EARTHGANG – “Mirrorland” review

The EARTHGANG is a duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of Olu & WowGr8 that’s been at it since the very beginning of the decade. They dropped 3 mixtapes, an EP & 2 studio albums independently until J. Cole signed them to Dreamville Records in 2017. They promoted this new association with a decent trilogy of EPs & not even 2 months after appearing on Revenge of the Dreamers III, the time has come for their highly-anticipated major label debut.

The opener “LaLa Challenge” finds the duo flexing over an instrumental that starts off slow, but then breaks into a faster pace by the end. The next song “UP” brush off their doubters over an oracular instrumental while the track “Top Down” challenges their opponents over a bassy trap beat. The song “Bank” of course talks about the paper over an immense instrumental while the track “Proud of Up” with Young Thug sees the 3 paying tribute to women all across the world over a gleaming beat.

The song “This Side” talks about paranoia over a settle yet dark instrumental while the track “Swivel” that originally appeared on Revenge of the Dreamers III a couple months ago talks about overcoming their insecurities over a funky beat. The song “Avenue” gets confessional over a groovy instrumental while the track “Tequila” with T-Pain of all people is a dedication to the titular alcoholic beverage over a Latin instrumental.

The song “Blue Moon” gets sensual over an instrumental with an amazingly charming vibe to it while the track “Trippin’” with Kehlani is of course a lust anthem with a playful instrumental. The song “Stuck” finds the duo simping over a boom bap beat with a down-tuned guitar lead while the penultimate track “Fields” talks about never changing over a MOSTLY skeletal beat. The album then finishes with “Wings”, where the EARTHGANG talk about their hustle over a psychedelic beat.

Personally, this is the duo’s best work yet. The instrumentals are decent, but the hooks & the verses are mostly pretty great. If you wanna hear Johnny & Dot continue to hone their unique style, then give this a listen.

Score: 3.5/5

Joell Ortiz – “Monday” review

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Joell Ortiz is a 39 year old rapper who first gained recognition after being included in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source in 2004. He then signed to Aftermath Entertainment in 2006, who allowed him to release his debut album The Brick: Bodega Chronicles with E1 Music in the next year. Yaowa would eventually leave Aftermath in 2008 & form Slaughterhouse with Royce da 5’9”, KXNG CROOKED & Joe Budden shortly after. The supergroup rose to prominence with their self-titled debut that just celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary this year & would go on to sign with Eminem’s Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in 2011. But sadly, their major label debut welcome to: OUR HOUSE in the summer of 2012 would unfortunately end up being their last. Joell has been focusing on his solo career ever since then & not even a year after his Apollo Brown produced Mona Lisa, he’s hitting fans with his 7th full-length album.

After the titular intro, we go into the first song “Captain”. Where Joell talks about his place in hip hop over a stylistic Heatmakerz beat. The track “Sip Slow” is filled with clever battle bars over a joyous boom bap beat from Apollo Brown while the song “Champion” declares himself as just that over a tribal instrumental from Nottz. The track “Anxiety” vents about his insecurities over a soulful acoustic instrumental while the song “Same Time” talks about hearing a lot all at once over a boom bap beat with some strings.

The song “Learn You” talks about the sacrifices he made to chase his dreams over a grand Big K.R.I.T. instrumental then the track “Screens” talks about his kids & reflecting on his own childhood over a colorful J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental including a WWE reference. The song “Jamaican Food” is a lust anthem with a sweet minimalist beat while the track “Before Hip Hop” talks about his life before making music over some bongos & soulful background vocals. The penultimate track “Momma” of course pays tribute to Yaowa’s mother over an piano that suits the vibe & then the album ends with “Grammy”, where Joell talks about doing him over a boom bap beat with some more beautiful keyboard passages.

This is easily one of Yaowa’s best releases to date. The production is sweet to the ear & the lyrics are some of his most personal yet.

Score: 4/5

DJ Clay – “Over the Fear Of…” review

DJ Clay is a 35 year old producer, DJ & rapper from Detroit, Michigan whom the Insane Clown Posse signed to Psychopathic Records back in 2007. The man has released a handful of mixtapes since the mid-2000s but since recently starting up his very own label Armed Robbery Entertainment, he’s finally stepping out with his full-length debut album.

The album kicks off with “Over Fear”, where Clay talks about rising above his frights over a nocturnal trap beat. The next song “Fax” gets into battle mode over a boom bap beat with some plinky keyboards while the track “Don’t Quote Me” finds Clay totally snapping over a grimy trap beat. The song “Everybody” talks about his haters over a trap beat with a Godly atmosphere while the track “Apologies” finds Clay saying sorry for a number of things over a somber trap beat.

The song “Eyes Clozd” finds Clay talking to a therapist over a trap beat some alluring keyboards while the track “Just Like You” talks about being him over a very dynamic instrumental that switches up countless times. The song “Tear Up” is an aggressive club banger with a haunting synth-like & some skittering snares while the track “Running” tells the vivid story of a criminal over a horror-esque trap beat.

The song “Yeah Bro” is talks about wildin out over a grimy trap beat & a Three 6 Mafia inspired hook for a minute & a half while the track “Got It Wrong” talks about those who thought he was quiet over an atmospheric beat with some rubbery bass. The song “Fade Away” is an interesting trap rock ballad & then the album ends with “Numb”, where Clay talks about his success over a trap beat with some luscious piano chords.

If anyone wants to hear a talented DJ showing off his rapping abilities, then PLEASE give this a listen. Could’ve used a couple features to breakup the monotony, but his pen game is solid & the production goes absolutely HARD!

Score: 3.5/5

Common – “Let Love” review

Common is a revered Chicago, Illinois emcee who came up with the No I.D. produced albums Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Resurrection & 1 Day It’ll All Make Sense throughout the 90s. He then made his major label debut in 2000 with Like Water for Chocolate, which was followed up with the experimental Electric Circus in 2002. During the mid 2000s, he released a trilogy of albums with Kanye West’s GOOD Music beginning with Be, bridged by Finding Forever & then ending with Universal Mind Control. As for this decade, we saw Com reuniting with No I.D. on The Dreamer/The Believer & Nobody’s Smiling. Then came his last album Black America Again, which was released during the 2016 presidential elections. But with a new memoir out now, the man has seen fit to deliver his 12th album.

The album kicks off with “Good Morning Love”, where Common gets motivational over a smooth beat from Karriem Riggins (who produced almost every track on the album much like Black America Again). The next song “HER Love” pays tribute to hip hop over J Dilla’s “Dillatronic 41” & then after the Dwele interlude, the track “Hercules” talks to the haters over a funky beat. The song “5th Story” with Leikeli47 sees the 2 telling the tragic story of a married couple over an austere instrumental while the track “Forever Your Love” pays tribute to his parents over a meditative boom bap beat.

The song “Leaders (Crib Love)” talks about prevailing over some prominent live drumming while the track “Memories of Home” speaks for itself over a settle instrumental. The song “Show Me That You Love Me” with Jill Scott pays tribute to his daughter over a soothing instrumental while the penultimate track “My Fancy Free Future Love” pays tribute to his soulmate over a jazzy instrumental. The album then ends with “God is Love”, where Common gets spiritual over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat.

While it’s not perfect, it’s still an admirable effort from the man. The production is mostly gorgeous & it suits Common’s heartfelt lyrics pretty well.

Score: 3.5/5

Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Zdenka 2080” review

San Diego, California singer/songwriter & producer Salami Rose Joe Louis making her Brainfeeder Records debut with her 3rd studio LP. Introducing herself in 2016 off her full-length debut Son of a Sauce!, the subsequent sophomore effort Zlaty Sauce Nephew a year later was more positively received & interested Flying Lotus enough to the point where he signed her to Brainfeeder distributed by Ninja Tune. And being a FlyLo fan since my teens, I wanted to give Zdenka 2080 a fair chance.

“Suddenly” opens up with this futuristically hypnotic 105 second intro singing about finding life challenging out of nowhere leading into “Octagonal Room” kicking off with a spoken word piece until hitting us with a chorus & post-chorus entering a new dimension. After the “She Wakes Up (1st Dimension)” composition, “Love the Sun” goes for a heavy Stereolab vibe for 2 & a half minutes while the ethereal “Cumulous Potion (For the Clouds to Sing)” after the “Cirrus Floccus (2nd Dimension)” intermission describes a kind of concoction created by a starship from another galaxy.

Dream pop, singer/songwriter & hypnagogic pop all collide on the single “Nostalgic Montage” singing about traveling to see her friends if she were a bird just before “Meet Z in 3D (3rd Dimension)” atmospherically confesses that she doesn’t like sing much these days & making life busy so he can’t face her soul. “Confessions of a Metropolis Spaceship” moves on from there asking where he breath went & after “A Brief Intermission”, she spends a couple minutes during “Sitting with Thoughts” singing about someone who makes her feel alone.

“Earth Creature” gets the 2nd half going with Lindsay pleading for those listening to not lose hope over a Herbie Hancock-influenced beat while “Peculiar Machine (4th Dimension)” sings about discovering something mysteriously radiant. After the “Drifting” instrumental piece, “You Get Blue” has to be one of the weaker moments on the album considering it’s so short that there’s literally no point of it being on here while “Diatoms & Dinoflagellates (5th Dimension)” has a cavernous spoken word flare to it.

After the ambient “Transformation of a Molecule (6th Dimension)” beat, “The Artist (7th Dimension)” rounds out 3rd taking a more rustic approach while “Collision, Gravity, Time” sings about something else in the sky coming closer. “Heads Turn to Paintings” neo-psychedelically realizes the time has come while the final song “Cosmic Dawn (8th Dimension)” preceding the “To Be Continued…” outro majestically finishes singing about knowing your fear how she wants one to do so.

Most people would have Zlaty Sauce Nephew above Zdenka 2080 & understandably so, but I’d make the argument that Salami Rose Joe Louis’ debut for Brainfeeder begins this next phase of her career with the strongest collection of music she’s conceived. Her production’s more neo-psychedelic than earlier output additionally pulling from dream pop, ambient pop, nu jazz, wonky, hypnagogic pop & indietronica to cohesively describe a future dystopian Earth in the year 2080 that’s been mismanaged by unethical governments & corporations.

Score: 4/5

Gawd Status – “Firmamentum” review

Gawd Status is a duo from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of emcee Joker Starr alongside producer King Kashmere. Both of whom have musically been around since with mid-2000s, with Kashmere making his debut in late 2006 by dropping In the Hour of Chaos & Joker Starr putting out Blood-Ren roughly 5 & a half years later. Nonetheless, I was still intrigued to hear they’ve teamed up for a full-length debut together.

“Heavy Metal” opens up with a boom bap intro talking about lighting muhfuckas up with a firing squad & times being difficult whereas “Messiah Hybrid” goes for a jazzier vibe instrumentally talking about their bloodline not being up for questioning. “I’m an African” featuring Big Cakes & Micall Parknsun comes through speaking like kings & walking like lions leading into “Amplified Science” featuring Anyway tha God takes a more conscious approach lyrically.

Fae Simon predominantly appears on “The Alchemist” soulfully singing about wanting to show her partner how she purifies elements of nature while “Admiral Byrd” talks about people hiding behind science to fight God. The penultimate track “Uranium” hops over a beat with increasing intensity to discuss conspiracy theories & the closer “From Nibru with Love” finishes up with a compositional outro blending elements of boom bap & cloud rap.

I might have Strange U’s debut LP4080 above Firmamentum, but it’s still the most entertaining introduction Gawd Status could’ve possibly made. King Kashmere’s production is primarily hip hop-oriented with secondary influences of psychedelia & soul backing Joker Starr’s lyrics covering topics like madness, slavery, the rise of A.I., false Gods, the transmutation of matter & conspiracy theories ranging from flat Earth to aliens.

Score: 4/5

Kuniva – “The Bando Theory” review

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Kuniva is a 42 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who started as 1/2 of Da Brigade with dEnAuN. Both of whom would go on to join D12 with Proof, Bizarre, Swifty McVay & of course Eminem. They released 2 platinum studio albums together in the early 2000s but when the group’s leader Proof was murdered in 2006, everyone began focusing on their solo careers. Kuniva released a slew of mixtapes throughout this decade, but made his full-length debut in 2014 with A History of Violence. This was followed up with a sequel tape in 2016 & 3 years later, he’s back on the scene with his sophomore album.

After the intro, we go into the title track. Where Kuniva talks about how real he is over a vicious instrumental. The next song “The Real” pays tribute to those who’ve remained in his circle over a mellow instrumental while the track “Boss Down” is filled with angry battle bars over a nocturnal trap beat from Nick Speed. The song “Shine” talks about maintaining successful over an instrumental with some subdued background vocals & a guitar popping in occasionally while the track “G.T.F.B. (Get The Fuck Back)” with 7 the General sees the 2 vividly describe someone trying to carjack them over an ominous beat.

The song “Weaponized” of course is laced with that gun talk over a killer rock sample while the track “Blue Note Lounge” with Fatt Father sees the 2 reclaiming their prowesses over a luscious instrumental. The song “Waldorf” talks about how fly he is & his competition being talentless over an eerie boom bap beat while the track “Victim” is an awkward auto-tune ballad with a buttery instrumental.

The song “Livin’ My Life” with Rod Dae needs no further explanation over a slick instrumental while the track “I Love Ya” pays tribute to hip hop over a punchy instrumental with some beautiful keys. The penultimate track “Red Hots & Faygo” talks about people who always have a problem with him over the same sample that RZA used for “Let My N****s Live” off of the Wu-Tang Clan’s 3rd album The W back in 2000 & then the album ends with “D.O.N.S. (Day One N****S)”, which of course pays tribute to his close homies over an atmospheric beat.

If y’all are looking for an O.G. in the Detroit hip hop scene getting back on his grind, then please give this a listen because I’ve always looked at Kuniva as an underrated link of the D12 crew. Some of the hooks could’ve been better to me but for the most part: this thing has well incorporated features, great production & Kuniva’s pen game remains deadly.

Score: 3.5/5

RJ Payne – “Square Root of a Kilo” review

RJ Payne is an MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that started off battling under the name Reignman. He recently signed with Black Soprano Family/Griselda Records back in May & promoted it with a decent mixtape entitled Leatherface. 3 months have passed since & he’s continuing his grind with his full-length debut.

After the 7 minute “Cocaine Radio Intro”, we go into the first song “The Payne”. Where RJ gets triumphant over a soulful beat. The track “A New Day” cements his prowess over a vocal sample with some horns while the song “The Smoke” with 38 Spesh sees the 2 flexing their lyrical abilities over a boom bap beat with a sample that gets annoying after a while. The track “Drumline” with Dark Lo sees the 2 spitting battle bars over a boom bap beat with a subdued soul sample while the song “Purge Night” speaks for itself over an eerie Daringer beat.

The track “Cocaine Symphony” truly lives up to its name fantastically from the pen game to DJ Shay’s production while the song “Hitman” sees RJ comparing himself to an assassin over a boom bap beat with some synths in the background. The track “Philly Soul” with O.T the Real describes the ghettos of their hometown over a settle instrumental while the song “My Dreams” explains RJ’s ambitions over a sweet soul sample.

“The GOAT” gets back on the battle bar tip over the exact same Cortex sample that Madvillain used for “1 Beer” while “The Love” preaches for positivity over a pretty piano instrumental. The penultimate track “Never Give In” with eLZhi sees the 2 spitting game over a funky bass-line & then the album ends with “Rebirth of the ROC”, where RJ teams with Da Fever & Sunnie Blac getting vicious over a symphonic beat.

As a debut album from someone with RJ’s longevity, this is pretty promising. Most of the instrumentals & some of the features could’ve been a little bit better personally, but there’s no denying that the dude sounds hungry on here & I really think BSF/Griselda is doing a great job bringing that hunger out.

Score: 3/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “GINGER” review

This is the 5th full-length album from San Marcos, Texas hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON. They first came together with an average debut mixtape in 2016 called ALL-AMERICAN TRASH, but it wouldn’t be until the following year that we saw them completely reinventing themselves by dropping the near-perfectly creative SATURATION trilogy. Then there’s the infamous sexual misconduct scandal revolving around the boyband’s most popular lyricist Ameer Vann last May, which resulted in him being kicked out of BROCKHAMPTON. A decision that to this very day is still polarizing by many. However, I think they managed to pull through shortly after with their last full-length album iridescence. Fast forward 11 months later, here we are with GINGER.

The album kicks off with “NO HALO”, where the boys sans de facto leader Kevin Abstract venting about personal issues over an acoustic instrumental from Jabari Manwa. The next song “SUGAR” gets romantic over another acoustic instrumental while the track “BOY BYE” talks about each member’s highs & lows over a quirky beat from Romil Hemnani & Q3. The short “HEAVEN BELONGS TO YOU” is a completely random slowthai song while the track “ST. PERCY” finds the boys charismatically bragging over a bassy instrumental & I absolutely love the Missy Elliott/Timbaland vibes during the hook. The track “IF YOU PRAY RIGHT” gets spiritual over a prominent tuba with Dom McLennon starting it off in a charming fashion while the song “DEARLY DEPARTED” addresses Ameer Vann’s dismissal over a cavernously melodic beat.

The track “I BEEN BORN AGAIN” talk about their newfound fame over a minimalist beat while the titular song finds Kevin teaming with Matt Champion & bearface to get a bit darker on the topical end over an inebriating beat. The track “BIG BOY” sees Kevin, bearface & JOBA recalling their childhood experiences over a dream-like instrumental while the penultimate song “LOVE ME FOR LIFE” finds everyone from then previous joint getting with Merlyn Wood over a lively yet subdued instrumental referencing SpaceX founded by Tesla CEO & Neuralink founder Elon Musk. The album then finishes with “VICTOR ROBERTS”, which is an introduction to a rapper with the same name over a bare piano instrumental.

This is the boys’ weakest album so far, but it’s still solid. Of course each song stands out in it’s own way, but it kinda lacks in catchiness both rapping-wise & instrumentally. Hopefully, they’ll step it up on the next effort.

Score: 3.5/5

Jeezy – “Thug Motivation 104: The Legend of the Snowman” review

Jeezy is a legendary 41 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia known for being one of the Big 3 pioneers of trap music alongside T.I. & Gucci Mane. He dropped 2 mediocre albums at the beginning of the 2000s, but it wouldn’t be until 2005 that he made his 1st big break with Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It. An album that completely revolutionized trap, spawned 2 sequels that’re both solid in their own rights & just celebrated it’s 14 year anniversary last month. In light of the latter, Jeezy has saw fit to deliver his 11th & allegedly final full-length album.

It all begins with “the enTRAPreneur”, where Jeezy proclaims himself as just that over an orchestral trap beat from MP808. The next song “Big Shit” charismatically brags over a nocturnal trap beat while the track “Look Like” gets confrontational over a rowdy beat. The song “Better Tell ‘Em” flaunts over a generic beat while the track “Mr. Pyrex” speaks for itself over a nondescript beat.

The song “Already Rich” speaks for itself over an infectious J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental while the track “1 Time” gets celebratory over an unexpected JAY-Z sample. The song “Oh Yea” with Ball Greezy is completely redundant despite the rhythmic beat while the track “White Keys” talks about the drug game over a piano-inflicted trap beat.

The song “MLK BVLD” with Meek Mill sees the 2 boasting over a haunting Lex Luger beat while the track “‘06” with Rick Ross sees the 2 over a luxurious instrumental. The song “Don’t Make Me” talks about designer material over a somewhat jazzy beat while the track “Fake Love” talks about just that over a smooth beat.

The song “All Night” with Gunna sees the 2 flexing over a wavy beat while the track “4Play” is of course a trite sex anthem. The song “Play It Safe” is a sensual follow-up to the previous cut that actually works a lot better while the penultimate track “Don’t Forget” gets reflective over a somber beat. The album then finishes with “The Real MVP”, where Jeezy pays homage to his mother over a beautiful instrumental.

If this truly is the last time we’ll ever hear Jeezy in a full-length capacity, he went out decently. He sounds focused, but the production is hit or miss with me.

Score: 3/5