pain & then we get some ominous keyboards as he details a regular day in the ghetto on “No Good: A Hood Story”.
In comparison to Skribbal’s last 2 albums, Black Eyed Children is a completely different vibe but in a good way. He focuses a lot less on the horrorcore aspect of things lyrically to focus on displaying his overall skills a lot more & is prominently boom bappy than before.
This is the 9th EP from Beverly Hills producer, DJ & emcee The Alchemist. Coming up as 1/2 of The Whooliganz in 1993 with Scott Caan, the disbanded a year later after recording a debut album that eventually got shelved & Scott went onto acting. Mudfoot however, quickly established himself as a household name in hip hop production by working with a handful of the culture’s most iconic names ranging from Mobb Deep to Eminem. Last thing we heard from him solo wise was The Food Villain back in October & after producing the new Armand Hammer album Haram to universal acclaim last month, Uncle Al is staying busy by amassing 6 emcees for This Thing of Ours.
The opener “Nobles” weaves in a Sun Ra sample as Navy Blue & Earl Sweatshirt trade bars back & forth with one another while the next song “TV Dinners” is a bit oxymoronic with it’s calming instrumental along with Boldy James & Sideshow declaring themselves as soldiers through the lyrics. The penultimate track “Holy Hell” by Maxo & Pink Siifu goes on about the devil wanting their souls over a guitar & a vocal sample before Earl returns to talk about people nickel & diming on the trumpet-heavy closer “Loose Change”.
Not the best EP we’ve heard from The Alchemist, but still an enjoyable listen. His production is a lot more chilled out in comparison to Haram & despite a couple of the guest MCs providing weak verses, most of them do what they do best.
DJ Khaled is a 45 year old DJ, record executive, producer & media personality from New Orleans, Louisiana whom a lot of people may not know came up as a tour DJ for the Terror Squad. But for the last 15 years, Khaled has curated a total of 11 albums under his own name. However when his last effort Father of Asahd charted at #2 right behind IGOR on the Billboard 200, dude completely ruined his Mr. Nice Guy image by dissing Tyler, The Creator out of bitterness. Almost 2 years later, Khaled is returning with his 12th full-length project.
Jeremih & Lil Wayne kick the album off on “Thankful”, where the 2 speak on gratefulness over a sample of Bobby Bland’s iconic “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. The song “Every Chance I Get” has a Three 6-inspired sound from Tay Keith as Lil Baby & Lil Durk go back & forth about turning up on haters while the Cardi B solo cut “Big Paper” is a grimy braggadocious anthem down to the beat too. The track “We Going Crazy” not only has a weird synth-instrumental, but the chemistry between H.E.R. & the Migos are totally off.
Lil Baby returns albeit with Megan Thee Stallion & DaBaby for the ironically enjoyable rap rock banger “I Did It” whereas Justin Bieber & 21 Savage deliver a boring look at the saying “Time is money” on the plainly-produced “Let It Go”. The song “Body in Motion” by Bryson Tiller, Lil Baby & Roddy Ricch is a gross attempt at going romantic while the first Drake solo cut “Popstar” sounds completely uninspired.
Meanwhile, we have A Boogie wit da Hoodie joining forces with Big Sean & Rick Ross to ruin Biggie’s “Long Kiss Goodnight” on the conquering “This is My Year” whereas the highly anticipated “Sorry Not Sorry” is easily my favorite off the entire album as JAY-Z & Nas talk about living the dream over a sample of Bobby Glenn’s “Sound’s Like a Love Song” provided by STREETRUNNER. “Just Be” by Justin Timberlake unapologetically ruins the Ghostface Killah joint “All That I Got Is You” right before “I Can Have It All” by H.E.R. & Meek Mill butchers one of my favorite Beanie Sigel songs: “Feel It in the Air”.
The other Drake solo cut “Greece” is even worse than “Popstar” only because he is completely trying to rip off The Weeknd’s vocal inflections from start to finish & if you’re familiar with Khaled’s previous output, you already know the album ends with a reggae note & that’s what “Where You Come From” by Barrington Levy, Buju Banton & Capleton does.
I don’t know what else to say other than that, he just keeps making the same goddamn album over & over again. The usual line-up of guests hardly compliment one another & the radio friendly production is just average at best. Just put 3-4 joints in a playlist & call it a day.
This is the 8th full-length album from Port Huron emcee/producer Substance810. Originally emerging in 2006 with his debut The Definition under his original moniker Tekneek, it wasn’t until last year when he dropped the fantastic sequel The Definition Of in the summer & then a debut EP Chess Pieces in the fall. But just 3 months after the release of his previous album Makin’ Waves, Substance810 is tapping in Hobgoblin for The Hanging Gardens.
“From a Seed” has some jazz undertones in the instrumental as the Michigander raps about growth before Josiah the Gift accompanies him to spit that pyrex shit on the gospel-sounding “Full Bloom”. The song “Marvel of Mankind” jumps on a flute to talk about being different from those around his way whereas “Pillars of Stone” goes into a more boom bap direction with lyrics about residing in the shadows of the underground.
Meanwhile, we have Jamil Honesty & Pure jumping on the horn-inflicted “Majestic” to come for their opposition’s throats before Substance810 brings in an orchestra for the Ma Dukes-tribute “Mother Earth”. Right after that, the minimal “From Darkness to Light” goes in about overcoming all obstacles & then E the Mad Assassin tags along to talk about wanting more on the grimy title track. “Harvest” is a victorious closer & the ambition in his lyrics is undeniable.
Substance810 is quickly becoming one of my favorite MCs that my home state has to offer & The Hanging Gardens is an absolute crown jewel in his discography. His lyricism is more introspective this time around & Hobgoblin brings in a wide range of sounds for him.
This is the 5th extended play from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Vandal Savage. A member of the trio VVV alongside Cappo & Juga-Naut, he would additionally drop a total of 4 EPs on his own throughout the 2010s from Savagery Over Everything to 1000th Prestige & the Bic Master duology. Stakes however were significantly raised upon learning Birmingham, West Midlands veteran Sonnyjim was gonna solely produce Sauvage being a fan of his for some time already.
After the “0.00” intro, “Prep the Shark” opens up with psychedelically funky vibes talking about fighting for peace & living rather gnarly than the average person whereas “From the Balcony” featuring Da Flyy Hooligan finds the pair over a vibraphone-driven instrumental reminding us of the golden rule: Sticking to the script. “Roll Safe” featuring Juga-Naut talks about coming a long way from their small towns while the funky “Pesci Poker” searches for peace in the midst of a piff cloud.
“Savvy” kicks off the 2nd half of Sauvage on some temporary orchestral vibes talking about his shrewdness just before “Holy Mackrel” featuring Sonnyjim himself teams up for a brief period of time to get boastful with each other. “The Dilly” has a funkier tone to it talking about these muhfuckas actin’ silly out here & l the “Run with It” remix preceding the “Unst” outro concludes the EP explaining all he’s done since he was a youngin’.
Out of everything Vandal Savage has done by himself between 2016 & Sauvage, the latter could most likely become my favorite EP of the 5 he’s dropped despite Cappo being the illest from VVV & putting Juga-Naut behind him. In no way am I trying to imply Vandal can’t spit because Sonnyjim’s production here is a vast improvement above Vandal’s previous output, the small handful of guest appearances including the producer himself all maintain his intensity regarding their performances.
This is the 6th full-length album from Philadelphia underground mainstay Vinnie Paz. Coming up as the MC for Jedi Mind Tricks & the leader of the Army of the Pharaohs collective, he also started building an impressive solo career off his 2010 debut Season of the Assassin & the 2012 sophomore effort God of the Serengeti. His previous album as above so below just came out last Valentine’s Day & a little over a year later, we’re already being treated to Burn Everything That Bears Your Name.
“Socrates Drinking the Hemlock” is a 2-minute opener with Boxcutter Pazzy spitting that disrespectful shit over an old west-sounding instrumental & then Billy Danze joins him for the horn/boom bap infused “Machine Gun Etiquette”, where both of them comparing their lyricism to that of LMGs. “Body Bag Philosopher” brings out the horror vibes from C-Lance’s piano instrumental to Vinnie’s lyrics about a rat going rogue whereas the Stu Bangas-produced “Papi Wardrobe” talks about letting the TEC spray over what I assume to be a 70’s sample.
We later have the Heavy Metal Kings & Lord Goathop on the orchestra-laced “Witches Teeth” courtesy of Illinformed while the song “Latka Bravas” talks about murder over some trumpets loops. Things go into a more jazzy direction on the Oh No-produced “Danger’s My Business” with lyrics detailing a war going on outside, but then Vinnie details his woman having an abortion on the track “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” & the way Farma G flips “Don’t You Ever Dare” by Dean Friedman is immaculate.
“Guilty Remnant Cigarettes” is a short yet effective cut about being out for blood over a more vintage instrumental from Esoteric & right after funny enough, The Czar-Keys cook up what could possibly be the darkest beat on the album as The Verbal Hologram references WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin on the song “Don Eladio”.
Meanwhile on the overawing “Warhead”, we have Chino XL coming through to help detail how dirty people are referencing former KO-D無差別級チャンピオン, ECW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time FMWヘビー級チャンピオン, 3-time FMWタッグチャンピオン, 5-time FMW6人タッグチャンピオン, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, NEVER無差別級チャンピオン & GHCタッグチャンピオン 田中 将斗 before talking about bodies being stacked up on the sepulchral “Excuse All the Blood”.
The song “White on White Crime” kinda has some trap & rock undertones in the production as O.T. the Real & D-Boy Flowski come together with the Pazmanian Devil to talk about how they rap what they live, but D-Boy’s verse at the end doesn’t hit me like the first 2 did. This is followed up with the powerful Islamic ode “Battle of the Camel” featuring Willie the Kid & the sample Giallo Point uses is just so comely.
“Torch Bearer” takes shit back to boom bap territory thanks to Vic Grimes, which I think might be the Paz Man’s response to the diss tracks both King Magnetic & Doap Nixon put out towards him last year. The song “Affairs in Order” incorporates some synths as Jay Royale accompanies the mic to talk about how you don’t wanna be around when the feds start getting on your ass.
Lord Goat returns for “Tell Gold to Hold the Boneyard” alongside Crimeapple to deliver them gangsta bars over a guitar-driven instrumental from Hobgoblin before incorporating an organ & some sputtering drums tor the track “Duppy or Gunman”, where The Sicilian Shooter says anyone who wants it with him is out of their goddamn minds & rightfully so.
“Angels with Dirty Faces” is a gospel-like homage to everyone Vinnie’s family was enamored before he & Eto talk about acting right around them on “Murder Takes Time”. The penultimate track “Lloyds of London” is a bilious acknowledgement of telling when people don’t want the smoke, but the Boob Bronx verse is another low-point for me personally. Finally to round it off, M.A.V. tags along to get in battle rap mode for the flute-backed closer “Digital Veil”.
In comparison to as above so below, I actually happen to prefer Burn Everything That Bears Your Name a bit more. Did it need to be 22 songs? Not necessarily. However, the dude’s pen-game remains unmatched as does his ear for production almost a quarter of a century deep making music.
This is the 12th EP from Detroit duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, the pair originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 5 albums, with my favorites being The Darkness at the top of 2015 & then /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ from this past Black Friday. But being big stoners for as long as they’ve been around, Jamie & Mono have decided to drop Electric Lettuce just 3 days after Alla Xul Elu’s new album Necronomichron 2: Dead by Bong.
After the “Safe Place” intro, the first song “We All Float” encourages the listeners to “come down here” with them since the weed hits harder than former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou & the trap instrumental Young Wicked cooks up is totally off the wall. After the “Get Matt Nipps” skit, the following song “Light It Up” goes into a more west coast direction I almost wanna say as they talk about “rollin’ rappers up”. After the “Get Blaze” skit, the song “No Smoke” is a MNE posse cut sans Lex the Hex Master & The R.O.C. threatening their opposition with a piano-instrumental from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 that really helps kick up the grimy tone of it.
The track “High ‘Til I Die” goes back into that trap direction as they talk about always being lifted & Lee Carver just shows why he’s my favorite Alla Xul Elu member. Especially when he said “Breaking up weed on the case of The Green Book”. I’m kinda disappointed that “Right Here Ninja” makes no reference or homage to “Here I Am” off of Blaze’s classic debut 1 Less G n da Hood, but the futuristic sound is fresh. “Feeling Stuck” is a great way to finish the EP, as it’s a guitar-trap driven cut about how COVID has effected everyone.
“420 Premium Quality” rawly starts the deluxe run telling all y’all muthafuckas to sing along lighting that shit up while “Wasted 3” by the Samhain Witch Killaz featuring G-Mo Skee, King Gordy, Redd, Rittz & Young Wicked matches the caliber of “Wasted 2 featuring Chris Webby, Kung Fu Vampire, R.A. the Rugged Man, the Three 6 Mafia & Whitney Peyton off of Twiztid’s 8th EP Get Twiztid along with “Wasted 3” featuring Anybody Killa & the Axe Murder Boyz off of their 13th album Mad Season as the best installments of the “Wasted” series. “It’s Been a Long Time” serves as the final bonus track going rap rock to admit they haven’t been this high in forever.
Despite my expectations not being super high given that this is a holiday-themed EP, I actually like it more than that short Songs of Samhain compilation that MNE put out this past fall. It continues to stray away from the wicked shit in favor of a more traditional hardcore hip hop vibe much like /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/, except most of the songs are weed-related.
Legends Will Never Die 