88GLAM – “Heaven Can Wait” review

88GLAM is a duo from Toronto, Ontario, Canada consisting of Derek Wise & 88 Camino. They originally caught my attention in 2018 when The Weeknd signed them to his Republic Records imprint X♥O Records, only re-releasing their first 2 mixtapes before departing last summer. But with their full-length debut Close to Heaven, Far from God on the way, they’re preluding it by dropping a 3-track EP.

“Five Stars” kicks the whole 10 minute torture chamber off with a plain instrumental, lifeless performances & lyrics that aren’t very sexy at all. In fact, this one part during the hook were 88 Camino says “she gon’ take this dick like she a virgin again” could very well be one of the worst lines I’ve heard all year. The next song right after “Clockwork” goes into more cloudier territory as the duo mopes about “I hate what happened to you but it’s all my fault” & the guitar laced closer “Wockstar” is a vapid look into their rich lifestyles.

Coming from someone who’s been a huge Weeknd fan since the Trilogy days, I could never see the appeal in these guys & Heaven Can Wait exemplifies that more than ever. I don’t mean any disrespect, but the production choices are painfully drab & it’s poorly written throughout. I’d rather listen to any ΠΔV project (specifically Emergency Tsunami) than this EP & that dude’s one of the most boring artists to blow up in the last 5 years.

Score: 1.5/5

Novatore – “Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience” review

Novatore is a 33 year old MC from Chicago, Illinois coming up as a member of the Infamous Crew. He’s also built up an impressive solo career in the last 6 years by dropping 4 EPs & 7 albums, the previous being Portrait of a Mad Man this past November. But given his history with Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance, it’s only right for them to drop a sequel to Embrace the Darkness.

After the “Demon to Some” intro, the first song “Antisocial” is a boom bap banger about how Novatore doesn’t like people whereas “Smoke & Mirrors” goes into a more operatic direction to tell listeners what you thought it was is something that isn’t. NEMS comes along for the atmospheric “Myth” pretty much saying their success was imminent while the somewhat quirkily-produced “Embrace the Darkness” opens up about losing faith watching people die.

Meanwhile with “Mask Up”, we get a Japanese sample in the beat as Novatore teams up with G-Mo Skee sending warning shots to their naysayers just before Termanology & A.M. Early Morning help get reminiscent on the string-laced “Looking Back”.
The actual “Night Raiders” song by Azthmatix succeeding an “Opening Credits” interlude brings in some synth-horns as they talk about there’s no one like them while the penultimate track “Raising Hell” is an off-the-top freestyle backed by a weepy beat. The album ends with “Workaholic”, which works in a hypnotic vocal sample & the dude raps about his hustle obviously.

It’s very rare when a sequel album is better than the predecessor, but Explorers of Experience pulls it off. Novatore’s pen-game keeps elevating to higher levels with each new project he puts out, you can never really go wrong whenever C-Lance is on the boards & putting them together results in mayhem.

Score: 4/5

Mi$tuh G & Mak7teen – “Your Worst Nightmare” review

This is the brand new collaborative effort between California horrorcore emcees Mi$tuh G & Mak7teen. We’ve heard them on a handful of joints in the past whether it be “G World Order” as well as “Disconnect the Doubt” or even Don Blanco’s “Good Name”, so it was only a matter of time for the duo to come together in a full-length capacity with Your Worst Nightmare.

After the intro, D-Dubb & Lil Sicx come along the atmospheric yet paranoia-themed title track whereas “Smoke” is a glitchy barnburner. Meanwhile on “Know What I Mean”, we go into a more spacious direction as they talk about leaving the murder scene untraceable while “Listen Close” is a grungy trap cut where both of them speak to the higher power. After the “What Are Nightmares?” skit, chopper extraordinaire Twisted Insane stops through for the cold-blooded “Slippin’” leading into the futuristic albeit dejecting “Stay Outta My Face”.

Off the Gas” if you couldn’t tell is a psychedelic weed anthem & even though I don’t care for Lace Leno’s verse on “Get Yo Money”, I love the diabolical production & it’s theme about stacking your bread. The track “Big Talkin’” gets braggadocious over a bouncy instrumental while the penultimate song “You Ain’t Really” with Fon Check is a dramatic shot at wankstas. After the “Wake Up” skit, “Forever” is a woozy closer with Agape joining Mi$tuh G & Mak7teen to tell their significant others that they’ll always love them.

I was wondering how this would turn out given how dope they sounded together on the 2 songs off G.W.O. (G World Order) & was not let down by it at all. I fuck with the aggressive trap production & their chemistry sounds better than ever before.

Score: 3.5/5

DMX – “Exodus 1:7” review

This is the 8th & final full-length outing from Yonkers icon DMX, whom originally started off as a beatboxer for Ready Ron as a teenager in the mid-80s. However it wasn’t until 1998 when X saved Def Jam Recordings from bankruptcy by dropping 2 of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums of that decade back to back: It’s Dark & Hell’s Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The follow-up …And Then There Was X at the tail-end of the next year was just as great in my opinion but from there, the next 4 albums from Ruff Ryders Entertainment’s flagship artist would range from average at best or hideous at worst. But after completing Exodus 1:7 just before his unfortunate passing 7 weeks back, Swizz Beatz & Def Jam are coming together to release it publicly.

The araabMUZIK co-produced “That’s My Dog” with The LOX kicks the album off as a misty ode to friendship whereas the next track “Bath Salt” with both JAY-Z & Nas is an aggressive, blaring theme for the streets. We get a cool sample of “California My Way” by The Main Ingredient on “Dog’s Out” as Lil Wayne joins X to wreak havoc on the mic whereas the Moneybagg Yo assisted “Money Money Money” is a weak attempt at trying to get a radio hit despite it’s Phantom of the Opera-esque production.

Meanwhile on “Hold Me Down”, we go into a more electro direction as X alludes to spirituality just before doing his own version of an unreleased Swizz/Kanye collab that is “Skyscrapers” co-produced by the underappreciated Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis. After the “Stick Up” skit, the almighty Griselda comes along for “Hood Blues” as the 4 reminisce on their come-up whilst sampling “Shady Blues” by Lee Mason before things take a turn into a more romantic direction as X & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg jump on a “Sexual Healing” sample provided for the mR. pOrTeR co-produced “Take Control”.

Nas is re-enlisted for the meditative yet uplifting “Walking in the Rain” & after the titular skit, the penultimate track “Letter to My Son” finishes off the album by making a guitar-tinged tribute to X’s youngest son Exodus (whom the album was named after). To round it out, the “Prayer” outro is a spoken word piece that asks God to always look after us whether it be good times or bad times.

Anyone who’s been following me long enough probably already knows my stance on posthumous albums, so I’m not gonna get too deep into it. That being said, Exodus 1:7 is absolutely amongst the better ones out there. I understand some heads might be turned off by the large amount of features going into it which I understand because that tends to be the case with a lot of posthumous albums, but you can definitely tell this was completed before X’s passing because every joint sounds fully fleshed out & he actually has chemistry with those who contributed. Rest In Peace to the Dog!

Score: 3.5/5

BVA – “Lex Neville” review

Here is the sophomore effort from Glastonbury, Somerset, England, United Kingdom emcee & Real Life Drama Records co-founder BVA. A member of The 4 Owls as well as the Brothers of the Stone & the 3 Amigos, his solo debut B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) arrived in 2014 under High Focus Records roughly 3 years succeeding an eponymous debut extended play. Coming off Peep the EP produced by the Leigh Brothers a few years earlier, he & the latter duo are introducing the world to Lex Neville.

After the titular intro, the first song “Walk the Atlas” produced by Leaf Dog begins with a soulful boom bap opener talking over rappers to compensate for their wackness whereas “In the Grip” woke in an organ to caution that we’ve entered an age of ignorance. “End of Days” featuring Jack Jetson & King Kashmere talks about entering the apocalypse over an Illinformed instrumental prior to “Groundhog Day” featuring Datkid & Leaf Dog living life deliriously.

“No Model” continues by talking about the very person who used to always have his back becoming the reason he had to watch it himself & that he isn’t someone that others should be looking up to while “Bring Me Back” desires to be brought back from the place of no return. “The Oh Oh” featuring Leaf Dog reunites the pair so they can talk about smashing their competitors lyrically while the organ-heavy “Music Wot’s Real?” speaks of always keeping things legitimate.

Meanwhile on “Fear & Loathing”, we have BVA over a woodwind mixed with kicks & snares cautioning that he might piss in other’s potions while “Reach & Bong” featuring Leaf Dog finds the 2 talking about their love for smoking weed. “Rollin’” featuring Verb T comes together to stay holding it down goldenly while “Snake Eyes” featuring Leaf Dog & Smellington Piff links up so they can turn haters into weepers.

“Carving Tablets” begins to wrap up Lex Neville’s last leg going for a soulful boom bap direction instrumentally explaining that the only thing he’s ever given fuck about was making raw music while “Nothin’ Else” hooks up a harmonic gospel flip talking about there being no better feeling to him than this very moment. “Family” chops up a crooning sample sprinkling some kicks & snares in the mix to send off the LP suggesting haters to either suck a dick or to simply go home.

B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) remains a tight collection of tracks presenting BVA’s buoyant capability of holding down an entire project all by himself & the follow-up 7 years since makes big improvements over it’s predecessor. The Leigh Brothers’ boom bap production fully realizes the cohesive ideas in terms of sound Peep the EP had initially teased, hitting fans with more entertaining quotable accompanied by a consistent list of associated collaborators.

Score: 4/5

Black Soprano Family Records & TCF Music Group – “Trust the Sopranos” review

This is a brand new collaborative compilation between New York independent hip hop labels Black Soprano Family Records & T.C.F. Music Group. One operates as an E1 Music imprint owned by Benny the Butcher & the latter being founded by 38 Spesh. The pair have been working together for a long time now (case in point: Stabbed & Shot), so it only makes sense for them to bring their crews together for Trust the Sopranos.

The opener “Immunity” by Benny & Elcamino kicks off with a succulent instrumental from Rick Hyde as the 2 go on about having their block under control, but then the Camino solo cut “Corner” is a horrendously sung R&B ballad despite the luscious 38 Spesh production. We later have Che Noir, Klass Murda & Ransom detailing their lifestyles on the angelic “Price of Fame” before the latter teams up with Benny to talk about fake people on the piano-laced “Spineless”. Ampichino & Spesh come together to talk about their lives being like a movie for the victorious “Tokyo Drift” whereas the Heem solo cut “Long Story Short” is him jumping on alluring boom bap beat saying that he’s about to take shit over.

Ricky accompanies Heem on the cinematic “Load Up” to talk about their homies mobbin’ while the song “Love Left” by Benny, Che Noir & Klass Murda is a smooth heartbreak anthem. The penultimate track “Blue Money” by Benny, Elcamino & 38 Spesh finds the trio talking about getting it out the mud over an organ-laced instrumental from the late DJ Shay whereas the closer “Silent Death” by Chase Fetti & Rick Hyde is an airy ode to murder.

It was only a matter of time both labels would come together given their intertwining history & the end result is pretty decent. Benny & Spesh always bounced off each other well on projects like Stabbed & Shot and the Cocaine Cowboys duology, but the TCF artists (i.e. Ransom & Che Noir) outperform the BSF signees throughout the half-hour.

Score: 3/5

Mach-Hommy – “Pray for Haiti” review

Mach-Hommy is a 38 year old MC from Newark, New Jersey breaking out in 2017 when he dropped his sophomore album H.B.O. (Haitian Body Odor) under Griselda Records. However, he & Tha God Fahim fell out with the label shortly after only for both of them to reconcile this past Christmas. But since May is Haitian Heritage Month, we have Mach marking his return to the Buffalo powerhouse by dropping his 5th full-length album to celebrate.

“The 26th Letter” is a trumpet-laced opener where Mach goes on about rearranging the whole game whereas the next song “No Blood Sweat” jumps on a pillowy Camoflauge Monk instrumental to say he taking food out cats’ mouths. Westside Gunn hops on “Folie á Deux” as he & Mach tell all the fuckboys that they’re finished over a psychedelic boom bap beat from Conductor Williams before declaring every day as Easter Gunnday on the soulful “Maxron Jaxon”.

“The Stellar Ray Theory” was a great choice for a lead single with its sax-heavy production & the lyrics about cats “blaming clouds on the rain & the sky” while he gets in his storytelling bag on “Marie” & I love the “Hail Mary” tribute in the hook. After the “Leta Yo” skit, Mach vents that he keeps seeing Deedee & Stevie in his naps with Nicholas Craven providing him with a bass guitar & a vocal loop for “Kriminel” just before declaring that he’s in his bag on the Sadhugold-produced “Pen Rale”.

“Murder Czn” with Westside Gunn of course a melancholic cut using for blood while Tha God Fahim tags along for the rich “Magnum Band” to help talk about having 357 on deck. The back & forth chemistry between Mach & Westside on the piano-tinged “Rami” is fantastic & after the “Kreyol” skit, the song “Au Revoir” goes into a more rock direction with the help of DJ Green Lantern as well as lyrics going at “pussy n****s”. The penultimate track “Blockchain” has a slowed down jazz sample throughout as Mach explains that there’s too many information highway cats riding the wave & then “10 Boxes: Sin Eater” is a dusty finisher saying he’s been wavy.

As much as I really enjoyed Pray for Paris, I can argue that Pray for Haiti is one of those immensely rare instances where the sequel album is better than the predecessor. We get a good look into Mach-Hommy’s Haitian roots whilst sticking to the raw lo-fi aesthetics we’ve all come to know & love from him.

Score: 4.5/5

Ace Hashimoto – “Play Make Believe” review

Ace Hashimoto is a 31 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois coming up as a member of the now defunct Odd Future under his birth name brandUn DeShay in 2008. He would eventually depart the collective a couple years later as a result of a falling out with it’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator but still saw success on his own by producing for the likes of Danny Brown & Chance the Rapper. It should also be noted that brandUn has dropped a small handful of mixtapes since his OF days, my personal favorite of the bunch being All Day DeShay: AM. But with a new moniker & a 5 year hiatus since his previous tape goldUn Child 2, the Chi-Town artist is re-emerging by dropping what he says “might be my first & last” full-length album.

“ZOMBIE: The Entrail-duction is a instrumental piece, but then the first actual song “GIRLS” is a summery duet with ph-1 as the 2 sing about enjoying sweet freedom. The track “O.M.W. (One Man Woman)” is an acoustic cut about being ready for his partner whereas Ace & Taichi Mukai come together to take what’s theirs on the synth-heavy “2NITE”.

Meanwhile on “TRAK STAR”, we get an instrumental that sounds like something The Neptunes would’ve produced in the late 90’s/early 2000’s along with lyrics about wanting his partner to stay the night whereas Sir Michael Rocks & Devin Morrison come together to talk about staying inside on the piano-heavy “Great Indoors”. Ta-Ra tags along for the funky “Bad Habits” helping Ace sing about not being a shitty person while he takes things in a more jazzier direction on the tender “Affection”.

The track “4Everything” has a more boom bap sound to it as he & Kero 1 tell their lovers they “ain’t no Casanova” before pondering why he returned to his ex when their love was no more on the glossy “Nice to Know You”. After the rock-influenced “Etika’s Interlude”, the final song “I Feel Fly” is a peppy duet with Mon’aerie that I wish was longer than 56 seconds & the closer “Ending Theme” is just a skit done in Japanese.

If you’re going into this expecting the hip hop sound Ace Hashimoto came up on, you might be disappointed because Play Make Believe is a full blown R&B album. The features are kinda hit or miss but Ace’s singing has improved, the songwriting is catchy & the production is super crisp. Whatever the future holds for him, I wish him nothing but the best.

Score: 3.5/5

42 Dugg – “Free Dem Boyz” review

42 Dugg is a 26 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Detroit, Michigan breaking out a few summers back off the strength of his debut EP 11241 Wayburn. This would catch the attention of both Yo Gotti & Lil Baby, who jointly signed him to their respective labels Collective Music Group & CBFW Records shortly after. Dugg’s profile continued to grow in 2019 when he dropped his debut mixtape Young & Turnt, which was followed up last year by the sequel Young & Turnt 2. However, it’s all been leading up to his 3rd tape over here.

The intro is a short, violin-laced trap banger much tells all his homies to call him whenever they need anything whereas the next song “Turnest N***a in the City” goes into a more hyphy direction as Dugg proclaims himself as such. The bragging continues on the brief, keyboard-laced “We Know” before he & Roddy Ricch hop over a Scorpions sample for “4 da Gang”.

Future tags along up on the atmospheric “Maybach” to talk about putting it on for their respective hometowns & the Einer Bankz-produced “Bestfriends” returns to a more Bay Area sound with the lyrics paying tribute to Dugg’s childhood friends. Lil Durk pulls up on the dreary “Alone” to express falling outs & being street cats forever & even though I like the heartfelt subject matter on “Still Miss My N****s”, the Rylo Rodriguez verse is atrocious.

The song “Free Merey” is a guitar ballad about how he & Merey will always be together while the Antt Beatz-produced “Quez Free” is a thumping anthem about what Dugg’s been up to lately. Right after that, “Please” is a cloudier cut saying that he’s “still got shit down” & then EST. Gee helps him get on the drug dealer tip on the grim “Rose Gold” produced by Carlo Anthony.

“Judge Please” is a 2-minute hyphy banger crying out for help while the Fivio Foreign & Rowdy Rebel-featured “Still Catching Cases” feels like an off-the-cuff drill joint. Taz Taylor incorporates a piano & hi-hats on “It Get Deeper Pt. 2” as Dugg goes on about how he can’t be outscored & then the Murda Beatz-produced “And I Gangbang” is a lively gangsta rap cut.

The next 2 songs are all homages to 42 Dugg’s friends Woo & Skeet with the production sounding eerily similar to one another, but then we go into Bay territory one last time on the closer “Free Me” which is him showing y’all how life works.

I think to safe to say that Free Dem Boyz is without question Dugg’s most mature effort to date. Pretty sure we all knew he was gonna stick with that signature modern Detroit sound à la Sada Baby, but the lyrics are a lot more personal than they were on previous efforts.

Score: 3.5/5

Nametag Alexander – “The Limit” review

Nametag Alexander is a 35 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who came up as part of the short-lived trio 10 Speed & Brown Shoe almost 2 decades back. He has since gone on to drop a slew of solo projects within the last 14 years all to pretty positive reception. Last we heard from Nametag was last spring with the release of his 8th EP Work. Win. Repeat. & to follow it up, local producer Black Bethoven is being tapped in to produce this new EP from top to bottom.

“Set Go” kicks things off with a heavy instrumental with battle bars being peppered into the mix whereas the title track takes things in a much more dancier direction encouraging listeners to push it as far as you can go. The song “Conquer” incorporates a guitar & some claps as Nametag talks about taking over the world while “The Victor” shows some ambition in the lyrics & the beat almost as a Scott Storch feel to it.

Travis Slang’s feature on the penultimate track “Believe” is kinda weak, but I do enjoy the overall message about hustling & the Japanese sample in the production. Finally, I think “Pressure Applied” is a worthy closer with Nametag jumping on a soulful boom bap instrumental to spit that weight-bench rap.

In his ever-growing discography, to me The Limit is an absolute stand out. The whole concept of it is well put together & I really like how varied in sound Black Bethoven’s production is, ranging from boom bap to dance.

Score: 4/5