Lucki – “dr*gs r bad” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki’s highly anticipated 4th LP has finally arrived. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini & the divisively received Daysb4bad* to deliver the main course that the latter preluded.

The “Nuppy” intro opens up the first couple of minutes talking about a woman who he feels like is the right one for him whereas “Picky Demons :)” talks about him not being the fastidious type & shit not being for show with him. “No Stars in Maybachs” featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze finds the trio joining forces to trade verses with each other although I think Veeze was the better guest of the 2 while “Stupid Prizes” cloudily talks about what happens when one plays stupid games.

“Supertune!!” gives off a heavier psychedelic trap vibe instrumentally courtesy of Noah Mejia boasting that he feels like a superhero whenever he pops pills leading into “rookie 2 barbie” talks about how far he’s come since his Lucki Eck$ days over a decade ago back when I was in high school. “AllWay2Space” embraces a pluggier sound thanks to Taurus discussing his eagerness of going to the moon just before the “mdnt series” talks about going on a midnight roll driving around in his Maybach.

Lil Baby appears for “Snake Pit Flow” to describe the feeling they have of being made for this music shit over a LulRose instrumental while “(madness)!” shifts towards a more futuristic trap direction stylistically talking about there being hoes with no voices out here. “a theme atp…” expresses his willingness to have his people call him whenever their day’s been rough while “Keep It 1,000, Plz” talks about his desire to have everyone keep it legitimate when speaking to him.

“Brazy” reached the halfway point of dr*gs r bad with what I’d consider more of a brief freestyle than an interlude while “WAYBetter Dayz” featuring the late Chynna talks about being geeked up so much to the point where today could be his last day alive. “Loyal Snake” keeps the synthesizers coming to ask this woman if she could love him the way he loves her while the Detroit trap-tinged “Roundtripski” encourages someone who went rogue on him to do it again because he fucks with it.

Veeze returns again for the “Twin Flow” sequel “Twin FlowGodfather II”, going back-&-forth with each other to save my favorite guest appearance for last while “Ur a Vet!” talks about being on 3 different diamonds every single day & most being unable to keep up. “Gemini Dramatic” wraps up dr*gs r bad’s final moments describing a relationship where he’s got it out the mud & has a hoe who’s for the streets beside him while the outro “Yesterday On My Face” talks about being unable to trust this person.

“Not So Virgo of You” starts the deluxe run with a cloudy trap 2-parter that I’d say is one of the best songs he’s done this decade & once “I Don’t Care…” featuring the current WWE United States Champion Trick Williams’ manager Lil Yachty teams up for a atmospheric jerk single that I liked more than the other one they did at the beginning of the month, “Diamond Stitching” fuses the Detroit sound & tread so he can talk about his newfound wealth.

The single “Free Mr. Banks” combines trap & plugg to call for Lil Durk’s freedom in addition to remind us all of the code of the streets while “Overth!nking” experiments with vaportrap a bit to vent about his internal struggles including experiences of betrayal. The final bonus track “Tuff Luver” is what truly sends off the album, confessing that he’s been feeling somewhat nervous of becoming a superstar & shrugging it off suggesting maybe that’s the Chiraq in him.

Considering that one of the deluxe cuts stirred up controversy when Lucki dropped it through Steve Stoute’s independent distributor UnitedMasters & it’s competitor EMPIRE filing a lawsuit against Tune, some including myself would have to presume that dr*gs r bad fulfills the Chicago artist’s contract with them & I wish him nothing but the best if that’s in fact the case. However, it’s still an impressive trap/Detroit sound album even if it’s an undeniable improvement above Daysb4bad*.

Score: 3.5/5

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Drake – “Habibti” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake going solo for the first time in 3 years with his 9th studio LP. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

The “Rusty” intro awfully begins with him singing over some acoustics for 62 seconds sending a message to the sweethearts & those he’s dated whereas “WNBA” produced by Gordo mediocrely details a long-distance relationship that’s effected by travel. “Slap the City” might be my favorite track here from the Noel Cadastre beat to Drizzy’s hedonistic lyrics, but then “High 5s” finds himself getting in his petty bag over a 40 instrumental.

“Hurrr Nor Thurrr” featuring Sexyy Red could be my 2nd least favorite track here because of the way they describe an addictively messy relationship ruining a sample of “MORAL” by Avenoir, but “I’m Spent” featuring Loe Shimmy tops it as the worst song here wasting a moody beat to talk about both emotional instability & luxury. “Classic” continues with this grating alternative R&B ballad encouraging a woman to leave the man she’s with until the minimally cold “Gen 5” makes a tacky statement regarding him getting a Glock for last Christmas.

The song “White Bone” was another moment that I was fine with instrumentally even if Drake ruins it by singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing that he thinks is a real connection while “Fortsworth” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR feels like an $$$4U leftover from the slow beat to them singing about being with long-distance partners. “Prioritizing” spends the remaining minutes of Habibti’s core attempting to strip his confidence & replace it with the feeling of uncertainty.

“Solar Eclipse” featuring Don Toliver starts the deluxe run interpolating “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley & sampling “Get Throwed” by UGK featuring JAY-Z & Jeezy while “Québec” references 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena. “Cold Shoulder” reunites with Don Toliver to complain about women ignoring them & the final bonus track “Classic 2” feels no more or less cringe than the original.

Some people would say either Honestly, Nevermind or Certified Lover Boy are Drake’s worst solo efforts, but I feel like he managed to outdo both of those & have Habibti take the cake. It’s more on the R&B side of things stylistically compared to Maid of Honour & Iceman although the production’s decent explorations of alternative R&B, pop rap, trap soul, downtempo, contemporary R&B & pop rap are ruined by the songwriting.

Score: 1/5

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Chip Fu – “Invisible Footsteps” review

This is the 2nd solo extended play from Brooklyn, New York veteran Chip Fu. A member of the Fu-Schnickens, he would eventually put out a solo mixtape of his own 16 years earlier called Stop Playing & the sequel arrived roughly 32 months later. The Beginning of the Reckoning under Blaq Ink Entertainment in tandem with Fat Beats Records was a solid EP last summer & the highlights it had made me eager of where Invisible Footsteps would go next.

After the intro, we have the man himself welcoming us to the “Shell Down” except I feel like the trap instrumental is merely ok compared to the enjoyable lyricism whereas “Double Dutch” hooks up a more thunderous beat & flows that would make the heads of those unfamiliar with start spinning. Busta Rhymes later appears on “Have Mercy”, where both lyricists join forces over a boom bap instrumental so they can ask God to grant them lenience.

“MI-JOI” might be my least favorite track on Invisible Footsteps & that’s disappointing because I appreciate the positive messaging despite the execution of the dancehall sound while “Warning” featuring Shaquille O’Neal finds the 2 linking up to talk about those thinking they can fuck with them, assuring them they’re all sorely mistaken. “More Amor (Love)” finishes the EP fusing jazz rap, boom bap & pop rap for an ode to affection.

With all due respect to Chip Fu because I did enjoy his previous EP alongside his output with the Fu-Schnickens or guest appearances, Invisible Footsteps does have moments that I can see myself going back to since the verses as well as the flows & both guest appearances are on point. My main criticism I have towards this newer batch of material is that the production’s somewhat more inconsistent at times, which I find disappointing.

Score: 2.5/5

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ShittyBoyz – “Back to the Basics” review

Here we have the 5th studio LP from Detroit trap trio the ShittyBoyz. Consisting of BabyTron alongside Stanwill & TR Dee, they emerged off their debut mixtape 3-Peat under the mentorship of Lando Bando in the summer of 2019 taking the motor city by storm & following it up with another tape. They even have 4 full-lengths in Trifecta as well as the the sequel & of course the trilogy chapter. Last time we heard the 3 Man Weave was in 2024 & they’re taking it Back to the Basics.

The title track produced by Danny G fuses the Detroit sound & techno talking about the food they’re cooking not being for plates whereas “Killian Hayes” shrugs off this crazy bitch for proclaiming themself to be a demon when that isn’t the case. “Timeout” talks about their motion being unstoppable over a Detroit trap instrumental leading into “Heist” explains that they can’t let the phone ring twice if there’s any money involved.

“Rocket Science” by Stanwill gives off somewhat of a mafioso atmosphere talking about blasting off in UFOs just before the 2nd & final single “Geek Squad” finds the trio trading verses with each other for a few minutes. “Fetty, Mula, Gwalla” continues the 2nd half of the album hopping over a darker beat with some bells talking about money while “Pumpkinhead” lets Babytron shine for a solo joint of his own hittin’ hoes with the sidestep.

We have Danny G running it back with the ShittyBoyz on “Kudos” assuring that anyone can do it too if they’ve already done it while “Lord Sidious” talks about the possibility of becoming rich if one makes the right choices. TR Dee gets a track of his own with “Work” suggesting that any competition has been confused with ghosts over a Jakesand instrumental & once “Mojo” talks about using door codes instead of keys, “Outta Town” ends with them ignoring advice from those who’ve never been in their position.

These guys have been saying in recent interviews that Back to the Basics is their most refined material yet & I would have to agree with that sentiment in the sense that it’s a lot shorter than the longer projects they’ve been known for, linking back up after taking a year off to focus on their solo endeavors without having any guest appearances to either trade verses each other or letting each member putting their individual growth on display for the world.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lil Shine – “Get Rich or Die Sippin’” review

Lil Shine is a 21 year old recording artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota who introduced himself off his first couple of extended plays Sh!ne & Heavenly Ascension respectively. He would go on to follow these up with the full-length debut Losing Myself as well as the Lovesick & Tearscape EPs. Coming off the sophomore effort Shine Forever though, his 3rd album here has been clamored to be superior to his debut & I had to see for myself whether or not that’s the case.

“Nobody” gives us a taste of what’s to come from the pluggnb instrumental to the lyrics about the inability to feel love or the drugs he consumes whereas “Way 2 Up” tells his bitch his infatuation with the drank & her showing him tough love. “Got Down” has a more standard plugg vibe in general talking about his girl wanting to fight prior to “Dam, Dam” compares the strength of the lean in his cup to mace & telling anyone who wants to live like him to take risks.

As for “Like What”, we have Shine making it clear that you can’t ask him for drugs because he’s not the plug & bringing a firearm inside of a store while “Still Sippin’” featuring Summrs finds the 2 entertainingly linking up to talk about codeine once again. “Forever” admits to the thoughts of this woman keeping him up at night sampling the iconic single by Drake, Eminem, Lil Wayne & Ye just before the self-produced “I Can’t Go 4 Dat” talks about a hoe wanting drunk love.

“So High” wraps up the 1st leg of Get Rich or Die Sippin’ describing the rush he feels whenever he doubles his cup while “Just Me N’ My Cup” kicks off the 2nd half continuing to talk about his love for lean & Perc 10s, the latter of which he calls his favorite drug. “You + Me” hops on top of this blissful pluggnb beat being upfront regarding a chick telling him they’ve been over while “Aye Malice, Where the Bass @?” combines pop rap & pluggnb talking about being outside.

Moving on from there, “Jump Back In” details a scenario where he put everything to the side for someone he liked until she fucked it up & it’s all for her while “Loud” issues a warning to anyone trying to fuck with him that they’ll each wind up in caskets carrying over the plugg elements instrumentally. “All Love” on the other hand talks about having bitches outside of the trap house & doing things legitimately instead of merely doing it for social media reels.

“Red Dot” featuring KanKan joins forces for an outstanding 2-parter where both of them are trading verses keeping that same energy when the beat switches while “5 Star” talks about heading out to a luxurious hotel for the weekend & making his time out there count. The closing track “Finally (The End)” finishes Shine’s most defining material of his career giving it all for this individual to trust him & asking if he can call them back 1 last time.

Unfortunately because of Lil Shine’s being convicted on 5 federal charges, Get Rich or Die Sippin’ has the possibility of becoming the last time we could hear new music from him for the next 3 years & this couldn’t have been a higher note to end on if this is it until then. The pluggnb, Asian rock, pop rap & plugg production is all tastefully textured & he provides what I’d say ranks amongst the most versatile performances of his career so far joined by a couple high profile guests.

Score: 4.5/5

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Nick Grant – “Smile” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Nick Grant. Blowing up a decade ago off his debut mixtape ’88 along with the Epic Records-backed full-length debut Return of the Cool, his next tape Dreamin’ Out Loud would prelude the acclaimed God Bless the Child produced by Tae Beast of the Top Dawg Entertainment in-house production team Digi+Phonics followed by Carolina Diaries & Welcome to Loveland. I did like Sunday Dinner & I Took It Personal was a great perspective on the industry itself, but he’s returning with a Smile on his face.

“Another Classic” hops over an orchestral boom bap beat from the Trackmasters to talk about the realest stepping on business for as long as he lives whereas “Money Problems” works in a chipmunk soul sample so he can break down his experiences with financial issues. “The Algorhythm” featuring Punch incorporates a flute so they can talk about some of these people dancing to the same song over & over leading into the gospel-influenced “Back Up” sending a warning to those who want to put him down.

Westside Gunn & Young Chris join Nick on “Price Tag” sampling “Love (I Guess That’s the Fool in Me)” by City Limits so they can talk about nothing being free in this world to end the 1st leg while “Bullsh!t” featuring CyHi the Prynce & Ransom references the late アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall.

“Generational Runs / No Shortcuts” kicks off the last leg of Smile with a 2-parter expressing his desire or being placed amongst the greatest when his run’s up just before “Dope Bitch” talks about the girl he’s with being awesome in her own ways. “Sensitive Gangsta” spends a couple minutes poking fun at these so-called street dudes who’re overly in their feelings & “Everyday I Wake” concludes Smile by spitting pain some wouldn’t understand over a soul sample.

Agreeably considered to be one of the most slept-on lyricists of this decade, Nick Grant continues to validate those claims with Smile striving to become a timeless artist. He’s trying prove to his audience that anything’s possible now that he’s at a place where he doesn’t want people to forget who he is & learning that our experiences are the true meaning of life, bringing a handful of guests who’re all on their own plateaus of potency rather than continuing to spit verses by himself over a varied batch of production.

Score: 3.5/5

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bleood – “Protagonist” review

bleood is a 21 year old recording artist from Florida whose debut EP Seal of Memories came out in the fall of 2023 followed by a handful of a-side/b-side singles preceding the Rascal 51 as well as Pain & How Bleood Stole Xmas EPs respectively. Case in point: You Don’t Need Your Skin or the divisively received IDK I Can’t Say. Coming off the Kill of B Killd EP last month however, he’s dropping his 5th extended play out of nowhere ahead of the 1c member’s full-length debut album Kill Ur Idols coming in October.

“maybach key fob” talks about popping out while he pops xanax & having as many pills as Pouya does leading into “chrome dinosaur” dissing both che & Tana along with him mentioning his beef with rexv2. “codeine tears” talks about his cup being more pink than the main character of the classic Cartoon Network series Courage the Cowardly Dog leading into “rub my belly” produced by Patrick Garza making it clear to either che or rexv2 that neither of them are in the same lane as him.

As for “on E”, we have bleood going hard at those who have no money in their pockets whatsoever just before “push” talks about punching any cornball who comes around his parts. “i aint start making money till i started doing drugs” pretty much says it all there & after “ding dong” talks about a whole Seal Team 6 running a train on a hoe who belongs to the streets, “friend or foe” concludes Protagonist airs out a bitch who treats him like a coupon.

Making up for all the delays Kill Ur Idols has gone through recently, I completely understand why bleood proceeded to drop protagonist out of nowhere almost a week since former AEW World Trios Champion Mark Davis ended Jack Perry’s reign as AEW National Champion & the lasting impression I have of it would be that I’m expecting his debut album to take himself farther from here. The experimental production has some interesting ideas built upon the sounds of rage, digicore, drill & free car music although I feel like there’s a decline in quality towards the 2nd half.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jane Remover – “Status Update Music” review

Here is the 7th mixtape from Newark, New Jersey musician Jane Remover. Aside from the 3 full-lengths under deadAir Records including Frailty as well as Census Designated & most notably Revengeseekerz, they have also released the Ghostholding mixtape on the label & 4 tapes pioneering the Dariacore sound. Coming off the Indie Rock mixtape last summer & Young Dabo’s sickeningly transphobic “Bleed” diss towards them however, Jane’s back to give the world some Status Update Music.

“If You Think I’m a Bitch, You Should Meet Jane Remover” blends Dariacore, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk & complextro for an energetic intro mentioning underscores whereas “XO Tour Llif3” experiments with hyperphonics, speed house, electro house, hybrid trap, electro house, future bass & complextro to distinguish itself from Lil Uzi Vert’s biggest hit.

Brostep, Dariacore, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, complextro & hardstyle all collide on the emotional “I Did This for Us” single while “…Like Watching a Zombie Turn” would debatably be amongst my top 3 tracks here due to the way future bass, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle & power soca are all mixed with hyperflip. “Crowdkilling 101” on the other hand explores bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, complextro, speed house & French electro whilst maintaining the hyperphonics elements.

“Nothing Lasts Forever (Every Detail U Have Ever Told Me)” was a too 5 moment personally expanding beyond Dariacore in favor of rawstyle, speed house, hybrid trap, bubblegum bass, complextro, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock & bass house while the manically dense “Chase This Feeling” bringing secondary influences of hyperflip, future bass, speed house, bubblegum bass, changa tuki, hard trance, rawphoric & rawstyle to the table.

Dariacore, deconstructed club, complextro, changa tuki, electro, nu skool breaks & bass house each have their own distinctive presence throughout “#BoyLetMeKnow” kick off the 2nd half of Status Update Music while “The Summer I Pretty” comes through with a mechanical melting pot of bass house, industrial techno, hyperflip, deconstructed club, complextro, Detroit techno, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bass house & tearout.

“Right Nowww (Tear Me Apart)” would be my 2nd favorite song on the tape maximally meshing Dariacore, happy hardcore, hard trance, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek & bouncy techno while “L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby.)” bears it’s name after Gwen Stefani’s timeless solo debut despite being stylistically rooted in brostep, hyperphonics, rawstyle, tearout brostep & hybrid trap.

The rhythmically buzzy “I Belong to Nobody (But Tonight I’m Yours)” keeps pushing boundaries of Dariacore drawing further inspiration from neoperreo, deconstructed club, digicore, lento violento, snap, jerk, trap, xtra raw & rawstyle prior to “Get Ugly” containing it’s individual sections varying between French electro, electro-industrial, hyperflip, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, deconstructed club, neoperreo, midtempo bass & rawstyle.

“In Every Lifetime (Together Like This)” nears closer towards Status Update Music’s conclusion with a melodically polyrhythmic bass house, Dariacore, alternative R&B, hard techno, bubblegum bass, indietronica & speed house while the outro “Summer Fling” ends in the form of this perfect dance-pop, contemporary r&b, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step anthem in time for next month.

Most would say Dariacore 2: Enter Here, Hell to the Left is the best thing Jane Remover had done under the leroy moniker, but Status Update Music surpasses it 5 years later. Their production nearly perfects the Dariacore subgenre of hyperpop & EDM microgenre Jane created eclectically mixing it with hints of hard dance, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk, complextro, speed house, electro house, future bass, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, hardstyle, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle, power soca, bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bubblegum bass, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock, hard trance, rawphoric, nu skool breaks, industrial techno, Detroit techno, tearout, happy hardcore, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek, bouncy techno, tearout brostep, neoperreo, digicore, lento violento, snap, trap, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, midtempo bass, bass house, alternative R&B, indietronica, dance-pop, contemporary R&B, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step.

Score: 4.5/5

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Stray Withers – “Blink of an Eye” review

Stray Withers is a 33 year old rapper & songwriter from New Haven, Connecticut who formed the Rogue Hollow collective during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. His solo debut extended play Witherman would come out the next fall as did his full-length debut Cloudy Alibi in the summer of 2023 & more recently his previous EP Enjoy the View this past July, enlisting his crew’s newest in-house producer Charlie Beans to handle all of the beats for Stray’s 3rd EP coming off producing most of James Joyce the Squatch’s 4th album Discomfort Inn last month.

“Cicada” after the “Change of Plans” intro starts off with an aggressive boom bap instrumental pleading to dig up this world that’s been underground for too long while “Foul Ground” featuring James Joyce the Squatch talks about the difference between them & the rest. “Out Alive” depressively speaks of sleeping under a cypress tree forever & after “Frost Bite” assures it’s ok if one can’t keep up, the final song “Perfect Timing” preceding the “Epilogue” outro ends by explaining the very thing life has never had.

Gearing up for his upcoming sophomore effort Flinch also entirely produced by Charlie Beans later this fall, I’m getting a huge impression that it’ll top Cloudy Alibi to become Stray Withers greatest LP yet since Blink of an Eye surpasses both Weathermen & Enjoy the View as far as his EPs go. Between the Sky Swamp Orange frontman’s lyrics & Charlie’s dark production, it could also be looked at as Rogue Hollow’s continuation of making shockwaves across the underground.

Score: 4/5

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Ankhlejohn – “Everything Beautiful Died Early” review

Here we have the 8th mixtape from Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground his last 7 tapes as well as 8 EPs & 7 full-lengths in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below, the Rome Streetz collaborative effort Genesis 1:27, the Cookin’ Soul-produced The Michelin Man & the August Fanon-produced Live! at the Disco last summer. A whole year later & V Don’s producing Everything Beautiful Died Early.

“Origins” gets things going with a 125 second intro talking about being paid to prove cases over a drumless orchestra backing him whereas “No Specifics” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally referencing The Sopranos, which is one of my top 3 shows. $ha Hef joins Lordy so they can talk about some “Monyun” over a sample & some drums while “Trauma or Tragedy” incorporates a more laidback beat to talk about being there when the powder was still stone.

Babymaine joins Ankhlejohn on “Inglorious” for a gangsta rap/boom bap crossover detailing their experiences living in The Bronx & the DMV just before “Stoneisland” wraps up the 1st half of Everything Beautiful Died Early looking back at when Juelz Santana was a big inspiration to him. “Vegan Goose Down Silence” kicks off the 2nd leg talking about making this tape because he felt like the game needed him leading into “King, Pawn & Rook” featuring Crimeapple breaking down the mafioso lifestyle.

“Solar Faxx!” aggressively talks about his desire of making educating ourselves more mainstream while “Laugh & Cry” once again touches base regarding the subject of the gangsta life, explaining that it’s pretty much a cycle. “Day 1” talks about his refusal of disrespecting the plates he came from & his knowledge of the game dating back since the beginning while “Packback” ends by observing the amount of love since his youth that’s faded.

Next fall will be a whole decade since Ankhlejohn introduced himself by taking the underground on a trip through The Red Room & for the past 14 months, he’s been dropping the greatest output of his entire career from The Michelin Man to Live! at the Disco & now Everything Beautiful Died Early. There are only a small handful of guests on this one rather than Lordy holding down the mic all by himself throughout the predecessor last spring, but they’re all carefully selected since everyone flows well over V Don’s distinct production style.

Score: 4.5/5

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